I’ve come to save Museveni from himself, says Bobi Wine after nomination
A screen grab of Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine addressing jouranlists after being nominated to run for president on November 3, 2020.
What you need to know:
- Since becoming an MP in 2017, he has been routinely arrested and put under house arrest, his concerts banned and public rallies dispersed with teargas.
- According to Mr Kyagulanyi, the least paid armed officer will earn not less than Shs1 million when he becomes president.
Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine Tuesday said he’s contesting for the highest office in Uganda so as to represent the oppressed, the weak, the poor and the downtrodden, among others.
“I take this moment to announce that what we are witnessing now is the launch of a critical phase in our struggle to liberate our country from a dictatorship that has crippled us for close to four decades. We have closed the book of Lamentation. We have now opened the book of Acts. I’m here to save President Museveni from himself; from his corruption and patronage, among others. Fellow Ugandans, I present myself as a servant, not a boss. We are going to run a people-centered government. Our government will zone Uganda into agricultural zones,” Mr Kyagulanyi said moments after being nominated to contest as a presidential candidate in the 2021 general election.
“I am representing those who have been excluded from a system which works only for a few who, of course, are sitting and stepping on the necks of the many. We will focus on science and technology as a catalyst of development. Each sub-region will have innovation hubs. We are first class brains stuck in a third world country,” said the 38-year-old pop star before pledging to increase the emoluments of armed forces, including police, the army and the prison warders.
According to Mr Kyagulanyi, the least paid armed officer will earn not less than Shs1 million when he becomes president.
“There is no greater sacrifice like servicing in uniform. Our armed men and women will be respected. There will be mutual respect. You will know what the classified budget does if I’m elected President and the lowest earning security officer will earn one million shillings,” he said.
Bobi Wine has become a popular figure among the youth in a country where the median age is less than 16.
Since becoming an MP in 2017, he has been routinely arrested and put under house arrest, his concerts banned and public rallies dispersed with teargas.
After more than 30 years in power, the 76-year-old Museveni is the only president most have known.
Museveni, one of Africa's longest-serving rulers, had the constitution amended for a second time to allow him to run a sixth time in 2021.
