By: Daniel McElroy
Famed Ugandan musician-turned-member of parliament Bobi Wine, who last year faced intimidation tactics and threats as he campaigned against abolishing the presidential age limit, has once again found himself the target of President Yoweri Museveni’s repressive regime. In the past month, Wine has been arrested, tortured, charged and acquitted, then re-arrested and charged before being released again. This time the world is watching, though, and international attention for Wine’s situation has been overwhelmingly supportive.
A little over a year ago, Ugandans were just getting used to the idea that one of their cultural icons could enter the political arena speaking up for young people and the future of Uganda. Wine came into politics fighting against a bid by Museveni to amend the constitution so that he could remain in power past the presidential age limit of 75 (which has since been successfully abolished). In a country where young and progressive politicians are few and far between, and political dissent was until recently unthinkable—a singer who grew up poor and on the streets was not who people expected to win a district by-election to become a member of the Ugandan Parliament.
But he did, and the past year has seen MP Wine speak out continuously against the tyrannous ruler Yoweri Museveni, fight for the rights of Uganda’s citizens to use social media to freely express themselves, and campaign around the country for other progressive parliamentary candidates—all the while growing in popularity with the Ugandan people. It has also been a year of threats and intimidation.
On August 14, both Museveni and Wine were in the city of Arua, each campaigning for a separate candidate in a hotly contested parliamentary election. Crowds gathered by the hundreds to confront Museveni and support Wine, but a demonstration that began peacefully turned violent when a stone struck a car in Museveni’s convoy. The president was rushed by security forces to a waiting helicopter, but once evacuated his forces returned to the demonstration and began violently arresting demonstrators, beating journalists, and in some cases firing into the crowd. Wine’s chauffeur was killed in the attack—which Wine took to mean that security forces had been hoping to strike him. He immediately shared a photo of the bloody man slumped over the steering wheel of his car to Twitter.
Then, Wine’s Twitter went silent, and he didn’t resurface until two days later, before a court martial in the northern Ugandan town of Gulu. First charged with treason and possession of illegal weapons—accusations commonly brought against victims of political repression in Uganda—Wine was only then allowed to contact his lawyers and wife.
After visiting briefly with his wife, Barbie Kyagulanyi, she told the press that Wine’s state was dire and that he desperately needed medical attention. She described him being unable to walk or sit unaided, that he bled continuously through his nose and ears, and that he suspected internal bleeding. This treatment of Wine in custody is particularly concerning given that over a dozen harsh critics of Museveni have mysteriously died in car crashes or of “sudden illness” in the past few years. Those close to Wine fear that he may not be safe in the custody of a regime that would rather he not speak out against its leader.
In the face of mass protests on the streets of Kampala, the military court before which Wine appeared on August 23 acquitted him of both charges. However, as Wine exited the courthouse following this decision—still unable to stand alone—he received word that he was being re-arrested and taken directly back into police custody. On Monday, August 27, Wine was freed on bail, but again re-arrested on Wednesday, August 29 as he attempted to board a flight out of the country to seek medical attention the United States.
As the leader of a growing youth movement, Wine has become a symbol for change in a Uganda that’s been under Museveni’s rule since 1986—70 percent of all Ugandans have never known another leader, but many are ready to see a regime change. Even in the face of intense repression, young people have taken to the streets and social media again, now united under the hashtag #FreeBobiWine. And the international community has spoken up too: more than 80 world famous artists and politicians—from Coldplay’s Chris Martin to Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka—have signed an open letter demanding Wine’s freedom.
While Wine remains in custody, the pressure from inside Uganda and out seems to be working; Museveni appears rattled by the negative attention. Last week, he issued a bizarre statement invoking Donald Trump’s favorite “fake news” and insisted that Wine had not been injured in custody and that doctors declared him to be in perfect health. He then attempted to re-iterate this view on social media, claiming that Wine experienced no torture whatsoever. News coverage of his trial would certainly say otherwise judging by his apparent unconsciousness during several of the hearings.
The current wave of support for Wine points to a changing tide in Uganda that it seems even the most repressive tactics cannot stem. The Voice Project joins Wine’s Ugandan and international supporters in calling for his immediate release and insisting that he be allowed to seek medical attention abroad for injuries sustained during his detention.