Image copyrightAFP ImagecaptionLong-time leader
Yoweri Museveni (L) is being shaken up by Bobi Wine (R)
Uganda’s President Yoweri
Museveni seems to be worried about the popularity of
musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine.
Not long after I arrive at the recording studio of the Afrobeats
star, a pick-up truck with soldiers pulls up.
Bobi Wine was charged this week with treason – and tension is
high in Kamwokya, a slum where he grew up in the capital,
Kampala.
But is the 36-year-old, affectionately known as the “ghetto
president”, really a threat to Mr Museveni’s three-decade rule?
The show of force indicates the authorities are taking no
chances.
The officers file past a wall mural of Bobi Wine as they march
into Kamwokya, past a small shop belonging to 26-year-old Idd
Kibirige.
He sells everything from music downloads, DVDs, phone chargers
and power banks, things any self-respecting millennial would not be
without.
Outside speakers blare out Bobi Wine’s biggest hits.
“We’re playing him because he is in prison,” Mr Kibirige
says.
‘Torture’
Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulani, started his
music career here more than 15 years ago.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionWhen Bobi Wine appeared in court this week,
he had to be helped by guards
When he recently turned to politics, he won a seat in parliament
by a landslide in a June 2017 by-election.
Since then he has gone on to campaign for several parliamentary
candidates who won seats from President Museveni’s National
Resistance Movement (NRM).
The tension in Kampala stems from a bitterly fought by-election
in the north-western town of Arua earlier this month which saw Bobi
Wine and the president campaign for rival candidates.
Bobi Wine’s driver was found shot dead in a car. The police
allege he was hit by a stray bullet as officers fought opposition
crowds who were throwing stones at Mr Museveni’s motorcade.
The facts are still disputed but the pop star is now charged
with treason, alongside 32 others.
Bobi Wine’s rise to fame
- Born four years before Yoweri
Museveni became president - Describes his music as
“edutainment” – entertainment that educates - One of his earliest hits,
Kadingo, was about personal hygiene - Even after becoming famous, kept
his recording studio in Kamwokya slum - Nicknamed “the ghetto
president” - He and his wife have backed
education and sanitation projects - Became MP for Kyadondo East in
June 2017 - Led a campaign against a social
media tax - Charged with treason August
2018.
The political Afrobeats star
But Mr Besigye says to suggest that he feels threatened by Bobi
Wine just creates divisions.
“[It’s not about] Besigye and Museveni, Bobi Wine and Museveni
or even Bobi Wine and Besigye,” he told the BBC.
Mr Besigye, who has suffered harassment, arrests and months in
detention over many years, has some advice for Bobi Wine.
“It has to be understood that a struggle has a cost. Every
struggle has a cost and every liberation has a cost and that cost
must be borne by some people. And I don’t regret doing my small
bit.”
Despite the events of the last week, some in the ruling party
are dismissive of Bobi Wine.
“If you want to gauge his support politically, let him stand for
president. Otherwise the fact that people may sympathise does not
mean they support you,” says Moses Byaruhanga, the senior
presidential adviser on political affairs.
And despite the hopes of Mr Kibirige and Bobi Wine’s other
supporters, the pop star has not declared any ambitions to run for
president.
Ugandans will give you a list of other young charismatic
opposition leaders whose political rise has been cut short, so
there is no guarantee that Bobi Wine will survive this hurdle.
Nevertheless, his emergence as a potent political figure has
highlighted how the next election in 2021 is likely to be fought
and won – winning the hearts and minds of young, frustrated
Ugandans.
Soldiers are accused of torturing him whilst in detention – a
charge the authorities deny.
When he appeared in court, he was unable to walk or stand by
himself.
Treason attracts the death penalty, although Uganda has not
executed anyone since 2005. And they may not be convicted – veteran
opposition leader Kizza Besigye has faced a treason charge and been
freed, and is currently on bail following another charge of treason
in 2016.
‘He is our voice’
For many in Kamwokya, Bobi Wine’s whirlwind political career, as
well as his socially conscious music, are inspiring.
Image captionIdd Kibirige says young people want Bobi Wine
to stand for president
“We want him because now he is our voice,” says Mr Kibirige, who
started his business after failing to find a job despite having a
degree.
“[We want] Bobi Wine to be the next president.”
Uganda’s politics today is not just about power but demographics
and access to opportunities.
More than three-quarters of Uganda’s 35.6 million people are
below the age of 30.
Although data varies, youth unemployment is high. Some like the
charity Action Aid puts it at 62% while the African Development
Bank says it is 83%.
These people are Bobi Wine’s support base.
‘Grandchildren’
President Museveni, 74, has not been watching from the
sidelines. Despite championing a social media tax, he has used
Facebook to reach out to young Ugandans and address their anger
over Bobi Wine’s detention.
Image
copyrightEPA Image
captionPresident Museveni
won a fifth term in office in 2016 – and could stand for a
sixth
In the process, he has angered some by referring to young people
as “bazukulu”, meaning grandchildren – further highlighting the gap
in age and possibly perception of much of the electorate.
In one of his latest lengthy posts, the president defended his
record on job creation, and criticised those who “cynically” lured
the youth to protest.
“Our unemployed youth are a problem but a good one given that we
have already laid the basis for resolving unemployment,” he
wrote.
But Fred Muhumuza, an economist who used to work at Uganda’s
finance ministry, believes Mr Museveni is running out of time.
You cannot make a promise to 20-year-old and the make him wait
10 years, he says.
“At 30 if he has not seen the promise come true, he becomes
jittery. [Young people] become nervous for all the right reasons,”
he adds.
‘Every struggle has a cost’
The weakness of Uganda’s opposition parties has also helped Bobi
Wine’s rise.
They have often been criticised for not working together and
lacking strong ideas on how to govern.
In recent months the biggest of these, the Forum for Democratic
Change (FDC), has been wracked by bitter and public infighting.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES Image captionOpposition leader Kizza Besigye has faced
years of harassment
And some political commentators say Bobi Wine’s emergence could
spell the beginning of the end for Mr Besigye, who has been
Uganda’s most high-profile opposition figure for many years.
He has been the FDC’s candidate against Mr Museveni in the last
four elections – and some feel he needs to make way for others to
challenge the 74-year-old president.