Ugandan accuses foe of election ‘coup’

KAMPALA, Uganda — Ugandan presidential challenger Bobi Wine on Friday accused the country’s longtime president of staging a “coup” in the Jan. 14 election and urged people to protest his loss through nonviolent means. But he suggested he might not go to court to challenge the results.

Calling the vote “a mockery of democracy,” the opposition lawmaker and popular singer whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu made his first public address since election day. Speaking from house arrest, he asserted in an online briefing that Ugandans are being oppressed by “a small group of gunmen” in charge of the East African country.

President Yoweri Museveni “committed a coup against the constitution and against the people of Uganda,” the opposition leader said from the outskirts of the capital, Kampala.

Museveni won with 58% of the vote while Wine had 34%, according to the official results. Wine insists he won and has said he can prove that the military stuffed ballot boxes, cast ballots for people and chased voters away from polling stations.

“This has been the most fraudulent election in the history of Uganda,” he said.

But he suggested he was unlikely to challenge it in court because of concerns that a possible loss there would validate Museveni’s win. He said he would announce a decision “in a few days.”

He also said many of his supporters, including close associates, remain in jail.