Uganda gives reasons for detaining Bobi Wine, accuses US envoy of meddling in its affairs

The Uganda government has accused Natalie Brown, US ambassador in the country, of meddling in its internal politics.

Commenting on the aborted visit to Bobi Wine, opposition leader and presidential candidate of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Ofwono Opondo, government spokesman, said Brown had no business visiting Wine, whom he said is under house arrest to prevent potential unrest.

On Monday, Wine had raised the alarm that soldiers prevented the US envoy from visiting him at his residence.

The opposition leader has been placed under house arrest since returning from his polling unit on January 14.

But Opondo defended the action of the army, accusing Brown of trying to subvert the will of the people.

“What she has been trying to do blatantly is to meddle in Uganda’s internal politics, particularly elections, to subvert our elections and the will of the people,” he said.

“She shouldn’t do anything outside the diplomatic norms.”

The spokesperson also claimed that the US ambassador had a record of causing trouble in the countries she had served in the past.

Prior to the election, Wine had cried out on several occasions over what he described as threat to his life and that of his campaign team.

President Yoweri Museveni, who has so far spent 35 years as head of the East African country, was declared winner of the election but Wine rejected the results.