Ambassador Robie Kakonge said Ugandan government had verified that no such incident occurred.

Uganda has sharply criticised several leading Western media organisations over reports alleging that opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, was abducted by the military in a nighttime helicopter operation.

In a statement issued from Washington DC, Uganda’s Ambassador to the United States, Robie Kakonge, dismissed the claims as fabricated and said the Ugandan government had verified that no such incident occurred.

“Reports alleging that a UPDF helicopter landed at the residence of Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi during the night and removed him to an unknown location are false, completely and unequivocally so,” Kakonge said.

“The embassy has verified the facts with the relevant authorities. No helicopter landed. No such operation occurred. Kyagulanyi is not under arrest. The story is a fabrication.”

Kakonge said the reports, which were aired by outlets including BBC, CNN, Sky News and Al Jazeera, ignored what she described as basic operational realities of military aviation.

“Military helicopters do not land silently, secretly, or without consequence in urban residential compounds,” she said, adding that such an operation would be “deafening, destructive, and impossible to conceal”.

The ambassador warned that broadcasting unverified security claims could have serious consequences.

“False reports of night-time military aviation operations are not harmless errors. They put lives at risk. They incite panic, provoke disorder, and create conditions in which civilians can be injured,” Kakonge said.

“It is therefore indefensible that the media chose to air this claim without evidence, verification or corroboration. This is not journalism. It is misinformation with foreseeable and dangerous consequences.”