Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine was injured in the leg during a clash with police, but his party said he was recovering in hospital.
The National Unity Platform (NUP) said the pop star-turned-politician was hit by a tear gas canister – with his wounds initially thought to have been caused by a bullet.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when the NUP leader was on his way to visit his lawyer in Brindou, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the capital Kampala
Police at the scene reported that the opposition leader tripped and fell while getting into his car, a police statement said.
Previously, the X account of Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, was the first to break the news: “@HEBobiwine was shot in the leg by the Brindaw police.”
The video was shared on social media Photos taken by journalist Solomon Serwanjja, who was at the scene, show the 42-year-old opposition leader, with a bleeding calf injury on his left leg, being helped out of a building.
NUP spokesman Joel Ssenyonyi later said the X-ray report showed “Bobi Wine had fragments of a tear gas canister embedded in his leg”.
A police statement said an investigation would be conducted to clarify the facts.
Medical experts at Kampala’s Nsambya Hospital told reporters the NUP leader would undergo surgery to remove the fragments.
Police said Bobi Wine attended an event in Brindaw, whereupon “he and his group got out of the car and started marching towards the town of Brindaw.
“However, police advised against this. Despite their guidance, he insisted on continuing… to block the road, leading to police intervention to stop the march.”
“During the ensuing altercation, he was allegedly injured,” the statement said.
At least four NUP members were arrested during the altercation, the party said.
Veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye denounced the “horrendous consequences” of what he called “routine police attacks on political opponents”.
Bobi Wine was first elected to parliament in 2017 and ran against President Yoweri Museveni in the 2021 election, which was marred by state repression.
He was popular among young people and was arrested and beaten several times.
The country’s security forces have long pursued political opponents of President Museveni, who has been in power for nearly 40 years.
Additional reporting by the BBC’s Swaibu Ibrahim in Kampala.
