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Ugandan soldiers have withdrawn from the residence of opposition leader Robert Kyagulani popularly known as Bobi Wine.
The troops withdrew a day after a court ordered an end to the confinement of the presidential runner-up.
The popstar-turned-politician had been under de-facto house arrest at his home outside the capital, Kampala, since he returned from voting on January 14.
Wine and his household, including his wife Barbie, were prevented from leaving their house and denied access to visitors.
But security forces withdrew from around Wine’s house on Tuesday, allowing the opposition leader to convene with newly-elected MPs from his National Unity Platform (NUP) for the first time since the vote he says was rigged.
“I was put under illegal detention in my own house because General Museveni did not win,” he told MPs, supporters, party activists and reporters gathered on his lawn.
“He is staging a coup against the will of the people of Uganda.”
The High Court on Monday ruled in favour of a petition lodged by Wine’s lawyers asking for his release, saying his “continued indefinite restriction and confinement” was unlawful.
The Ugandan government had argued that the restrictions on Wine’s movements were “preventative” measures for his own protection and to prevent protests against the election result, which delivered a sixth term for long-running President Yoweri Museveni.
