Glimmer of hope

Since 1986, the Republic of Uganda has endured the authoritarian presidency of Yoweri Museveni, whose long tenure has been marked by corruption, human rights violations, and a failure to achieve significant economic development. Uganda remains a relatively poor country, just as it was when Museveni first came to power during a civil war. Similar situations are sadly common throughout Africa, where nations like Eritrea, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of the Congo have been led by the same figures for decades. In 2017, however, a political earthquake shook the nation when a new figure emerged – one who continues to provide the biggest challenge of Museveni’s tenure. That figure was Bobi Wine.

Raised in an underprivileged part of the capital, Kampala, Bobi Wine, born Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, was already a well-known public figure through his career as a singer, with his music often reflecting social concerns. He entered the political arena by standing successfully as an independent candidate during a local election in 2017. Three years later, Wine set up the National Unity Platform (NUP), a self-described social democratic party. Prior to national elections held in 2021, the first that he contested as a presidential contender, Wine voiced his support (characteristically through one of his many songs) for an expansionary economic programme aimed at reducing living costs while delivering tax relief and better pay.

Wine’s background added a sense of authenticity tohis campaign, with his personal experience of poverty giving him, to the minds of many, a stronger understanding of the needs of poor Ugandans and what must be done to improve their lives.

The elections were far from peaceful, with several of Wine’s supporters killed. Wine himself was fired upon and jailed. This was nothing new for Wine, who has on many occasions been arrested and even suffered torture. Protestors calling for Wine’s freedom were met by a security clampdown, which led to multiple deaths. Unsurprisingly, Museveni was declared the winner. Wine cried foul, a position substantiated by the fact that, alongside other irregularities, the electoral commission failed to include results from hundreds of polling stations.

Nevertheless, the NUP won enough seats to become the largest opposition party. This revealed the extent to which the progressivism embodied by Wine and the NUP resonated with many, and cemented him and his followers as permanent fixtures in the political landscape. Encouragingly, many younger Ugandans have followed Wine’s example by becoming politically involved.

Nor have his presidential aspirations been dampened. Wine is standing again in January’s elections on a radical, people-centred platform which calls for essential services like water and healthcare to be made universal rights. The Unmanifest also includes other noteworthy pledges, including the creation of 10memployment opportunities, the provision of free uniforms and meals for primary schoolchildren, the development of rural cooperatives, and an expansion of social assistance and access to financial services. Its emphasis on improving quality of life for Ugandans reflects the principles of social democracy and reflects Wine’s commitment to building a better society for Uganda’s poor, the struggles of whom he often highlights in his speeches.

As expected, Wine and the NUP have operated in a climate of fear. Earlier this year, Wine became the subject of an online threat from Museveni’s own son (the head of the Ugandan military), while his bodyguard was detained and reportedly tortured. Recently, Wine had to cancel planned rallies in one area when his intended route was blocked by security. Despite all this, the NUP managed to successfully raise a large sum as part of a fundraising drive, and in May its ranks were swelled by the admission of multiple defecting parliamentarians; a sign, perhaps, that politicians can see which way the political winds are blowing.

While the election is unlikely to be free and fair, then, Wine’s enduring popularity means that there is still an opportunity for the NUP to finally bring the Museveni era to a close – and, in the process, usher in a new social democratic age for the people of Uganda.

Image credit: flowcomm via flickr