President Yoweri Museveni’s main challenger in the January 14 election Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) has raised alarm that country’s military have put him and his wife under house arrest and his family now risks starvation.

Bobi Wine took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon to protest intimidation from the Ugandan security officers who he said had marooned his home to restrict his movements. He said the officers are yet to talk to him regarding their invasion.

He tweeted: ‘‘It’s now four days since the military surrounded our home and placed my wife and I under house arrest. We have run out of food supplies and when my wife tried to pick food from the garden yesterday, she was blocked and assaulted by the soldiers staged in our compound.’’

He then proceeded to raise another alarm with a tweet protesting that a legislator, Francis Zaake Butebi, had been intercepted while on his way to his home and brutalised by the military.

‘‘Everyone including media and my party officials are restricted from accessing me. Zaake Francis was arrested outside my gate as he made his way to my house; he was badly beaten by soldiers. He is now in Rubaga Hospital,’’ he tweeted.

Raised alarm

It is however unknown when Bobi’s home was invaded by the officers after he voted on January 14, Thursday, because he tweeted on Friday, January 15 praising the voting process. He said: ‘‘Hello Uganda! Despite the wide spread fraud and violence experienced across the country earlier today, the picture still looks good. Thank you Uganda for turning up and voting in record numbers. The challenge now is for Mr. Byabakama and the EC to declare the will of the Pple.’’

What then followed was a distress call announcing that his home had been seized by heavily armed military officers.

The pop star icon turned politician mounted a strong challenge under National Unity Platform (NUP party in the past election but failed to clinch the top seat after he finished second with 3.4 million votes. Incumbent President Museveni won the election with 5 million votes.

The election attracted 11 contestants where the remaining nine of them failed to garner more than 70,000 votes. Wine had rejected the results over claims of massive rigging. Yesterday, the country’s electoral commission declared President Museveni as the winner of the poll, paving way to extend his rule into sixth consecutive term.

Despite the rigging claims by other candidates, East African Community and the European Union had praised the process saying the commission had done a good job in preparation.