KAMPALA - Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine was discharged from hospital Wednesday after undergoing surgery for a leg wound suffered during a confrontation with police.
The outspoken critic of President Yoweri Museveni was injured in the fracas on Tuesday in the town of Bulindo, around 20 kilometres north of the capital Kampala.
Initially, Wine's National Unity Platform (NUP) said the 42-year-old, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, had been shot in the leg by police and described it as "another attempt on the life" of the party leader.
But the NUP later said Wine had been hit by a tear gas canister and he was taken to a hospital in Kampala.
"He underwent a surgery where the fragments of a canister were removed from his leg and he has stabilised and is on the way out of hospital now," Kampala mayor Erias Lukwago told AFP.
Images posted on social media showed Wine, wrapped in a cream blanket with a bandage on his leg, being pushed in a wheelchair by hospital staff.
Wine and his NUP have long been a thorn in the side of Museveni, who has ruled Uganda with an iron fist for nearly 40 years.
The former popstar, who challenged the veteran leader in the 2021 election, has been detained or put under house arrest numerous times and party rallies have been violently dispersed.
"It appears police targeted to harm him," his lawyer George Musisi told AFP about Tuesday's incident.
- 'Shrinking democratic space' -
Musisi said Wine was wounded when police "indiscriminately" fired tear gas at a small group of supporters in Bulindo, where he had gone for a meeting.
"A tear gas canister was aimed at him and it exploded injuring him on the leg," he said, adding that police had also arrested four party supporters.
Images shared on social media had shown Wine grimacing in pain.
Ugandan police said they were investigating the incident, with spokesman Kituuma Rusoke saying three officers were also injured in the melee.
"Let's wait for professionals to do their work and investigate," Rusoke told a press conference on Wednesday.
"We have a challenge, however, with politicians who don't respect our guidance especially on processions on highways," he said.
"Because of that Kyagulanyi got injured, three police officers got injured and police cars were attacked," he said.
A Ugandan police statement posted on X on Tuesday had said officers at the scene disputed the opposition's version of events, saying Wine had stumbled and injured himself while getting into his vehicle.
It said Wine and his team had embarked on a procession against police advice.
After Tuesday's incident, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Washington was concerned that the "democratic space continues to shrink" in Uganda.
In July, police cracked down on anti-corruption rallies in Kampala, arresting and charging dozens of demonstrators, and have also rounded up people protesting against a vast oil project in the East African country on several occasions.
Uganda goes to the polls in January 2026, five years after the septuagenarian Museveni was re-elected for a sixth term.
The opposition denounced the 2021 vote as a sham, following a campaign marked by intimidation, opposition arrests and violence.