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Uganda’s main opposition leader Bobi Wine has been shot in the leg after a confrontation with security agents, his party said.

The incident happened in a northern suburb of the capital, Kampala, on Tuesday.

Videos posted online showed Mr Wine surrounded by followers who shouted that he had been shot in the leg before some supported him into a waiting car.

Mr Wine ran for president in 2021, losing to President Yoweri Museveni in an election he claimed was rigged against him.

His party, the National Unity Platform, holds the most seats of any opposition group in the national assembly.

The party said on X that Ugandan security operatives “have made an attempt on the life of” Mr Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.

“He was shot in the leg and seriously injured in Bulindo, Wakiso District,” they said.

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It was not immediately clear whether Mr Wine was targeted with a live bullet or a tear gas projectile.

Image:
Bobi Wine pictured in 2021. Pic: AP Photo/Nicholas Bamulanzeki

He was a famous entertainer in the East African country before he won a seat in the national assembly in 2017.

He is especially popular among young Ugandans in urban areas.

Mr Museveni, a US ally on regional security for many years, has held power since 1986 and had the constitution amended to remove the age limit for presidents.

Now 79 years old, he has resisted calls to announce when he will retire.

Uganda has not had a peaceful transfer of power since independence from the British in 1962.

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