Opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, has called on the international community to impose targeted sanctions against President Museveni, his son Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and other senior government officials over alleged human rights violations.

Addressing delegates at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in Switzerland yesterday, Mr Kyagulanyi accused President Museveni and Gen Muhoozi, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), alongside senior judicial officers and police commanders, of presiding over enforced disappearances, killings and what he termed systematic violations of human rights. “We think the international community has abandoned us and left us on our own.

We are not asking for too much. We are only asking for targeted sanctions against Gen Museveni, his son Gen Muhooz,i and other top police and judicial officers who have blocked the justice system,” Mr Kyagulanyi said. He further urged Uganda’s development partners to reconsider financial aid extended to the government and explore legal remedies for citizens whom he said have been denied justice. “What we are going through is what we went through during the 2021 elections. The 2026 polls were not any different,” he said, adding that previous appeals to the global community had yielded little action. In response, State House dismissed the calls as reckless and unpatriotic.

The Presidential Press Secretary, Mr Sandor Walusimbi, described the demand for sanctions and withdrawal of financial support as counterproductive. “Calls for targeted sanctions or withdrawal of financial support are irresponsible and very counterproductive. Where is Bobi Wine’s sense of patriotic duty to Uganda and Africa?” Mr Walusimbi said. Efforts to obtain a comment from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces spokesperson regarding the allegations against the CDF were unsuccessful by press time. Speaking at the Geneva summit, Mr Kyagulanyi said little had been done to implement recommendations made by international actors at the time. “I feel like the international community has ignored us and left us to the mercy of a dictatorship,” he said.

Mr Kyagulanyi rejected the results of the January 15 elections, alleging widespread irregularities. On the eve of the declaration of results, he reportedly went into hiding, claiming he was being pursued by security operatives. He has since maintained his life is in danger. However, Mr Walusimbi said Uganda remains stable and functional. “Uganda has just concluded a peaceful electoral process. The country is calm, stable and fully functional. Ugandans are going about their business freely, institutions are operating normally and there is no national crisis to justify alarmist rhetoric,” he said.

Mr Kyagulanyi also claimed several of his deputies have been arrested and are facing various charges.

Ms Lina Zedriga (Northern region) and Ms Jolly Jackline Tukamushaba (Western region) were separately charged with incitement to violence in Gulu and Mbarara, respectively, after weeks in detention. Mr Muwanga Kivumbi, who heads the Buganda region, is battling treason charges following an incident in Butambala District where 10 people were killed. “Right now, I am speaking to you while in hiding because as soon as the election ended, Museveni’s son, who is also the chief of the Ugandan military, issued an order that I be taken to him dead or alive,” Mr. Kyagulanyi alleged. He added that security forces raided his home in Magere, tortured family members, and forced his wife and children to flee the country for safety.