National Unity Platform (NUP) President, Bobi Wine, has denounced the dismissal and harassment of nine police officers who were previously assigned to his campaign team, calling the action a “persecution” by the government.
In a statement on Saturday, Wine said the officers were paraded before the Police Court under charges of “Neglect of Duty.” He described the allegations as baseless, noting that the officers were accused of assisting him to leave his home, a claim he dismissed as “crazy.”
“These professional police officers were withdrawn from duty on January 15, election day,” Wine said.
“By the time I left my home on January 16, when the military raided, they were no longer on duty. Yet now, they are being hounded and punished because the regime cannot live with the embarrassment of not being able to locate me for two months.”
Wine accused the government of turning state institutions into tools for enforcing illegal, immoral, or criminal acts, asserting that the officers were simply performing their duties professionally.
He added that the dismissals are part of a wider pattern of intimidation against civil servants who refuse to carry out politically motivated orders.
According to Wine, officers Kigenyi and another colleague have been taken back to detention at the Railway Grounds police station and continue to be interrogated. He expressed solidarity with all the affected officers, framing their ordeal as emblematic of the challenges faced by Ugandans under the current administration.
“Uganda will be free. For now, we stand with these officers who, like many others, have had to taste the wrath of a desperate regime,” Wine stated.
The opposition leader’s remarks highlight ongoing tensions between state security forces and government critics, raising concerns over the treatment of public officers perceived as neutral or professional in politically charged situations.