Police officers surround the car of Ugandan musician turned politician
Robert Kyagulanyi, commonly known as Bobi Wine, before his arrest on his
way to a press conference held to announce the cancelation of his show
at Busabala, Uganda, on April 22, 2019. PHOTO | BADRU KATUMBA | AFP
As Uganda moves closer to the 2021 general election, the
country’s opposition still faces major hurdles in their fight to loosen
President Yoweri Museveni’s three-decade grip on power.
A divided opposition is facing routine harassment from state agencies.
Ever
since the new face of opposition, 36-year-old musician-cum-legislator
Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, announced his intention to challenge
the president in 2021, the regime has pulled all stops to win over the
youth who are seen as his base.
Political parties are
now working to win the hearts and minds of an increasingly polarised
populace in preparation for 2021, although key opposition figures have
been blocked.
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC),
Uganda’s leading opposition party, has faced the wrath of security
agencies in the past few months, with four of their rallies being
blocked and four upcountry radio stations switched off because Dr Kizza
Besigye, the party’s former flag bearer and four-time president Museveni
challenger, was set to be hosted on talk shows.
Bobi
Wine—whose music concerts are laced with political undertones—had his
Easter weekend shows around the country banned; the legislator was
arrested on Easter Monday at his One Love beach where the concert was to
take place, and driven to his home.
This brings to 123 the number of planned concerts by Bobi Wine that security has blocked since 2017.
The
police claim the opposition politicians did not fulfil requirements of
the Public Order Management Act (POMA) to hold meetings, rallies and the
concerts.
But the opposition has constantly said the
POMA is aimed at stifling freedom of assembly and expression, and they
are pushing for a review, leader of opposition in parliament Betty Aol
Ocan said.
The ruling National Resistance Movement
spokesperson Roger Mulindwa says opposition politicians are trying to
use illegal means to remain relevant and to create civil unrest.
“The
opposition in Uganda can only make sense of their agenda when they
behave contrary to the law and they provoke security to win sympathy
votes and popularise themselves,” Mr Mulindwa said.
The
police force also denies that it is conducting political witch-hunt of
the opposition, with its spokesperson Fred Enanga saying the activities
are being blocked because they failed to fulfil most of the requirements
needed by the Public Order Management Act at particular rallies and
meetings.
“FDC has been holding public meetings and
they have not been blocked but because they have been running their
defiance campaign, they have resorted to ignoring the law most of the
times,” Mr Enanga said.
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