In Uganda, the police have announced the opening of an investigation to, they say, “clarify the facts” after an incident that took opposition leader Bobi Wine to hospital. While police officers claimed that the opponent was injured after tripping while getting into his vehicle, his party claims that he was hit by “police gunfire”. According to his lawyer, it was in fact a tear gas grenade that injured Bobi Wine. He underwent surgery to remove fragments from his leg and has left the hospital, according to the mayor of the capital Kampala.
Determined, despite repression
Intimidation, arrest, house arrest… Being an opponent in Uganda often rhymes with repression. The former singer, now aged 42, Bobi Wine, real name Robert Kyagulanyi, can testify to this. Over time, he has become the face of the opposition to the regime of President Yoweri Museveni.
In recent years, the opponent, who was Yoweri Museveni’s main rival in the 2021 presidential election, has in fact been arrested or placed under house arrest on multiple occasions.
Gatherings of his supporters are regularly dispersed. In some cases, the police do not hesitate to use force. This does not seem to affect Bobi Wine’s determination, who never misses an opportunity to express it.
“I was born free and I am free (…) We are free and we will oppose anything that tries to deprive us of our freedom”he had assured for example during one of his meetings.
Bobi Wine has been arrested frequently by law enforcement in UgandaImage: Abubaker Lubowa/REUTERS
A broken relationship between the opposition and the government
In Uganda, it is not just Bobi Wine who is suffering from the government’s repression. In July, an impressive security presence was deployed in Kampala, where youth movements had called for demonstrations against corruption.
The movement took shape on social media around the hashtag StopCorruption and resulted in arrests and indictments.
Also this year, 36 opposition supporters were charged with terrorism-related offences after they were expelled from Kenya.
According to their lawyers, the group, affiliated with one of Uganda’s main opposition parties, the Forum for Democratic Change, had travelled to Kenya for a meeting aimed at improving the skills of young leaders.
President Yoweri Museveni is often criticized for ruling Uganda with an iron fist Image: SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Images
Opponents, but also human rights defenders, often mobilize to denounce the government of President Yoweri Museveni, which, according to them, uses false accusations to repress them, something the authorities deny.
For Adolf Mbaine of Makerere University “Relations between President Museveni and the political opposition have been broken for many years.” Saccording to the academic and political analyst “The president does not want a strong opposition and the threats that this poses to his continued power.”
A power that Yoweri Museveni has held since 1986 in a country whose youth no longer hesitates to express its desire for change despite repression.
