LONDON (AP) — Former Arsenal soccer player Thomas Partey was granted conditional bail on Tuesday after appearing in court charged with five counts of rape.
The 32-year-old midfielder, who has also been charged with one count of sexual assault, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, London. The alleged offenses, between 2021-22, relate to three women.
The conditions of Partey's bail include that he cannot contact any of the women and must notify police of any permanent changes of address or international travel.
Partey is a free agent after his contract at Arsenal expired at the end of June. He is reportedly set to join Spanish team Villarreal.
“I understand he’s no longer employed in this country and playing in Spain now,” chief magistrate Paul Goldspring said.
Partey arrived at court wearing a dark zip up sweater and carrying a suit jacket. In court, he stood with his arms behind his back in the dock.
His lawyer Jenny Wiltshire previously said he “denies all the charges against him” and that he welcomed “the opportunity to finally clear his name”.
Police said the investigation was opened in February 2022 when it first received a report of rape. Partey was charged July 4 — days after his Arsenal contract expired.
He is due to appear at the Old Bailey Sept. 2.
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Former Arsenal footballer Thomas Partey arrives at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court where he is charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, in London, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
Former Arsenal footballer Thomas Partey arrives at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court where he is charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, in London, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Vote counting was underway Friday in Uganda’s tense presidential election, which was held a day earlier amid an internet shutdown, voting delays and complaints by an opposition leader who said some of his polling agents had been detained by the authorities.
Opposition leader Bobi Wine said Thursday he was unable to leave his house and that his polling agents in rural areas were abducted before voting started, undermining his efforts to prevent electoral offenses such as ballot stuffing.
Wine is hoping to end President Yoweri Museveni's four-decade rule in an election during which the military was deployed and heavy security was posted outside his house near Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the vote.
The musician-turned-politician wrote on X on Thursday that a senior party official in charge of the western region had been arrested, adding there was “massive ballot stuffing everywhere.”
Rural Uganda, especially the western part of the country, is a ruling-party stronghold, and the opposition would be disadvantaged by not having polling agents present during vote counting.
To try to improve his chances of winning, Wine had urged his supporters to “protect the vote” by having witnesses document alleged offenses at polling stations, in addition to deploying official polling agents.
Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president five years ago. Museveni took 58% of the vote, while Wine got 35%, according to official results. Wine said at the time that the election had been rigged in favor of Museveni, who has spoken disparagingly of his rival.
Museveni, after voting on Thursday, said the opposition had infiltrated the 2021 election and defended the use of biometric machines as a way of securing the vote in this election.
Museveni has served the third-longest tenure of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. The aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military, which is led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.
Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station, during the presidential election, in the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Election officials count ballots after the polls closed for the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
An election official holds up unmarked ballots during the vote count after polls closed for the presidential election, at a polling center in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A political representative speaks as he works to observe and verify the counting of ballots after polls closed in the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A supporter of leading opposition candidate Bobi Wine cheers while watching election officials count ballots, after polls closed at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
