We’ve massacred 30 opposition members; jailed over 2,000, Museveni govt boasts

Last week, Mr Museveni, 81, was declared winner of the 2026 election.

Ahmed Oluwasanjo • January 24, 2026

Uganda president, Yoweri Museveni (Credit: Chief Observer)

Days after the controversial election that incumbent Uganda President Yoweri Museveni won, his government revealed that 30 opposition members were massacred and over 2,000 were detained during and after the election.

Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda’s military General and son of Mr Museveni, in a post on X on Friday, admitted 30 members of the Bobi Wine-led opposition National Unity Platform have been killed.

Mr Kainerugaba labelled the slain NUP members terrorists, saying, “So far we have killed 30 NUP members. We have arrested over 2,000 hooligans that Kabobi thought he would use.”

Before yesterday’s statement, Mr Kainerugaba had threatened to kill Mr Wine, his father’s main challenger.

“Whether Robert ‘Bobi Wine’ Kyagulanyi is in the country or not, I, as CDF, in the interests of national security and for the good of the commonwealth, ban him from any further participation in the electoral exercises of Uganda,” Mr Kainerugaba threatened.

Mr Wine has been in hiding since the election, while posting updates on Mr Museveni’s government attack on his home and party members on X.

Last week, Mr Museveni, 81, was declared winner of the 2026 election, extending his grip on power of 40 years for another five years.

Chairman of the Ugandan electoral commission, Simon Byabakama, declared Mr Museveni winner of the election on Saturday. According to the electoral umpire, Mr Museveni polled 72 per cent of the votes, while his main challenger Mr Wine, a music star, polled 25 per cent of the votes.

Mr Museveni, who assumed power in 1986, won the election for the seventh term in office since the introduction of direct elections in 1996.

The Ugandan strongman has won every single election by a huge margin since the country started direct elections.

In 1996, Mr Museveni won his first direct election with 75.5 per cent of the vote; in 2001 he was reelected with 69.3 per cent of the vote.

Mr Museveni secured a third term in office in 2006, winning the first multi-party election with 59 per cent of the vote.

In 2011 and 2016, he was reelected with 68 and 60.7 per cent of the vote, respectively. Mr Museveni secured a sixth term in office in 2021 with 58.6 per cent of the vote to defeat his closest rival, Mr Wine.

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