In a surprising twist that’s rippling through Uganda’s polarised political scene, President Yoweri Museveni has urged opposition firebrand Bobi Wine to “relax” and assured him of campaign support in the upcoming 2026 elections.
The 80-year-old leader, who’s dominated the East African nation’s presidency since 1986, dropped the conciliatory bombshell during a low-key address to youth leaders in Kampala on Friday, catching even his inner circle off guard.
“I want to tell that boy Bobby Wine, or whatever he calls himself, to relax,” Museveni quipped, his gravelly voice laced with that signature blend of paternalism and pragmatism.
“I understand he can make a good president, but for now relax. I promise him in the next election I will campaign for him.” The remarks, delivered at the State House amid Uganda’s sweltering October heat, mark a stark departure from the acrimony that’s defined Museveni’s relationship with the 43-year-old musician-turned-MP, real name Robert Kyagulanyi.
Bobi Wine, the charismatic rapper whose 2021 presidential bid galvanised urban youth and netted 35% of the vote, has long been Museveni’s most vocal nemesis, accusing him of vote-rigging, human rights abuses, and stifling dissent.
Security forces cracked down hard on Wine’s rallies back then, leaving scars that still fuel protests in the slums of Wakiso and the bars of Jinja. Yet here was the ageing strongman, extending an olive branch—or was it a sly manoeuvre? Analysts are scratching their heads.
“This could be Museveni’s classic divide-and-conquer play,” posits Dr Sabiti Makara, a political scientist at Makerere University. “By flattering Wine publicly, he’s undercutting the opposition’s unity while buying time for his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who’s tipped as the NRM heir apparent.”
Muhoozi, the army chief with a penchant for Twitter rants, has been grooming his profile aggressively, much to the chagrin of old-guard loyalists.
Museveni’s pledge? It smells like a hedge, back wine if the winds shift, or pivot to family if not. Still, the words landed like a thunderclap in a nation weary of endless power games.
Bobi Wine’s camp wasted no time firing back. From his base in Magere, the opposition leader, scarred from years of tear gas and arrests, tweeted a measured response: “Appreciate the words, Mr President, but true change doesn’t wait for permissions. Ugandans will decide, not promises.”
His National Unity Platform (NUP) has been buzzing since September’s electoral nod cleared Wine to run again, with membership swelling 20% per party stats.
The grassroots fervour is palpable; street vendors in Entebbe hawk “Bobi 2026” stickers, while diaspora remittances from London to Boston fund digital ad blitzes.
Wine’s platform, jobs for the 78% youth bulge, anti-corruption drives, and LGBTQ+ rights, resonates in a country where unemployment gnaws at 13% and graft scandals like the Karamoja iron sheets debacle still fester.
Museveni’s olive branch arrives as Uganda’s economy hums at a modest 6.2% growth clip, buoyed by oil finds in the Albertine Graben and Chinese-backed infrastructure.
International watchers, from the U.S. State Department to Brussels envoys, urge calm; Uganda’s a linchpin in regional stability, hosting 1.5 million refugees.
Will this thaw lead to dialogue or dissolve into the usual mudslinging? As November’s rainy season drenches the red soils, one thing’s clear: 2026 looms large, and Museveni’s promise hangs like mist over Lake Victoria, evocative but elusive.
For Wine, it’s validation amid the grind. The former ghetto kid, now a global icon with cameos in Netflix docs, embodies the hunger for renewal in a land where presidents don’t retire.