On Monday, 25 January 2021, the Ugandan judiciary ended the house arrest of Bobi Wine. The unfortunate presidential candidate on 14 January had been under house arrest since the day after the election. His home, located on the outskirts of Kampala, the capital, was surrounded by soldiers who watched his access.
On Monday, the courts ordered the Ugandan armed forces to end the house arrest of Bobi Wine. “The continued and indefinite restriction (of displacement) of the petitioner in his home is illegal and his right to liberty has been impeded,” said Judge Michael Elubu of the Civil Division of the Ugandan High Court of Justice, a Kampala court on Monday. “ “As these restrictions are considered illegal, we order them removed,” he said.
The Ugandan opponent had called on the international community on Sunday to demand the lifting of his “house arrest”. His home was guarded by soldiers and the police, who refused access and forbade anyone to leave. The Bobi Wine couple, short of food with a baby inside, was not allowed to leave their home, but also to receive their lawyers. Even the US ambassador to Uganda had been prevented from accessing her home and accused of interference by supporters of President Yoweri Museveni.
The Ugandan government justified this house arrest by the need to ensure the “protection” of Bobi Wine and to avoid opposition demonstrations. This while the unhappy candidate had qualified the election as a “masquerade” and rejected its results.
