Bobi Wine said in a statement. “It is a blatant attempt to suffocate a successful threat to the autocratic status quo. But People Power is more than a red beret.”Continue reading
“But People Power is more than a red beret, we are bigger than our symbol. We are a booming political movement fighting for the future of Uganda and we will continue our struggle for democracy,” Bobi Wine statement said.Continue reading
Sarah Kyolaba became a public figure and often appeared with Idi Amin at the country’s national and sporting events. That was as much as the public knew.Continue reading
A Ugandan court jailed a prominent academic on Friday for 18 months on cyber harassment charges stemming from a Facebook post that included sexually explicit criticism of long-ruling President Yoweri Museveni. The verdict drew the ire of rights activists who accused the government of using laws about electronic communications to stifle political dissent. Stella Nyanzi, a university lecturer and researcher who once called Museveni “a pair of buttocks”, has drawn the government’s wrath for her attacks on him. Her commentary, laced with profanity, is posted on her Facebook page and often shared widely by her followers. She attended her sentencing session in a court in the centre of the capital Kampala via video link from a maximum security prison by the shores of Lake Victoria on the city’s outskirts. Nyanzi shouted vulgarities and flashed her breasts and a double middle finger on several occasions during the session. Her offence stemmed from a Facebook post last year in which she said she wished Museveni, 74, had been burned up by the “acidic pus” in his mother’s birth canal. “My presence in your Court as a suspect and prisoner highlights multiple facets of dictatorship. I exposed the entrenchment of autocracy,” she wrote in her most recent post, a poem about her court case. “I refuse to be a mere spectator in the struggle to oust the worst dictator.” Joan Nyanyuki, director for East Africa at human rights pressure group Amnesty International, said: “This verdict is outrageous and flies in the face ofContinue reading
Kyadondo East member of parliament Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine has officially announced his presidential bid in the 2021 elections. Since turning to politics about two years ago, the musician-cum legislator has often remained coy about his presidential ambitions, usually giving half answers on the matter. But today, at his home in Magere, Gayaza, Kyagulanyi said he’s ready to take on long time President Yoweri Museveni. Museveni has been in power since bombing his way to power in 1986. His closest challenger has always been Rtd Col Kizza Besigye in elections that have often been marred by rigging and several electoral violations as confirmed by courts in 2016, 2011 and 2015. Besigye and Kyagulanyi have been in talks over the 2021 elections. “On behalf of the people of Uganda, I am challenging you [Museveni] to a free and fair election in 2021…We’re ready to kick Museveni and his cronies out power in 2021 and I am very serious about this.” said Kyagulanyi. Kyagulanyi said he may not be the best educated and most knowledgeable opposition politician to take on Museveni, but he’s “a person who wishes the best for my country and the general citizenry.” “I am ready to challenge the current leadership in 2021 and I promise I will never at any time betray the people of Uganda.” he added. COORDINATORS At the same press conference, Kyagulanyi also announced a team of coordinators from across all regions in the country that will provide leadership ahead of the polls. TheContinue reading
Ugandan pop star and opposition figure Bobi Wine said Monday he will challenge longtime President Yoweri Museveni in a 2021 election “on behalf of the people.” But Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, said he is concerned about his safety after what he believes was an attempt on his life last August. His driver was shot dead in his car after protesters threw stones at the president’s motorcade. Wine’s arrest at the time sparked protests in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. The 37-year-old said he is fearful of harm from running for president because “there has never been a threat to this regime like the threat we pose to it today as a generation.” “I live every day as it comes, not being sure of the next day. I am not blind to the fact that the regime wants me dead and wants me dead as soon as possible.” Bobi Wine Authorities have repeatedly denied Wine is being targeted. As the leader of a popular movement known as “People Power,” Wine has captured the imagination of many who want to see the exit of Museveni, a U.S. ally on regional security who has held power since 1986 and looks set to seek a sixth term. Wine said his aim ahead of the election is “to multiply myself in various young men and women, so that there are as many Bobi Wines as possible.” Uganda has never witnessed a peaceful transfer of power since the East African country gained independence from BritainContinue reading
“My business is standing for the truth, my business is standing for what is morally right,” Bobi Wine said via a video link to the court from a jail south of the capital Kampala.Continue reading
Yoweri Museveni (Yoweri Kaguta Museveni) was born on 15 August 1944. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni became President of the Republic of Uganda on January 29, 1986 after leading a successful five-year liberation struggle. He went to the bush with 26 other young men and organised the National Resistance Movement and National Resistance Army (NRM/NRA) to oppose the tyranny that previous regimes had unleashed upon the population.
The push for Kampala started on January 17th from different parts of the central region. While General Salim Saleh was the field commander, Museveni was the overall commander. They captured power on 26th January, 1986.Continue reading
“Unfortunately, President Yoweri Museveni shows no signs of thinking about a transition,” Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy told a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last week.Continue reading
With the Bulgarian weapons, “South Sudan arranged for Uganda to issue end-user certificates (the essential paperwork for an international arms transfer) … to make it look like these weapons were for the use of the Ugandan armed forces when in fact they were always destined for South Sudan,” said Mike Lewis, the head of regional operations for Conflict Armament Research.Continue reading
Uganda’s government on Monday accused the European Union Parliament of meddling in its internal affairs after the legislator passed a resolution deploring the alleged torture of opposition politicians in the East African country. “For EU parliament to pass a resolution asking the courts of Uganda to drop charges is inconceivable…we see this as a premeditated attempt to hijack and subvert our institutions,” government spokesman Ofwono Opondo told a news conference on Monday.Continue reading
President Yoweri Museveni has long had police beat the defiance out of his opponents, but a 36-year-old slumboy singer Bobi Wine turned MP has energised and emboldened Uganda’s youth, worrying the government.Continue reading