It was the muzzle of a pistol that turned the pot-smoking music star into one of Africa’s most popular politicians. At least that’s what Bobi Wine told us again and again.
At the age of 23, he, the boy from the ghetto, was the “hottest thing ever.” Ugandascored hits about parties, beautiful girls and expensive cars, celebrated with the rich and powerful and didn’t give a damn about politics. Until one evening in 2005, a secret service agent dragged him out of his Cadillac, held a gun to his temple and said: “What are you showing off here? Don’t you know this country has owners?”
Humiliation can awaken political consciousness. In this case with far-reaching consequences not only for Bobi Wine, but for his country.
For weeks, the now 43-year-old has only been taking to the streets wearing a protective helmet and a bulletproof vest. Acclaimed by supporters who elected him president on Thursday Uganda want to choose. Every step is watched by a security apparatus that is supposed to prevent this.
It is Bobi Wine’s second attempt to bring about a change of power in his homeland. His opponent, incumbent Yoweri Museveni81, has ruled for four decades. Over three quarters of the approximately 50 million Ugandans are younger than 40 and they don’t know any other president. In the last elections in 2021 he won with 59 percent. Wine came second with 35 percent. It was Museveni’s worst result to date and that too was probably glossed over. The opposition claims that almost none of his election victories were legitimate.
Many people in Uganda refuse to be intimidated
Uganda is currently making headlines in Germany as a so-called safe third country for deportation centers, in which rejected asylum seekers from EU countries should be locked up. For supporters of civil rights and free elections, the country is anything but safe. The army and police have dispersed opposition rallies this election campaign. Last weekend, soldiers with armored vehicles took up positions in the capital Kampala. The internet was blocked on Tuesday evening.
What is astonishing, however, is not the growing repression – that is a global trend. The amazing thing is that so many people in Uganda refuse to be intimidated. Until recently, thousands continued to come to Wine’s rallies.
Uganda’s long-term president Museveni has experience dealing with opposition figures, but Wine is the first to pose a threat to him. Museveni came to office as a rebel leader in 1986, initially recorded successes in the fight against poverty, illiteracy and AIDS and distanced himself from his counterparts who had “clung to power for too long”. He soon no longer wanted to give up his position and secured one re-election after another through constitutional changes, co-option and repression. Former companions became political opponents. Museveni either had them isolated, imprisoned or even bribed. Then came Bobi Wine.
Born Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu in 1982. Son of a single nurse, grew up in a slum in Kampala, musically talented. He landed his first hits when he was 18 or 19 years old. In the early noughties everyone knew the lanky singer with dreadlocks, joints and his signature mix of hip-hop, dancehall, reggae and Afrobeats. He, in turn, quickly appreciated the benefits of wealth that his music brought him – like the Cadillac in question.
