Uganda's young voters are hungry for change – and for Bobi Wine
- Bold Magazine
- Dec 13, 2020
- 3 min read

President Museveni promised much when he took power but, 34 years on, violence and poverty are rife
To survive as an opposition politician in Uganda, you have to hit the campaign trail wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet. You must be ready for war. Ugandan musician turned opposition politician Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, discovered this when he decided to challenge incumbent Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s 34-year stranglehold on power at elections scheduled for 14 January. On the first day Kyagulanyi stepped out to campaign, he wore his vest over red overalls that made him look like a prisoner.
“I do not dress like this because I want to. I dress like this because there are people after my life. They think that by killing me, they will have it better. They do not know that if I die, it will only get worse,” he told the crowd outside his house.
The fervency of his message drowned the awkwardness of his costume as Ugandans realised just how terrifying the political climate has become. Only weeks earlier, a number of people died during Uganda’s worst unrest in years. Many of these were young people who had come out to protest at yet another arrest of their candidate, Kyagulanyi. Others were roadside vendors reportedly run over by a vehicle draped in yellow, the colour of the ruling party. Police sprayed teargas and shot live bullets that killed even bystanders.
Kyagulanyi was right when he told Christiane Amanpour on CNN last week, when asked why he continues to risk his life for the nearly impossible feat of unseating Museveni, that no one is safe in Uganda.
Museveni came into power after a five-year guerrilla war. He embarked on economic and political reforms, castigating older regimes for rigging elections and staying too long in power, and bringing a semblance of stability to the east African nation. He likes to remind us that we can now sleep all night because of him.

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