UGANDA: US ambassador blocked from visiting Bobi Wine

By Eoin McSweeney, KAMPALA Uganda

The United States ambassador to Uganda was blocked by Ugandan security forces from visiting presidential candidate Bobi Wine on Monday.

Wine -- a singer-turned-politician, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi -- has been under house arrest after the military surrounded his home on Friday.

Uganda's longtime leader President Yoweri Museveni was declared winner for a record sixth term, amid an internet blackout and allegations of rigging.

Ambassador Natalie E. Brown went to Wine's resident to check on his health and safety, because he has "effectively been unable to leave his home, with security forces surrounding his residence," the embassy in Kampala said in a Facebook post.

"Uganda's election campaigns were marred by the harassment of opposition candidates, campaign staff, and supporters; suppression of the media and civil society organization activities; and a nationwide internet shutdown before, during, and after voting day," the post said.

"This afternoon, the US Ambassador to Uganda made an effort to visit me but was turned away from my gate by the soldiers who have held me and my wife captive for the past five days." Wine said.

Speaking through one of his associates, Wine said he had run out of food and that Brown was unable to leave any with him.

"Day Six under house arrest and we're still stuck with an 18 months old baby who had paid a visit to her auntie (my wife ) be4 we were raided & besieged. The Dad has been denied access to her. We have run out of food and milk. No one is allowed to leave or come into our compound." - Bobi Wine

"The main motivation for us to keep doing what we're doing in the face of all of this intimidation is because what we are doing is moral," he said in an audio message posted on Twitter on Monday.

Wine rejects Saturday's election results, saying he has evidence of fraud and intimidation. He did not provide details of that alleged evidence, saying his team would share it when communications lines were restored.

Uganda's government spokesman, Ofwono Opondo, wrote in an opinion piece that Brown shouldn't "cry for Ugandans," and accused the US of meddling.

"For Natalie to cast doubt that elections wouldn't be 'credible' merely because the US embassy had voluntarily pulled out of observation, is aimless shooting," he said in the piece, which he posted on his Twitter page.

If US democracy was unassailable, Brown should first note President Donald Trump's false election fraud claims and the Capitol riot, he added.

"As of now, Natalie should be the last person giving unqualified lectures on election integrity."

Opondo said Brown had no business visiting Wine. “What she has been trying to do blatantly is to meddle in Uganda’s internal politics, particularly elections, to subvert our elections and the will of the people,” he said. “She shouldn’t do anything outside the diplomatic norms.”

The sharp, public rebuke to the US from the Ugandan government is relatively unusual as the two nations are allies.

The US decided not to observe the elections due to the electoral commission's decision to deny more than three-quarters of its accreditation requests, said Brown in a statement on Wednesday, a day ahead of the elections.

The embassy called on the Museveni's government to respect its citizens' "human rights and fundamental freedoms" and to "uphold international human rights standards." - CNN