For Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is his estate, and the presidency his birth right no one can take from him.
Museveni who came into office in 1986, changed both age and time limit in office.
On Saturday, January 17, 2026, he was declared winner of the election for the seventh term in office in an election marred by violence and an Internet shutdown, with African observers saying arrests and abductions had “instilled fear”.
The Electoral Commission declared that Museveni, 81, won 71.65 percent of the vote in Thursday’s election, amid reports of at least 10 deaths and intimidation of the opposition and civil society.
The outcome extend his 40-year rule of the east African country.
He defeated Bobi Wine, 43, a former singer-turned-politician who won 24.72 percent and said he was in hiding on Saturday after a raid by security forces on his home.
Wine has faced relentless pressure since entering politics, including multiple arrests before his first run for the presidency in 2021.
He stated his “complete rejection of the fake results” and said he was on the run after the raid on his home on Friday night.
“I want to confirm that I managed to escape from them,” Wine posted on X on Saturday. Currently, I am not at home, although my wife and other family members remain under house arrest.
“I know that these criminals are looking for me everywhere and I am trying my best to keep safe,” he added.
There was a heavy police presence around the capital, Kampala, AFP journalists saw, as security forces sought to prevent the sort of protests that have hit neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania in recent months.
Police denied they had raided Wine’s home but said they had “controlled access in areas we feel are security hotspots”, adding they believed the opposition leader was still at home.
“We have not necessarily denied people accessing him but we cannot tolerate instances where people use his residence to gather and… incite violence,” police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke told reporters.
A stall-owner near Wine’s home, 29-year-old Prince Jerard, told AFP he had heard a drone and helicopter at the residence the previous night, and saw numerous security officials.
“Many people have left (the area),” he said. “We have a lot of fear.”
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has emerged as the main challenger to Museveni in recent years, styling himself the “ghetto president” after the Kampala slum areas where he grew up.
