Ugandan music pop star and now a presidential candidate, Bobi Wine, reports he’s been nearly killed twice in the last few weeks and asks the international community to hold the government of Uganda responsible before the polls next month. Wine also blamed the military for ruling over the electoral process and said that his campaign staff had been tear-gassed and fired at with real bullets. Bobi Wine, whose actual identity is Robert Kyagulanyi, joined the political world of Uganda in 2017 and won his seat in parliament that same year. He has been arrested and jailed countless times since then.
“I know that already the election is not free and fair,” Bobi Wine reported. “I have survived two assassination attempts in the last two weeks where bullets have been shot at my car and on the tires and at the windscreens.”
Bobi Wine said the police fired through his car windshield on December 1 as he wanted to cross a roadblock. The Ugandan State House did not respond promptly to the call for comments. The current President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in control for over 30 years, is competing against Wine for the presidency. The singer accused Museveni of tyranny and human rights violations. At least 45 deaths occurred last month in riots triggered by Wine’s detention because he had violated COVID-19 restrictions during campaign rallies.
Although authorities have confirmed that they must apply the restrictions to avoid COVID-19 spread, opposition figures and their followers say that is an excuse to stop their campaigns before the elections. Eyewitness accounts at the time said in crowded urban neighborhoods, the police, the military, and civil gunmen shot high-caliber rifles to squander demonstrations. They supported these allegations by many videos that were posted after the turmoil on media platforms.
Bobi Wine Calls on International Help
Wine requested the United States and the international community to cease collaborating with Uganda until the alleged human rights violations have been halted by President Museveni. Each year the US supplies Uganda with 970 million dollars for growth and defense. The aim of the funding includes, according to a State Department paper, “professionalization of the military” and “supporting democratic governance through inclusive, accountable institutions,”
“We know that the United States has a very strong partnership with Uganda. We receive over $100 million a year for our security. But, again, this is the same money that is being used to murder people, oppress Ugandans and to abuse human rights,” Bobi Wine told CNN.
President Museveni has proclaimed that Bobi Wine is “waging war” on Uganda by urging western countries to refrain from investing in the East African republic. On several occasions, most significantly in 2014, the White House has welcomed Museveni. Museveni said in 2018 that President Donald Trump “speaks to Africans frankly”. Donald Trump allegedly identified several African countries and elsewhere as “sh**hole countries.
“Mr. Bobi Wine went to America and said that people should not come and invest in Uganda. That means he is an enemy of progress in Uganda,” President Museveni said in an interview with the BBC last year.
Bobi Wine said in a Monday tweet: he sometimes had to sleep in the car because the hotels were frequently told not to accommodate him or his campaign staff.
“We are only going into this election as a protest vote. We know that the people of Uganda, even amid the intimidation, and the harassment, will come out and massively vote. And yes, I’m sure they are going to vote out President Museveni because 35 years is just enough,” Wine said on Monday.
