A rally for Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine’s presidential candidacy turned violent on Wednesday as police clashed with his supporters. President Yoweri Museveni, 81, who has ruled Uganda for nearly four decades, also secured approval from the electoral commission to contest January’s election.
Hundreds of young Ugandans thronged the streets of Kampala, waving portraits of Wine despite warnings from authorities against political gatherings over security concerns. Police wielded batons as demonstrators pressed against cordons, scattering the crowd with swift blows and shouts of defiance echoing through the capital.
Among those arrested was Allan Sewanyana, a youth leader from Wine’s National Unity Platform, according to party secretary general Lewis Lubongoya. Wine, 43, a former pop star known by his birth name Robert Kyagulanyi, has risen as Museveni’s fiercest challenger and the voice of discontented youth.
“Uganda has been ruled by one man and his family for four decades. This is the moment to reclaim our country,” Wine declared. He accused Museveni of clinging to power through fear, saying, “The regime fears young people and will unleash brutal force to survive.”
Wine contested the 2021 election, a vote scarred by violence and allegations of rigging, deepening mistrust in Uganda’s democratic institutions. His political journey has been marked by repeated arrests and threats, with Museveni’s son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, openly menacing him on social media.
The climate of intimidation extends beyond Wine. Last year, veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye was abducted from Kenya and now faces treason charges carrying the death penalty. As Uganda prepares for another election, the tension between youthful demands for change and a regime entrenched in power grows sharper by the day.