Mass Dismissal Shakes Police Force Over Bobi Wine

Nine police officers who were previously assigned to opposition leader and National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Bobi Wine were paraded before a Police Court on Wednesday, following their dismissal from the Uganda Police Force.

The officers are accused of “neglect of duty,” a charge that Wine and his supporters have strongly condemned.

In a statement released Thursday, March 12, 2026, and shared on social media, Wine described the proceedings as politically motivated.

He said the action against the officers was part of what he called the “criminal regime’s” effort to deflect blame for failing to locate me.

“The criminal regime yesterday paraded before the Police Court, nine of the police officers who were assigned to our campaign,” Wine said.

“They were all dismissed from the Uganda Police Force with disgrace. Their crime? ‘neglect of duty.’ The criminal regime claims that they assisted me in escaping from my own home. Crazy.”

According to the opposition leader, the officers were no longer on duty by the time he left his home.

“These professional police officers were withdrawn on 15th January, which was election day. By the time I left my home on the 16th when the military raided, they were no longer on duty,” he explained.

Wine criticised the ongoing persecution of the officers, arguing that they are being punished simply because the regime could not locate him for two months.

“But now, they’re being hounded, persecuted, and punished because the regime cannot live with the embarrassment of not being able to locate me for two months. They’re looking for anyone to blame. In any event, these officers were deployed to protect me and not to spy on me,” he said.

The opposition leader also used the occasion to denounce President Yoweri Museveni’s handling of Uganda’s institutions.

“This is what Museveni has turned all institutions into! He expects them to do everything illegal, criminal, or immoral to sustain his criminal enterprise. Choosing to act professionally has landed very many civil servants in trouble,” Wine stated.

Reports indicate that, in addition to being dismissed, officers Kigenyi and another unnamed officer were returned to detention at the police station at the Railway Grounds, where they are reportedly still being interrogated.

Wine expressed solidarity with the dismissed officers and framed their persecution within the broader struggle for democracy and accountability in Uganda.

“We understand that in addition to being dismissed, officer Kigenyi and another were taken back to detention at the police station at the Railway grounds and are still being interrogated!” he said.

“UGANDA WILL BE FREE. For now, we stand in solidarity with these officers, who, like many other Ugandans, have had to taste the wrath of a desperate regime in its evening.”

The statement underscores ongoing concerns among opposition figures and civil society organisations that Uganda’s security apparatus has increasingly been used as a political tool.

Human rights observers have frequently warned that the politicisation of the police and military undermines professional accountability and contributes to an environment of fear and repression.

This development comes amid heightened tensions following the January 15 elections, during which allegations of harassment, intimidation, and abuse by security forces were widespread.