Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine speaks from hiding after ‘rigged’ election
In Uganda, 81-year-old Yoweri Museveni claimed victory late last week for a seventh term as president. He first rose to power in 1986.
The official results from this recent election put Museveni above 71%, while leading opposition figure, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, 43, better known as Bobi Wine, had around 25% of the vote. The musician-turned-politician went into hiding shortly after the tally was announced.
Wine has condemned what he described as an unfair electoral process and alleged abductions of his polling agents before voting had even started in parts of the East African country. He said he rejected the “fake” results and urged Ugandans to peacefully protest until the “rightful results are announced.”
Wine spoke with Host Marco Werman earlier today from an undisclosed location.
Marco Werman: What can you tell us about your current situation?
Bobi Wine: My current situation is risky. I’m in hiding after escaping from a raid on my home. I was attacked by the military on the orders of the Chief of Defense Forces, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who also happens to be the son of General Yoweri Museveni, who rigged last week’s election. So, he promised to kill me, and when I saw other unidentified people jumping over my fence, I did not take it for granted, so I smartly escaped and left my house. As of now, I’m being looked for by the military, but they cannot explain any crime that I committed.
President Museveni has accused your supporters of seeking to overturn the results of the recent election. The official results have Museveni winning in a landslide with 72% of the vote. Do you accept those results?
We reject those results with all contempt. They are fake. They are fabricated. They don’t represent what came from the polling stations. We have evidence, first and foremost, videos of the military, police and election officials themselves, critiquing ballots in favor of General Museveni. The Electoral Commission just decided to ignore the election’s outcome and announce something completely different.
And yet you said you are not going to contest the results. Why not?
Because the courts are not independent. We contested the results five years ago, and the courts behaved in a very, very biased manner. Just today, Museveni appointed the Chief Justice, who is supposed to be the arbiter in this matter. But the courts have made their pronouncements and given orders for reforms that were never put in place. So we find the court’s not a remedy in any way, but to ask the people of Uganda to invoke their constitutional right, especially Article 29 of the Constitution, to protest against the wrong results and ensure that they are rolled back. And Uganda gets real democracy.
Right, so President Museveni controls the courts. That would seem to be your last outlet to appeal. I also notice that the Uganda Human Rights Commission said the technical and procedural challenges observed on polling day did not undermine the overall fairness of the vote. So I’d like to ask you, Bobi Wine, what does all this tell us about the political future for Uganda?
Well, Uganda, like many other countries that have been under the yoke of dictatorship, can and will eventually free itself. We went into this election aware of the predicament we face, but we also wanted to use the opportunity first to galvanize and sensitize the people of Uganda, to awaken them [and] unite them, which we believe that we have largely achieved. Now, the next step is for the people of Uganda to reclaim their constitutional rights, their freedom and to ensure that they restore democracy in Uganda.
So you have urged your supporters to take to the streets to protest peacefully. What are your concerns, though, for their safety?
In a regime that is both corrupt and brutal, people die for not having medicines in hospitals, people die because of bad roads and people also get shot and killed for peacefully and nonviolently protesting. So, in Uganda, we are damned if we don’t, we’re damned if we do. The way Ugandans are fighting back is the constitutional way, and therefore, their legal rights should be protected and not crushed with brute force.
How would you describe the current state of democracy in Uganda, Bobi?
Democracy of Uganda is dying in the dark with deafening silence from the human rights organizations, democracy-supporting organizations, and even regional organizations, like the East African community, the international community and even our regional communities tend to look more at diplomacy rather than democracy. That is unfortunate. Leaders, especially in South Africa, tend to [view] the South African community as a president’s club. And not as a community that would help uplift their way of life for their people, uplift the values that we all profess in democracy, the rule of law, human rights … and all that.
So let’s remember the internet in Uganda was shut down during the election last week. What’s the current situation with the internet and what was the impact of that?
The internet was switched off two days before the election and remained off for two days after. Unfortunately, the internet has not been fully restored in Uganda. It is glitching because the regime is so scared of people communicating and sharing information.
What do you think peaceful political change will look like in a system where power has been centralized for decades?
I think peaceful political change will involve the moral voices not being quiet, but rising to the occasion, speaking to the powers that be to avoid bloodshed and to accept and to facilitate a change in their countries. In the case of Uganda, there’s no doubt that … The wave of change is blowing, and it will blow away anything that tries to resist it, because Uganda is the second youngest country in the world. We have a median age of 19, and we have a widely, widely awakened, deformed and politicized population. So, it is in the interest of those [who] rule over our country to do the right thing, or the right things will do them.
Do you see young people around you who are motivated and want to be part of that change and not just seeing Bobi Wine being part of the change?
Absolutely, I’ve been encouraging young people across the country to be the Bobi Wine of their own places. I have the following. I am known and recognized, but I also know that we have very many youthful, talented young people who are informed, educated, and experienced. And we know that these ones … can transform our country if given the opportunity. So I see myself as a candle that is meant to light other candles, so that we all shine as a generation.
You are a musician turned politician, your songs have motivated people, but what is the role of music now in a society where authoritarian rule controls the moral voices that you just spoke about?
The role of music in our generation has gone back to the same role of music through the days of apartheid, through the days of slavery and through the days of colonialism. Music is no longer for entertainment, but for revolution [and] education. Music is to pass information, to motivate and encourage the broken ones. That’s why the songs we sing now are only songs of hope and songs of freedom.
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