The Albany Gazette - Ugandan opposition says leader seized by army helicopter after election

President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to prolong his four-decade rule in an election that saw widespread repression and an internet blackout.

His main opponent, singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine earlier said he had been under house arrest after police surrounded his compound.

Late Friday, his party, the National Unity Platform (NUP) said in a post on X that an army helicopter had landed in the compound and "forcibly taken him away to an unknown destination".

It said Wine's private security guards were "violently assaulted" in the process.

AFP journalists saw a heavy police presence on the streets, with roadblocks and patrols around Wine's residence.

Members of his party could not be reached for comment and the internet blockage, imposed by the government ahead of the election, made it hard to verify the claims.

Museveni was comfortably leading as votes were counted on Friday, with the Electoral Commission saying he was on 73.7 percent to Wine's 22.7 with close to 81 percent of votes counted.

Final results were due around 1300 GMT on Saturday.

Wine, 43, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has emerged as the main challenger to Museveni in recent years. The former singer styles himself the "ghetto president" after the slum areas of Kampala where he grew up.

There were reports of violence against the opposition in other parts of the country.

Muwanga Kivumbi, member of parliament for Wine's party in the Butambala area of central Uganda, told AFP's Nairobi office by phone that security forces had killed 10 of his campaign agents after storming his home.

His wife Zahara Nampewo, a law professor, said the 10 were hiding in their garage when security forces fired through the door.

"After killing them, the military continued firing," Kivumbi said. "And they ensured that they removed all the evidence of the dead. You only have a pool of blood that is left here."

Local police spokeswoman Lydia Tumushabe gave a different account, saying "a group of NUP goons" had planned to overrun and burn down a local tally centre and police station.

"An unspecified number were put out of action," she told AFP, adding that 25 others had been arrested and charged with malicious damage of property.

- Total control -

Analysts have long viewed the election as a formality.

Museveni, a former guerrilla fighter who seized power in 1986, has total control over the state and security apparatus, and has ruthlessly crushed any challenger during his rule.

Election day was marred by significant technical problems after biometric machines -- used to confirm voters' identities -- malfunctioned and ballot papers were undelivered for several hours in many areas.

There was a heavy security presence across the country.

The United Nations rights office said last week that the elections were taking place in an environment marked by "widespread repression and intimidation" against the opposition.

On Thursday, Wine accused the government of "massive ballot stuffing" and attacking several of his party officials under cover of the internet blackout, which was imposed on Tuesday.

(E.Taylor--TAG)