Agency
Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, the president of the National Unity Platform (NUP), has announced that he has left Uganda, saying he made the decision for safety after spending about two months in hiding.
In a message posted on his private account on the social media platform X, Kyagulanyi — popularly known as Bobi Wine — said security forces had been searching for him unsuccessfully because members of the public shielded him.
Kyagulanyi further claimed that nine police officers who had been assigned to him during the presidential campaign were arrested after they refused to spy on him.
Kyagulanyi finished second in the 2026 presidential election with 2,741,238 votes (24.75 percent) against 7,946,772 votes (71.65 percent) for the incumbent president Yoweri Museveni.
However, the NUP leader has continued to claim that the election was rigged and said the government has since targeted him.
Kyagulanyi said his departure should not be interpreted as surrender but as part of a broader strategy to push for political change.
His announcement came a day after documents from a case first filed at Gulu Police Station on March 16, 2026 surfaced on social media.
The documents accuse him of making false statements contrary to Section 25(9) of the Penal Code Act. The leaked documents also led to the remand on Friday of Gloria Grace Laker, an intern at the Gulu High Court.
