National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine has spoken out on whether he will run for president for a second time, in the year 2026 when Ugandans go to the polls.
Bobi Wine, a singer and politician lost to President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni in the 2021 presidential election that had other candidates such as Patrick Amuriat Oboi of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Maj Gen Gregg Mugisha Muntu of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), Joseph Kiiza Kabuleta, and Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde Kakurugu among others.
Coming second to Uganda’s long serving president Gen Yoweri Museveni, Bobi Wine insisted he had won the election, according to results from a parallel NUP tally. Even opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye said he believed Bobi Wine won the election but was not declared winner. Bobi Wine would challenge the results of the presidential election in the Supreme Court but withdrew his petition from the highest court in the land and took it to the people’s court. (See Details Here and There).
Less than two years after the 2021 presidential election, the country is already talking about the next poll due in 2026. In Museveni’s camp, there is confusion on whether the President will run again as he seeks to extend his rule. In power since 1986 when he ascended following a five-year bush war that left hundreds of thousands dead, Museveni will have ruled Uganda for four decades by the end of his current five-year term in 2006.
His former strategist Andrew Mwenda has previously said that Museveni will be on the ballot in 2026 — and 2031 — as long as he is is not dead. (Read Story Here).
Different groups aligned to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) have been endorsing Gen Museveni as the party’s sole candidate for the 2026 presidential election. One of the endorsements, dubbed Omalako Jjaja tova ku main, came from Museveni’s NRM office while another was from a group of ministers led by Vice President Jessica Alupo and included DP leader and Justice Minister Norbert Mao. (See Details Here and There).
Yet even Muhoozi also seems to be getting ready for 2026. Weeks ago, Muhoozi made a shocking revelation on taking over from his father in 2026. He also gave reasons why he wants to be Uganda’s President.
ENTER BOBI WINE
So, will Bobi Wine run for president in 2026? This is the question that Citizen TV Kenya’s Waihiga Mwaura put to the NUP leader during a lengthy interview on Thursday, November 18, 2022 night.
Bobi Wine skirted around the issue, giving a politically correct and populist answer. He also reiterated his claim that he beat Gen Museveni in last year’s presidential poll. Official results announced by Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, the chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), indicate that Museveni won the election. (Related Reporting: EC boss Byabakama tells Bobi Wine to accept defeat and wait for 2026; punches holes in ‘public court’ call; EC chairperson Byabakama to Bobi Wine: Let’s not fool Ugandans).
“I and together with my team, we are not looking at just me running for president or me being president. I came into the politics of my country not only to become president but to awaken as many people as possible. We have many Ugandans, many of them even more talented and more knowledgeable than myself. So, what we want now is to push away a dictatorship so that at the end of the day we have our rights, that our vote counts: today the vote doesn’t count,” said Bobi Wine.
“We want to do away with dictatorship” – Bobi Wine on running again for Presidency in Uganda#BobiWineLive #Tonight @WaihigaMwaura pic.twitter.com/9fR56jmuMd
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) November 17, 2022
“What would be the purpose of running again for president when this time around, I ran and beat Gen Museveni hands down to the extent that this time they did not rig, they just disregarded the results? Forget that fraudulent Electoral Commission.”
But Gen Muhoozi has made it clear that he and his MK Army will never allow Bobi Wine to become Uganda’s president. Bobi Wine has warned that ‘Muhoozi will be our president if we don’t stop this Madness.’ (See Details Here and There).
