Uganda’s main opposition party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), claimed that security forces raided its headquarters over the weekend, stealing documents, computers, and cash, while also planting spy cameras and listening devices.
Led by musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine, the NUP has faced frequent targeting by security forces in recent years.
“The police and the military stole 15 laptops, 10 CPS (central processing units) and one main computer, dismantled our surveillance cameras and planted their own spy cameras and listening devices in my office and all other offices,” Wine told AFP.
“Shamelessly, they took away 250 textbooks from our library, over 2,500 party membership cards and over 400-plus shirts branded with my image, cups and umbrellas,” he said, adding that $12,000 in cash was also taken.
The raid comes as Uganda prepares for the 2026 presidential election, in which President Yoweri Museveni, seeking to extend his 40-year rule, will run for re-election.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, also reported the brief detention of five party officials, including his elder brother, without charges.
“When they abducted the party officials, luckily we had installed trackers in the cars and we managed to locate the vehicles in which the officials were travelling in and we (found) them at police headquarters and the military intelligence (headquarters),” he said.
While the police and military did not comment on the detentions, the police confirmed the raid, stating it was in response to “unauthorized military drills” at the NUP offices.