Barbie Itungo Kyagulanyi, the wife of National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, is receiving treatment at Nsambya Hospital following a violent overnight raid on the family’s home in Magere, according to the opposition leader.
In a statement, Bobi Wine said hundreds of security personnel stormed the residence in the night, accusing them of breaking doors, vandalising property and subjecting occupants to hours of interrogation.
“Hundreds of soldiers descended on our home in Magere. Most were dressed in SFC uniforms while others were in regular UPDF uniforms and others in plain clothes. Many of them were drunk,” Kyagulanyi said. “They broke our doors and forced themselves into our house… They put my wife at gunpoint, asking her to reveal my whereabouts.”
Kyagulanyi alleged that the security operatives confiscated money, documents and electronic devices, including phones, laptops, internet equipment and CCTV systems. He further claimed that his wife, Barbara Kyagulanyi, was assaulted and threatened during the operation.
“They grabbed my wife’s phone and ordered her to remove her password. She refused. They strangled her and insulted her,” he said, adding that she was later rushed to hospital, “dealing with all the physical and psychological trauma.”
He also alleged that a security guard and a housemaid were beaten and interrogated about his whereabouts, and that the operation lasted several hours.
Despite the incident, Kyagulanyi said the family remains defiant. “Yet in all this, we remain firm in our belief that Uganda will be free,” he said.
The allegations have drawn condemnation from several public figures. Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, described the raid as part of a broader pattern of repression.
Authorities have yet to issue a detailed account of the operation or clarify the circumstances surrounding the raid, as calls grow for an independent investigation into the incident and the broader security environment ahead of the elections.
