Uganda’s security and intelligence agencies are reportedly scrambling after losing track of opposition leader and National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine.
The claims were made by journalist Ritah Kaggwa, who cited unnamed security sources familiar with the matter.
According to the statement, top officials within the country’s security and intelligence services had been closely monitoring Kyagulanyi’s movements following heightened political tensions.
The surveillance, the sources claim, was prompted by fears that any attempt to arrest the former presidential candidate could spark widespread unrest across the country.
Kaggwa alleges that security agencies recently realised they could no longer account for Kyagulanyi’s whereabouts, triggering panic within intelligence circles.
The sources suspect that the opposition leader may have quietly left Uganda several days earlier, after allegedly evading surveillance that had been maintained at his known residences and frequent locations.
The statement further claims that intelligence operatives had been deployed at Kyagulanyi’s ancestral home in Gomba District, his Busabala beach residence, and other locations including Magere, Nakawa and Mukono.
Additional measures reportedly included roadblocks along the Entebbe International Airport route and the Masaka Road, with security personnel searching vehicles, except those belonging to diplomats.
Despite these efforts, the sources allege that Kyagulanyi may now be in South Africa, accompanied by close associates.
Among those mentioned is his personal assistant, Ashraf Najja, who is said to have left the country earlier.
Kaggwa’s statement also links the confusion within security agencies to recent remarks by Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
According to the claims, Gen Muhoozi accused the United States Embassy in Kampala of being involved in facilitating Kyagulanyi’s alleged departure, an assertion that has not been publicly substantiated.
There has been no official confirmation from Ugandan security agencies regarding the claims, nor has NUP publicly addressed the allegations about its leader’s whereabouts.
The US Embassy in Kampala has also not issued any statement responding to the accusation.
Kyagulanyi remains one of Uganda’s most prominent opposition figures, with his movements and security often drawing national and international attention amid an increasingly tense political environment.