Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine, a leading critic of authoritarian President Yoweri Museveni, was shot in the leg by police on Tuesday, according to his party .
The incident occurred while the NUP leader was on his way to visit his lawyers in Bulindo, which is about 20km north of the capital, Kampala.
A statement from the police said officers on site reported that the opposition leader whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi had stumbled while getting into his vehicle.
In a swift reaction on his official X handle, an admin refuted the statement of the police and thanked citizens who captured the video of the attack and share it.
Footage was shared on social media by journalist Solomon Serwanjja, who was at the scene, showing the 42-year-old opposition leader being helped from a building with a bleeding injury from his left shin.
Later NUP spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi said X-ray reports showed “there were some fragments from a tear-gas canister embedded in Bobi Wine’s leg”.
Medical experts at Nsambya Hospital in Kampala, told journalists the NUP leader is due to undergo surgery to remove the fragments.
The police say Bobi Wine had attended an event in Bulindo and afterwards “he and his team moved out of their cars and embarked on a procession up to Bulindo town.
At least four NUP members were arrested during the altercation.
Veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye condemned the “horrible outcome” of what he termed “usual police aggression against political opposition”.
Bobi Wine was first elected to parliament in 2017, and ran against President Yoweri Museveni in the 2021 election, which was marred by state repression. He is popular among young people and has been arrested – and beaten up – numerous times.
