With opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine’s whereabouts unknown, there was speculation that he had fled out of Uganda. Amidst this, there are claims online that Donald Trump has invited Bobi Wine to White House for talks on removing Museveni.
In this Fact Check, we look at the claims.
First, Bobi Wine has not confirmed his location. While some reports claimed, quoting security sources, that he had fled to an East African country, Bobi Wine has said that the people who hid Museveni during the NRA war are the same Ugandans protecting him.
Bobi Wine has not been to his home for over two weeks. He lost to President Yoweri Museveni, according to results released by the Electoral Commission.
The claim that Bobi Wine is in the US or that he has fled Uganda is — for now speculative.
The claims online also quoted Donald Trump as putting out posts regarding supporting Bobi Wine and warning first son and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
The Pearl Times did not find any such posts published by Donald Trump on his or his administration’s known social media channels.
There is no evidence to suggest Donald Trump has invited Bobi Wine to the White House for talks.
Years ago, the Ugandan government scoffed at Bobi Wine’s petition to the White House, with State Minister for International Cooperation Henry Okello Oryem dismissing it as naive and advising Bobi Wine to focus on winning Ugandans’ support rather than seeking external intervention.
Bobi Wine’s 2019 petition to the White House was a six-page document outlining gross rights abuses and lack of rule of law in Uganda, submitted by his lawyer Robert Amsterdam.
The petition came after the US embassy in Kampala voiced similar concerns. In it, Amsterdam asked to brief President Donald Trump on Uganda’s political situation.
It should be remembered that in a statement on February 02, Bobi Wine’s international lawyer Robert Amsterdam said that Uganda’s post-election repression and threats against Bobi Wine trigger urgent call for Commonwealth action, including sanctions and indefinite suspension.
But Uganda’s permanent representative to the UN Adonia Ayebare told Amsterdam “this is a flimsy and it is not going to work. Uganda is not a failed state, the post elections situation is peaceful. Our institutions are capable of handing any issues. I understand you have a gig to do.”
In an interview from hiding, Bobi Wine has previously revealed his next plan, as reported Here.
It should also be remembered that US Republican Senator and Senate Foreign Relations chairman Jim Risch has called on President Donald Trump to punish Muhoozi and Museveni, prompting a harsh response from the UPDF. (See Details Here and There).
