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KAMPALA – Police have denied reports that National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu was arrested on Friday night, amid claims of post-election violence in several districts.
Addressing journalists on Saturday, Uganda Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said Kyagulanyi is not under any form of arrest.
He also dismissed claims of house arrest by UPC president Jimmy Akena, saying the information was false. “When information came out that he was under arrest, police traced him to Alebtong,” Rusoke said.
On post-election violence, Rusoke acknowledged fatalities but did not give an exact total. “We are aware of electoral deaths, and compilation of the numbers is ongoing. Once verified, the information will be released,” he said.
Police suspect some of the violence may have been orchestrated. “We have reason to believe that certain groups were mobilized by the area MP, Muwanga Kivumbi of Butambala, to cause mayhem at polling stations,” he added. In Butambala, at least 10 people were reportedly killed.
However, conflicting reports emerged on Saturday, with Kyagulanyi’s son, Solomon Kampala, telling the BBC that his father and mother were picked up by security personnel on Friday evening after their home was forcibly entered.
NUP Secretary General David Louis Rubongoya had earlier claimed that armed security forces, supported by a police chopper, stormed Kyagulanyi’s residence in Magere on Friday night.
Police have called for calm, urging the public to avoid spreading unverified reports that could inflame tensions.