US ambassador to Uganda, Natalie E. Brown is calling on security forces in the country to honor a court order and vacate stop the detention of former presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine.
On Monday, court in Kampala ordered security forces to cease surrounding the home of opposition leader Bobi Wine, who has been under house arrest since the January 14 presidential election.
Hours after the court’s order on Monday, Bobi Wine’s large compound in a northern suburb of the capital, Kampala, remained blockaded.
“The Uganda High Court ruling that the restrictions on Robert Kyagulanyi were unlawful underscores the role of an impartial judiciary. The United States calls on security forces to honor the decision. Freedom of expression, assembly, & movement must be respected for all in a democratic society,” the US Embassy in Kampala tweeted.
Uganda’s military was aware of the court ruling and would comply, said military spokeswoman Brigadier Flavia Byekwaso, without specifying when soldiers would depart.
Pressure has been mounting on the government to free Bobi Wine, including from the United States and rights group Amnesty International which called his incarceration arbitrary and politically motivated.