The emblematic opponent in Uganda Bobi Wine, hit on September 3 by a « pulled by the police » according to his party, was injured by a tear gas grenade and will have to undergo surgery to remove fragments from his leg. « Il [Bobi Wine] still receiving medical carehis lawyer George Musisi told Agence France Presse. He is out of danger but doctors say he will undergo surgery to remove suspected fragments of a tear gas grenade that hit him. The Ugandan police announced the same day that they were opening an investigation. “to clarify the facts”while law enforcement officers present at the scene claimed that the opponent was injured after having “stumbled while getting into his vehicle”.
Bobi Wine, who was still in Nsambya hospital in the capital Kampala on the morning of September 4, was injured late the day before as he was leaving the town of Bulindo, where he had visited Mr. Musisi. As the crowd gathered upon seeing Bobi Wine in the area, police began indiscriminately firing tear gas and live ammunition to disperse the crowdthe lawyer said. He (Bobi) got out of the vehicle to ask the police what was happening and why they were shooting. He was targeted by a tear gas grenade which exploded, injuring his leg.”
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Police say they intervened when “Bobi Wine and his team (…) embarked on a procession”. Joel Ssenyonyi, a leader of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) party, said on Tuesday evening that the police had targeted him. “at very close range (…) with a projectile which hit his left leg”. “The grenade hit him and then exploded, and fragments entered his leg. (…) Doctors say that an operation will be necessary to extract these fragments.”he added.
A former singer now aged 42, Bobi Wine, real name Robert Kyagulanyi, is the face of the opposition to the regime of President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda with an iron fist since 1986. Bobi Wine has been arrested or placed under house arrest on multiple occasions in recent years and his supporters’ rallies have been regularly dispersed, sometimes violently. He was Yoweri Museveni’s main rival in the 2021 presidential election. The head of state, now aged 79, was re-elected for a sixth term with 58% of the vote, according to official results, ahead of Bobi Wine (35%), who had denounced a “masquerade”.
