Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine has been injured in the leg in a clash with police, but his party says he is recovering in hospital.
The National Unity Party (NUP) said the pop star-turned-politician was hit by tear gas – initially thought to have been caused by a bullet.
The incident occurred as the NUP leader was on his way to meet his lawyer on Tuesday in Bulindo, about 20km (12 miles) north of the capital Kampala.
A police statement said officers at the scene reported the opposition leader had stumbled while getting into his car.
Earlier, Bobi Wine’s X account, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, was the first to report the news when it said: “@HEBobiwine was shot in the leg by police in Bulindo.”
The video was shared on social media. by journalist Solomon Serwanjja, who was at the scene, showed the 42-year-old opposition leader being carried out of the building with a bleeding wound to his left shin.
NUP spokesman Joel Ssenyonyi later said an X-ray report showed “there were some fragments from the tear gas canister lodged in Bobi Wine’s leg”.
A police statement said an investigation would be launched to clarify the incident.
Medical experts at Nsambya Hospital in Kampala told journalists the NUP leader would need surgery to remove the fragments.
Police said Bobi Wine attended an event in Bulindo and then “he and his group got out of the car and started marching up the Bulindo town.
“However, the police advised against doing so. Despite their instructions, he continued to… block the road, forcing the police to intervene to stop the parade.
“In the ensuing scuffle, it is alleged that he was injured,” the statement said.
The NUP party said at least four members were arrested in the brawl.
Veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye condemned the “horrific consequences” of what he called “routine police brutality against the political opposition”.
Bobi Wine was first elected to parliament in 2017 and is running against President Yoweri Museveni in the 2021 election, which has been marred by state repression.
He was very popular with young people and was arrested – and beaten – many times.
The country’s security forces have a long tradition of pursuing political opponents of President Museveni, who has been in power for nearly 40 years.
Additional reporting by the BBC’s Swaibu Ibrahim in Kampala.
