Uganda security forces seize campaign materials in raid on Bobi Wine office

Uganda's security forces on Wednesday raided the offices of opposition politician and pop star Bobi Wine and seized documents and campaign materials.

Wine, a popular musician who is seeking Uganda's presidency in elections set for 2021, said in a tweet that heavily armed police ``besieged'' his campaign headquarters" on Wednesday morning.

Bobi Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, was meeting with other leaders of his National Unity Platform party when the police swooped in.

He accused the police of a lack of impartiality. 

Wine, who has been arrested a couple of times in recent years, keeps calling for President Yoweri Museveni to retire.

In a tweet on Wednesday, the spokesperson of Uganda's army said security forces sought to recover red berets and other military-style articles that were being kept at Bobi Wine's offices. 

Supporters of Bobi Wine are known to wear red berets, which authorities in Uganda claim are the preserve of the military. 

Due to continued iligal use of military and police stores and other military/police patented designs, a joint operation is on going to recover the same from the public. All in possession of such items are encouraged to voluntarily return them.

— Brig Gen Flavia Byekwaso (@UPDFspokespersn) October 14, 2020

Museveni, 76, has ruled Uganda since taking power by force in 1986 and has been accused of relying on the armed forces to rule indefinitely.

This year's election should see Wine going after Museveni, who seeks another term, after managing to remove constitutional age limits on the presidency.

Museveni accuses Wine of encouraging young people to riot and has stated that people associated with Wine are "``a misguided group being used by some foreigners" to destabilise the country.

Uganda has never witnessed a peaceful transfer of power since independence from British colonial rule in 1962.

Our original article claimed that Bobi Wine had been arrested during the raid. We have since established that he was not. We have corrected it accordingly.