Wife of Ugandan opposition leader is attacked

Armed men enter her home and try to force her to disclose Bobi Wine’s location.

- By RODNEY MUHUMUZA

BARBARA KYAGULANYI and her husband, Bobi Wine, arrive to vote in Kampala, Uganda, on Jan. 15.

(BRIAN INGANDA Associated Press)

The wife of Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine described from her hospital bed how armed men forced their way into her home and attacked her as they demanded to know where he was.

Barbara Kyagulanyi, known to supporters as Barbie, told reporters gathered around her Saturday as she recovers in the hospital that she did not cooperate with the dozens of men in military uniform who broke into her home Friday night. She told them she didn't know where her husband was —and she refused to unlock her cellphone despite their demands.

The intruders harassed and insulted her, asking why she had married opposition leader Kyagulanyi Ssentamu — widely known as Bobi Wine — the most prominent of seven candidates who had challenged Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in this month's election.

Wine has been in hiding since Museveni was declared the winner of the Jan. 15 presidential election, with 71.6% of the vote, according to official results. Wine’s National Unity Platform party, or NUP, took 24.7% of the vote, a result he has rejected as fake.

Wine, who has called for peaceful protests, recently said he fears for his safety and is sheltering at an unknown location.