With his charisma, tenacity and everyman appeal, music star Bobi Wine has shaken up Ugandan politics.
Since his career pivot a decade ago, the 43-year-old has become a major thorn in the side of President Yoweri Museveni, an 81-year-old who has been in power for 40 years.
Bobi Wine has enchanted legions of young Ugandans, a demographic that makes up a large portion of the country’s population. Having grown up in the slums of the capital, Kampala, he dubbed himself the “ghetto president” and campaigns on issues such as youth unemployment and human rights.
On 15 January, Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, after the former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, will compete against Museveni in a presidential election for the second time. But the odds are stacked against him.
Since entering politics, the self-styled revolutionary has been imprisoned and faced several criminal charges.
His plight has piqued attention around the world – in 2018, musicians including Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn, signed a petition demanding his release from custody.
Wine was held on charges relating to the illegal possession of firearms, but the case was widely viewed as being politically motivated. He was subsequently also arrested for treason, but eventually, all of these cases were dropped.
There was further outrage in 2021, when the police shot at Bobi Wine while he was campaigning.
“I am the most connected candidate to the population,” he told the BBC during his campaign for the forthcoming election.
“That is why among the eight candidates, I am the most hounded, I am the most harassed, I am the most feared.”
Credit: bbc.com
