A Ugandan government official has accused the United States of meddling in their election.
The accusation comes after the U.S. ambassador to Uganda, Natalie E. Brown, was blocked from seeing presidential candidate Bob Wine. She went to Wine’s residence on Monday to see the singer-turned-politician, whose legal name is Robert Kyagulanyi. Wine, 38, has been under house arrest for days, and military forces are surrounding his home.
“What she [Brown] 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,” government spokesman Ofwono Opondo told Reuters. “She shouldn’t do anything outside the diplomatic norms.”
The embassy denounced the military interference and denied political meddling.
“The United States regularly meets with actors across Uganda’s political spectrum as part of its diplomatic engagement,” the embassy announced in a Facebook post. “The purpose of Ambassador Brown’s visit was to check on Mr. Kyagulanyi’s health and safety, given that he’s effectively been unable to leave his home, with security forces surrounding his residence.”
“We call on the Ugandan government to respect their citizens’ human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press as provided for in Uganda’s own constitution and according to commitments Uganda has made to uphold international human rights standards,” it went on.
Incumbent leader Yoweri Museveni, 76, has been in power since 1986 and won the recent election with 58% of the vote compared to 35% for Wine, who does not accept the outcome of the election, referring to it as “cooked-up” and “fraudulent.”
“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 embassy’s statement went on. “These unlawful actions and the effective house arrest of a presidential candidate continue a worrying trend on the course of Uganda’s democracy.”
