(Bloomberg) -- Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, who goes by the name of Bobi Wine, was recovering in hospital after being injured during a confrontation with police on the outskirts of Kampala, the capital, according to local media.
His National Unity Platform party posted a statement on X Tuesday claiming he had been shot in the leg by police during the incident, a characterization which was disputed by the police, who said he had “stumbled” getting into his car.
Uganda’s Daily Monitor newspaper on Wednesday quoted NUP lawyers clarifying that a hospital X-ray appeared to show the wound was caused when he was hit in the leg by a tear-gas cannister.
“He’s stable and out of danger,” NUP lawyer George Musisi told the daily, which also reported Wine would undergo surgery Wednesday.
The police confirmed in a statement that there had been an “altercation” on Tuesday after the authorities intervened to prevent Kyagulanyi and his supporters from staging a procession along a public street, after being warned it was not allowed.
Kyagulanyi, a musician who turned to politics, was the main challenger to longtime President Yoweri Museveni in 2021 elections marred by violence in which at least 54 people died in the run up to the polls. He was placed under house arrest following the vote until a court ruled that the confinement was illegal.
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