Exiled Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu popularly known as Bobi Wine has condemned the arrest of former legislator Tendai Biti, slamming the Zimbabwean government of shrinking the democratic space.
Biti, a convener of the Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF) together with a member Morgan Ncube, was arrested in Mutare over the weekend as they campaigned against the Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3, which seeks to extend the term of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The two were granted US$500 bail on Monday under strict conditions which include not addressing public meetings without police clearance.
In a statement, Bobi Wine said it was disturbing to see Zimbabwean authorities persecute dissenting voices just as Uganda has done.
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"Just a few weeks ago, Mr @BitiTendai, a comrade and human rights lawyer in Zimbabwe, was speaking out strongly, condemning our brutal persecution by the Museveni regime following the sham Jan. 2026 election.
"Unfortunately, as I type this, he has joined the long list of comrades in Africa unfairly detained by their governments for seeking freedom.
"Biti was arrested alongside other freedom fighters in Zimbabwe for resisting attempts to extend the presidential term there to seven years and restrict the election of the President to members of Parliament only.
"It is disturbing to see this script, which Ugandans are already familiar with, being deployed in Zimbabwe as well," said Bobi Wine.
Parliament is preparing to conduct public hearings on the Constitutional Amendment Bill, which has divided political actors in Zimbabwe.
Hearings into the bill will be held next week, with political tensions heightening.
"Biti's arrest is a cowardly attack on all citizens of Zimbabwe by a regime that cannot sustain open debate about their future without resorting to brute force," he said.
