Sawt Falasteen - Ten killed in Ugandan elections, Museveni set to extend 40-year rule

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine said he was under house arrest after Thursday's vote while Uganda's Electoral Commission said Museveni was on 75.4 percent to Wine's 20.7 with close to 60 percent of votes counted.

Final results are due by 0200 GMT on Saturday.

Authorities imposed an internet blackout during the election that was still in place on Friday.

Wine, 43, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has emerged as the main challenger to Museveni in recent years. The former singer styles himself the "ghetto president" after the slum areas of Kampala where he grew up.

"After casting my ballot, the military deployed all around my home in order to place me under house arrest," Wine wrote on X.

"They do this because they are afraid of the people's reaction after stealing their vote."

AFP journalists visited the compound early Friday and said it was outwardly calm, though a military vehicle and several police officers were stationed outside.

Local station NBS quoted a police spokesman saying Wine was "not under house arrest, we're just providing him with security."

Muwanga Kivumbi, member of parliament for Wine's party in the Butambala area of central Uganda, told AFP's Nairobi office by phone that security forces had killed 10 of his campaign agents after storming his home.

His wife Zahara Nampewo, a law professor, said the 10 were hiding in their garage when security forces fired through the door.

"After killing them, the military continued firing," Kivumbi said. "And they ensured that they removed all the evidence of the dead. You only have a pool of blood that is left here."

Local police spokeswoman Lydia Tumushabe gave a different account, saying "a group of NUP goons" had planned to overrun and burn down a local tally centre and police station.

"An unspecified number were put out of action," she told AFP, adding that 25 others had been arrested and charged with malicious damage of property.

- Total control -

Analysts have long viewed the election as a formality.

Museveni, a former guerrilla fighter who seized power in 1986, has total control over the state and security apparatus, and has ruthlessly crushed any challenger during his rule.

Election day was marred by significant technical problems after biometric machines -- used to confirm voters' identities -- malfunctioned and ballot papers were undelivered for several hours in many areas.

There was a heavy security presence across the country.

The United Nations rights office said last week that the elections were taking place in an environment marked by "widespread repression and intimidation" against the opposition.

On Thursday, Wine accused the government of "massive ballot stuffing" and attacking several of his party officials under cover of the internet blackout, which was imposed on Tuesday.

His claims could not be verified by AFP.

T.Ibrahim--SF-PST