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UGANDA-POLITICS
Uganda’s pop star MP ‘taken away’ by security officers
KAMPALA, Sept 20, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Ugandan pop star turned opposition MP
Robert Kyagulanyi was taken away by security officers upon arrival at the
country’s international airport Thursday, his wife Barbie told AFP.
“After landing at Entebbe, security surrounded him and took him away. We
are not sure where they are taking him,” she said.
Kyagulanyi, 36 and better known as singer Bobi Wine, had been seeking
medical treatment in the United States.
He says he was tortured in custody after being arrested last month.
The pop star turned opposition firebrand was charged with treason alongside
more than 30 others after President Yoweri Museveni’s motorcade was stoned by
opposition supporters.
His American lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, said on Twitter that his client had
“again been unlawfully detained” upon arrival in Uganda.
Uganda’s police chief, Martin Okoth Ochola, insisted that Kyagulanyi “is
not under arrest”.
“What we have done is to escort him from Entebbe airport to his home,” he
told AFP.
“We are under obligation to provide security and this is what we are
doing.”
Since entering parliament last year Kyagulanyi has emerged as a leading
critic of Museveni, a 74-year-old former rebel leader in charge since 1986.
Security was tight with riot police and soldiers deployed at the airport
and in the capital, Kampala, 40 kilometres (25 miles) away, after police
outlawed any welcome processions or gatherings.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1933 hrs