Uganda: Police disrupt Bobi Wine's election campaigns

Police fired water cannon and tear gas as Uganda's main opposition presidential election candidate campaigned in the central district on Thursday, November 27.

Local media reported that supporters of National Unity Platform candidate Bobi Wine had gathered along roadsides to greet his campaign's arrival in Kayunga, some 75 kilometres northeast of the capital, Kampala.

News footage showed Wine addressing police directly from atop a vehicle:

You, police officer, what you're doing is illegal. I am a presidential candidate and I am supposed to be talking to the people. Why do you shoot bullets at the audience? He asked.

January's polls include elections for the country's president, parliament, and local government. Incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, in power since 1986, has been cleared by the country's electoral commission to run for another term.

The NUP and Bobi Wine have mobilised supporters nationwide in a mass campaign, characterising the elections as a chance for significant change.

Wine, originally named Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, entered politics after a successful career as a musician, which has been credited with helping build the support of younger voters.