EC changes Bobi Wine’s bodyguards

Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, attends Wilfred Kato Kubai who was shot by a rubber bullet.

What you need to know:

  • Justice Simon Byabakama, the EC chairperson, confirmed that the head of Very Important Persons Protection Unit, Ms Hadijja Namutebi, had decided to switch the team


The Electoral Commission (EC) has changed the security detail of the National Unity Platform candidate Robert Kyagulanyi and deployed a new one. 

Justice Simon Byabakama, the EC chairperson, confirmed that the head of Very Important Persons Protection Unit, Ms Hadijja Namutebi, had decided to switch the team. 
“I am not in charge of the security but what I can tell you is that the security detail of Mr Kyagulanyi has been withdrawn because I think they are tired and they don’t have leadership at this time,” he said. 

This comes just a day after the commander of Bobi Wine security detail, Mr Wilfred Kato Kubai, was shot by a rubber bullet on the face together with Kyagulanyi’s right-hand man, Mr Dan Magic, who were taken to Mulago hospital for further treatment. 
Sources yesterday told Daily Monitor that Bobi Wine had contested the decision to remove his bodyguards but the EC officials insisted that they should be exchanged and a new team took over immediately. 

Bobi Wine said: “We are aware that they are changing our security team, let us wait and see because we are not the ones in charge. We shall continue to do our work,” Bobi Wine said. 
“The head of my security which EC gave us was shot at by the police. We believe they were targeting me because the head of security officer Kato and one of my producers was also shot and thrown at teargas canisters and his face split and lost his teeth,” he added. 

At the wake of the campaigns when the security was given to Bobi Wine, he rejected them after he was forcefully picked from the nomination centre and taken to his home. Bobi Wine accused them of conniving with the other officers to brutalise him. 
Yesterday, Justice Byabakama said:“It took my intervention. I called Bobi Wine and convinced him to allow the bodyguards so he should be happy when we withdraw them.”