Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine warns of protests if polls rigged
Africa
By
AFP
| Jan 12, 2026
Uganda's opposition leader told AFP on Monday that he would call for protests if President Yoweri Museveni rigs this week's election and said he would welcome an intervention by the United States.
More than 20 million people are registered to vote in the east African country on Thursday, with 81-year-old Museveni widely expected to continue his four-decade rule thanks to his near-total control of the state and security apparatus.
His main opponent is singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, 43 -- real name Robert Kyagulanyi -- who is taking a second run at the presidency after his 2021 campaign was met with violent repression and alleged rigging.
"If General Museveni rigs the election, we shall call for protests," Wine told AFP at his home in the capital Kampala.
"We've told the people not to wait for our instruction," he added.
READ MORE
Deadly landslide strikes M23 held mining site in DRC
DR Congo city residents forced to adapt during year of M23 rule
South Korean ex-PM Han gets 23 years jail for martial law role
Uhuru warns against fragmented peace talks for eastern DRC
In east DR Congo, minors face systematic risk of sexual violence
M23 militia says will withdraw from key DRC city of Uvira
M23 consolidates control of DR Congo city, bodies in streets
What we know about M23's new advance in DR Congo
Haiti mission troops welcomed home, praised for bravery abroad
The United Nations and Amnesty International are among the watchdogs accusing Uganda's government of repression ahead of the polls, including hundreds of arrests of Wine's supporters.
There has been increasing political unrest across east Africa as the region's youthful population protests the erosion of democracy and lack of jobs in Kenya, Tanzania and beyond.
Wine acknowledged that protests were likely to provoke more crackdown.
"I know that General Museveni's government responds to everything with violence... But I also know that even violent regimes get thrown out by protests," he told AFP.
"We did not promise comfort. We did not promise that they will not unleash violence upon us. But we have insisted that our people must be non-violent because we know non-violence defeats violence."
Asked if he would welcome a direct intervention by the US, such as seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Wine said: "Yeah. I would."
"I believe that any assistance that comes our way is helpful. However, that assistance should not be to take over our country," he said.
"I firmly believe that the responsibility to liberate our country, to govern our country, and to move it forward, lies entirely with the people of Uganda."