Last Wednesday, the 38-year-old musician was arrested after a campaign rally in the east of the country. His campaign would not have adhered to the corona rules. Bobi Wine was taken by the police in front of thousands of supporters.
When news of his arrest reached the capital Kampala, the bomb exploded. Throughout town, Bobi Wine supporters took to the streets to throw roadblocks. The Ugandan army was deployed and brutally put down the riots. 37 protesters were killed, most of them shot by the security forces.
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Bobi Wine is out on bail, but has to appear in court in December. The charge: holding an illegal meeting. It is not the first time that Bobi Wine has been arrested. The musician and opposition leader has long been a thorn in the side of President Museveni.
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How is Bobi Wine?
Robert Kyagulanyi started his music career at a young age. He took the name Bobi Wine and quickly became popular in the East African music scene. His music was not political at first. But in 2016 Bobi Wine started to comment on the state of affairs in Uganda. Because the country was poor, young people had little future prospects and the incumbent President Museveni had no plans to leave.
Bobi Wine started writing protest songs and ran for parliamentary elections. His song ‘Freedom’ was a big hit, he also managed to get the parliament seat for which he competed.
His popularity grew rapidly, his campaign slogan ‘People power, our power’ caught on with the mostly young part of the population. Three quarters of Ugandans are under 25 years old, and it is especially the young people who do not identify with the current rulers of the country. His success eventually brought Bobi Wine to the attention of the incumbent government.
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Bobi Wine was arrested in 2018 and charged with treason. Images of him in court, clearly tortured at the time, went around the world. Bobi Wine was released after international pressure. He fled to the US to be treated there, but returned to Uganda. There he announced that he would run for the January 2021 elections.
His campaign quickly turned out to be a great success. Wherever Bobi Wine went, it attracted large crowds. Order troops tried to keep his supporters away, but they turned out to be even willing to swim through a river to see him.
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Uganda under President Museveni
76-year-old Yoweri Museveni rose to power in 1986 after winning a bloody civil war. Museveni managed to stabilize Uganda and the country started a reconstruction.
But Museveni’s presidency also has a dark side. Because President Museveni is firmly in control and is unwilling to share power. He will run for a sixth term as president in upcoming elections.
Under his rule, opposition members are regularly victims of violence and intimidation, corruption is also widespread. Police violence is also common. Uganda is also notorious for the way it has banned homosexuality. Men suspected of being gay must undergo an anal test. According to human rights organizations, this can be regarded as a torture practice.
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His campaign becomes a threat
As usual, opposition members who dare to take on Museveni have a hard time. Four opposition candidates have already withdrawn from the race due to the increasing repression and violence of the sitting regime. But the popularity of Bobi Wine doesn’t seem to stop anymore. His campaign is starting to pose a serious threat to President Museveni’s 34-year-old rule.
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The now free Bobi Wine is still just as determined as before. “You can put our bodies in jail, but our soul will not affect you,” he declared as he walked out of prison. With the release of Bobi Wine, peace seems to have returned to the capital Kampala.
The question is whether that will continue. Despite his arrest, Bobi Wine may still participate in the upcoming elections, January 14 next year.
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