Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine has been discharged from the hospital after being hit by a tear-gas canister in the leg during a confrontation with police.

The mayor of Kampala, Uganda’s capital, told the French news agency AFP on Wednesday that Wine underwent surgery to remove fragments of the canister.

“He has stabilised and is on the way out of hospital now,” Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago said.

Earlier, Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) said on Tuesday that the 42-year-old, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, had been shot in the leg by police, calling it “another attempt on the life” of Wine.

Opponents and human rights activists have accused President Yoweri Museveni’s government of stifling the opposition, an accusation that Museveni denies.

Wine challenged Museveni, who has ruled Uganda for nearly 40 years, in the 2021 election and has been put under house arrest numerous times and had his party rallies dispersed with force.

George Musisi, Wine’s lawyer, told AFP that it “appears police targeted to harm him” in Tuesday’s incident.

He explained that Wine was injured when police fired a gas canister “indiscriminately” when he had gone for a meeting with supporters in Bulindo.

Uganda opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known as Bobi Wine, lies in bed at St Francis Hospital after he was injured by a tear-gas canister when police fired at his convoy in Kampala, Uganda, September 3, 2024 [File: Abubaker Lubowa/Reuters]

“A tear-gas canister was aimed at him and it exploded injuring him on the leg,” he said, adding that police had also arrested four party supporters.

Uganda Radio Network reported that the NUP spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi requested Wine be discharged from the hospital because he claimed “operatives in civilian clothes” had been trying to access his room since last night.

“They even demanded his medical forms from the hospital. Fortunately, the hospital declined,” Ssenyonyi said.

On Tuesday, police said officers had tried to stop Wine and his team from marching down a road, which resulted in the altercation.

In a statement, the police said an investigation into the events would be conducted.

In July, police cracked down on anti-corruption rallies in Kampala, leading to the arrests of dozens of demonstrators. Those protesting against a significant oil project in Uganda have also been rounded up on several occasions.