The presidential election in Uganda is on January 14, 2021. The election campaign is dramatic. The election could be catastrophic. Museweni has been in office for the past 34 years. Now he is challenged by 38-year-old Bobi Wine. Wine, or Robert Kyagulanyi as he is actually called, became a member of parliament in 2017. He made a name for himself quickly, and already in the autumn of 2017 was he at the forefront of the fight against the extension of the constitutional age limit for the presidency.
Now 76-year-old Museweni needed this change. He got it, and during the conflict he gave his opponents a taste of what violent methods he is willing to use to hold power. They are brutal, but also overt, like sending thugs into parliament to beat up political opponents.
So far, 60 people have been killed during the election campaign. These were people protesting against the recent arrest of Bobi Wine. Police and military fired aimlessly. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs then expressed concern about the political violence during the election campaign. "My sympathy goes to the victims. In line with EU High Representative Josep Borrell Fontelles, Norway urges the Government of Uganda to ensure the safety of all candidates and voters". This was written by Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide in a statement on 19 November. The incidents were also reported in the Norwegian media.
It is likely that Bobi Wine will win a fair election, but this is not happening. He has been arrested twice since the start of the election campaign last month. His employees are arrested, his cars are shot at and the public rallies look like battlefields after the intervention of the armed forces. Today, they arrested Wine's longtime friend and co-worker, Norbert Ariho. They accuse him of planting a tear gas grenade near Wine. TV pictures have already shown that the grenade was fired by the security forces.
Now Bobi Wine is wearing a helmet and bulletproof vest when he meets his hordes of followers. Not for fear of people, but police and military forces. If he survives the election campaign and if the election is done rightly, Wine will take over the presidency of Uganda. This is a highly unlikely scenario. Museweni will fix the election, claim that he won in a democratic manner and try to gag opposition. I follow Bobi Wine every morning and evening on social media, to make sure that he has survived the day. If he does not survive, Uganda will enter a deep political crisis. The same will happen if Museweni fixes the election.
