KAMPALA, Uganda — Opposition determine Bobi Wine mentioned the political local weather in Uganda has “gone from unhealthy to worse” forward of presidential polls set for early subsequent yr, citing threats to himself and different activists mobilizing in opposition to the longtime president.
Wine, a singer-turned-lawmaker whose actual identify is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, mentioned the threats he faces as President Yoweri Museveni’s principal opponent “are available in no unclear phrases.”
Fears for Wine’s security have grown in current months, fueled by common assaults on X from Museveni’s son and presumptive inheritor, military chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba. In January, Kainerugaba wrote he “would minimize off” Wine’s head if the president allowed it, and he drew widespread criticism in Might for saying he was holding Wine’s lacking bodyguard “in my basement.” The bodyguard later appeared unable to stroll with out help when introduced in court docket, the obvious sufferer of torture.
“It’s a relentless reminder that the menace is actual, as a result of that is no bizarre individual,” Wine mentioned, talking of Gen. Kainerugaba. “It is a individual that isn’t solely the son of the individual in control of the nation however can be the individual in control of all of the organs of violence. He heads the army, the police, the prisons, you understand. He’s above the regulation, and he has acted as such.”
Wine, 43, spoke to The Related Press in an unique interview on the headquarters of his Nationwide Unity Platform celebration within the Ugandan capital of Kampala, a web site briefly occupied by safety forces in a raid final month.
Museveni, 80, who has dominated Uganda since 1986, dismisses Wine as an agent of international pursuits and has even questioned his patriotism. However Wine, who denies the allegations, has a big following amongst working-class folks in city areas, and his celebration has probably the most seats of any opposition celebration in Parliament.
In the 2021 election, Wine secured 35% of the vote, whereas Museveni, with 58%, posted his worst-ever consequence, establishing Wine because the president’s most potent challenger in many years. Wine alleged his victory was stolen by widespread poll stuffing and different malpractices. Electoral authorities disputed the allegations.
Wine’s celebration claims dozens of its followers have been jailed or disappeared since 2021. For Wine, the assaults are supposed to “ship worry down the nerves of all people who work with me and all people who stand for what I stand for.”
Wine and Museveni are set to face one another once more in presidential polls scheduled for January 2026.
Museveni has been campaigning in current days in Kampala as he tries to bolster his possibilities amongst folks more likely to help Wine, city dwellers typically with out a dependable supply of revenue and who hope a change of presidency will profit them.
Wine typically describes himself as a “ghetto president,” citing his early days in a poor neighborhood in Kampala. He has maintained a excessive profile on this East African nation because the early 2000s, when he rose to fame as a singer whose dancehall music captivated audiences. Wine’s compositions later grew important of the federal government, incomes him a repute as a distinguished contrarian whereas his musical friends had been typically seen to be supportive of the federal government.
His election to a parliamentary seat in 2017 marked his formal entry into nationwide politics.
Wine instructed the AP he’s mobilizing his supporters to point out up in what he calls a “protest vote” in opposition to every thing he believes is flawed with the federal government. However his makes an attempt to carry rallies throughout the nation are sometimes thwarted by safety forces who cite a necessity to guard public order.
Kainerugaba, the military chief, just lately mentioned that government-provided guards will defend all presidential candidates, a warning to Wine and others in opposition to making non-public safety preparations. Kainerugaba’s acknowledged presidential ambitions have exacerbated fears of household rule in a rustic that has by no means witnessed a peaceable switch of energy since independence in 1962.
“It speaks of state seize. It speaks of impunity. It speaks of household rule,” Wine mentioned in regards to the threats from Kainerugaba.
But, he mentioned, his resistance has solely elevated within the face of strain.
“Our resolve has change into firmer,” he mentioned.
___ Extra AP Africa information: https://apnews.com/hub/africa