A man with the Uganda flag going though tear gas

President Museveni’s rule

During his��inauguration in 1986,��Museveni��asserted that it was a “fundamental change” for the��country and “Any individual, any group or person who threatens the security of our people must be smashed without mercy. The people of Uganda should only die from natural causes… but not��from fellow human��.”��

In the same speech, he castigated African leaders who��fail to��uplift their people from poverty.��“His excellence is going to the United Nations…��and he is there for meetings” when his people��have no shoes,��health care,��food��and other basic needs.��He��has��written��books:��What is Africa’s problem? (2002) and his answer is ‘leaders who overstay in power and propagate evils including corruption, human rights violations and destruction of the environment. He criticized his predecessors as dictators who failed to serve people, enriching themselves while the population remains impoverished. His second book: Sowing the Mustard Seed�� (1997) is about Uganda’s struggle for freedom and democracy. However, gradually President Museveni became the autocratic ruler he had condemned when first elected.��

�� To sustain himself in power, the regime has deployed various forms of�� political repression and human rights violations,

Authoritarianism and vote rigging. ����Authoritarianism is reinforced by��personal/family��control of institutions particularly the military, police, the��judiciary, the legislature and the electoral commission. Museveni has�� in every political election, using tacts such as , killing and kidnapping of opposition polling agents.�� This year, the electoral�� imported electronic/biometric voting machines but never educated the population on how to use them.�� On many polling stations, the machines failed to work,�� to the extent that even President Museveni was unable to use the �� Authoritarianism is reinforced by institutional control by the president,�� his family and members from his ethnic group. Institutions are headed and monopolized by people from the president’s ethnic group even when they lack the necessary The President’s son Muhozi��Kainerugaba��is����Uganda’s Chief of Defence forces (CDF).��The first lady is the minister of education, a member of parliament and was the minister of Karamoja, although��she is not a Karamojong. This means she received three salaries. ��Several times,��Museveni��has asserted that he is��a����working for��higher authorities,��himself,����and��.����

Corruption and control of national wealth: He refers to national natural resources such as oil��estimated at��6.65����as “”.�� Museveni�� considers the country as his as his slaves. evenues from oil, gold, and other natural resources never feature in the national budget.�� Land, especially where it is fertile and suitable for cultivation, or rich with natural resources (e.g. minerals, metal and oil), locations for business and cattle grazing has been grabbed from Ugandans and is in the hands of people from the president’s family,�� ethnic group, prominent government officials and business people working for the first family. The��president, his��family��and his cronies��in power��have amassed wealth through corruption.��President Museveni’s manifesto is��now��about��.��The UK government sanctioned Uganda official��including the Speaker of����and the U.S.��. However, the majority of the population languish in poverty,����During political campaigns, their��poverty is used to��bribe them��with cash,��food��and��T-shirts��to��.��

Poverty and unemployment:�� Uganda has . As of June 2025, Uganda ranked ��on a UN global development index. This index measures standards of living. Children still����and hospitals are��. According to the World Bank, nearly�� of the population lives on less than US$3 a day. Unemployment is�� between �� Many youth the majority with university degrees ride motor cycles, locally known as and pay�� to the Uganda revenue agency.

Human rights violations:�� are rampant in Uganda and perpetrators going unpunished. Supporters of Bobi Wine beatings, torture, arrests, disappearances, imprisonment, trials in military courts and extrajudicial killings. Kenyan activists who were kidnapped while attending Bobi Wine’s campaign narrated the ordeal political opponents face in commonly known as safe houses. Museveni refers to torture chambers as ‘.’�� Bodies of some victims have been found thrown in different places. It is also alleged that some people are buried in mass graves at night and others are thrown to crocodiles.�� In 2020, security forces . Bobi Wine himself has����several assassination attempts. His campaigns are��. He has been , , beaten, shot at�� and prevented from accessing��. While the police and military��brutalizes��civilians, the government is��banning streaming of����

Digital repression. On the eve of the election day, the government ��internet access, and����to prevent citizens from sharing evidence of state violence. This digital clampdown is a central tool of��.

Bobi Wine’s��Defiance and��Leadership��in��the��struggle for democracy����

Bobi��Wine, famously known as the����to restore Uganda��to its original glory as the Pearl of Africa.��He is promising to restore democracy, constitutionalism,institutional credibility, economic accountability,�� justice, effective social services, youth employment, innovative culture and����rule. He recently contributed to the Playbook for��. He avowed to end corruption,��unify�� and��heal the country, ensure equal access to public services, create jobs, provide quality��education�� and��restore respect for human rights and the��. At the risk of his life, Bobi has campaigned throughout the country for more than 100 days. As people headed to the votes, he encouraged Ugandans not to be afraid. On his he wrote: “The world needs to know what is happening in Uganda on election day. Internet switched off. Massive ballot stuffing reported everywhere. Our leaders, including Deputy President for Western Region, arrested. Many of our polling agents and supervisors abducted, and others chased off polling stations. BVVK machines have failed everywhere. The PEOPLE OF UGANDA MUST RISE TO THE OCCASION AND REJECT THE CRIMINAL REGIME. THE WORLD MUST NEVER GIVE ANY LEGITIMACY TO THE REGIME OF BLOOD AND SHAME.”��

��

Bobi Wine casting his vote /Getty Images

After casting his vote, The military and police have surrounded the residence of Bobi Wine, effectively placing him and his wife under house arrest. Security officers have unlawfully jumped over the perimeter fence and are now erecting tents within his

Why Uganda calls for urgent response��

On January 14, the�� �� and the met with Bobi wine.�� Bobi Wine encouraged the officers not to be compromised by the state.��

It remains crucial to stop a possible genocide and other forms of mass killings.�� Museveni’s son who is the military chief of staff tweeted about .��Bobi Wine has repeatedly said “We have��reliable information that the regime in Uganda��is planning a massacre. They are planning to provoke people into an uprising so they��can��justify��massacres of��people to send a chill��. Several times, during the campaign Bobi appealed to the international community to take interest in the potential massacre in Uganda and prevent it. Ethnic and regional tensions are . Museveni has said every soldier will have�� to silence protesters .

Africa’s Great Lakes region (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the DR Congo)�� has experienced cycles of violence dating back to the 1980s. ��was followed by the��. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda was the chief of military intelligence in Uganda. It was from Uganda that the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) organized and invaded Rwanda (1990-1994). Thus, there is a strong connection between the two countries. In 1996, , triggering a wave of violence that persists to date. The violence is heightened by Museveni’s�� of the DRC and, and that of president for militias, especially the (M23).It is alleged that the��M23 are in Uganda and are employed by����

The regime’s violence and human rights violations must be addressed. The violence that ensued in 2021 is a hint to what might happen during the post election period.�� Ugandans are worried that if the regime returned into power, political opponent and areas that have not voted for the president will experience increased repression. Perpetrators of violence and human rights violations must be prosecuted.��

The��Great Lakes Region is on��fire and it is going to get more repressive, especially if�� Uganda experiences post election violence or if there will be no regime change . Uganda’s neighbours, Tanzania which has been the oasis of peace in the region, has experienced police, ����and allegedly����assassination in the post election period . In 2007, Kenya��experienced��post election��violence��and the healing process is far from being achieved.�� ��Kenya’s young people continue to protests against and have been met with .

The struggle for democracy and freedom led by Bobi is an example of how young people across Africa are longing for leaders to build democratic states in line with national, human, and resource potential. If Uganda succeeds, it will not only emancipate Ugandan, it will contribute to peace, security and development in Africa’s Great Lakes region. Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi�� have�� experienced violence like no other part of Africa. For the West, building democratic states in Africa is one way of stopping the influx of migration to their countries and to archive global developmental strategies such as the sustainable development goals, peace and security. Democracy has long been regarded as the political system that ��Today, we urgently need healthy democracies to resolve domestic and global issues, (e.g��wars, poverty, food��insecurity��and climate change) and to realize the Sustainable development goals.��

Possible interventions��

Bobi Wine has continuously called and mobilized Ugandans to “fight’ for their rights and to “liberate” their country. Ugandans must know that they are the ones to spearhead their liberation.

The African Union and other international bodies must remain vigilant.��

Judicial and financial penalties must be imposed on officials, leaders, military and police personnel who have violated peoples rights and plundered national resources. ��

Foreign forces must not provide the government with weapons and military personnel

Bobi Wine must be offered personalized protection by the African Union and/or the United Nations.

Amidst allegations of vote rigging and regime control of institutions including the judiciary, international laws must be followed to verify the election results and to demand accountability from the regime.

Written by Evelyn Mayanja, edited by Sienna Scullion.