When Uganda’s renowned musician Bobi Wine entered politics in 2017, he had one mission: to disrupt the country's political landscape. He recently launched the National Unity Platform (NUP) School of Leadership in Kampala on June 10 and says his goals now include empowering current and future Ugandan leaders to drive political change and to champion democratic values.

There has never been a peaceful transition of power in Uganda, but as the NUP party president, Wine remains hopeful.

The 42-year-old musician-turned-politician has been a vocal critic of incumbent president Yoweri Museveni's government for years. He has highlighted issues such as poor road conditions, the lack of medicine in hospitals, and high youth unemployment rates. With a loyal base of young supporters, he says requests from Ugandan youth and Ugandans living abroad urging him to join politics played a major role in his decision.

“Everything in the country is a mess,” Wine tells AfroVibes. “Music is fun, but politics is my calling. I joined politics to liberate Ugandans from the dictatorship of President Museveni who has been in power since 1986 but hasn’t done much for Ugandans.”

Bobi Wine opens NUP School of Leadership in Kampala, Uganda

Wine believes widespread disorganization and corruption plague the Ugandan government and he is not alone in his opinion. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, a global indicator of public sector corruption, Uganda ranked 141 out of 180 countries in 2023. In the most recent Human Development Insights compiled by the United Nations Development Program, Uganda ranked 159 out of 193 countries.

Born Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu, Wine earned his moniker as a musician in the early 2000s. After graduating from Makerere University with a degree in music, dance, and drama, he started the music group, Fire Base Crew, releasing over 90 songs during his 15-year career. Some of his songs discussed the need for protection against HIV and AIDS while others urged Ugandans to avoid corruption.

“My music resonated strongly with the public which earned me the nickname, 'Ghetto President',” Wine says. “I held a concert in the UK in April called the Return of the Gladiator but locally, I do not sing. I concentrate on politics.”

In 2017, Wine ran for parliament in a by-election for Kyadondo County East, a constituency that includes Kamwokya, an area located in the nation's capital and where he grew up. He garnered 25,659 votes out of 32,999 valid votes while William Sitenda Ssebalu, from Museveni’s National Resistance Movement party, followed with 4,566.

After winning the by-election, Wine supported his constituency by mobilizing them to clean their homes and roads. Waiswa Mufumbiro, the deputy spokesperson for the NUP, told AfroVibes Wine purchased hoes, spades, brooms and wheelbarrows for Kamwokya slum. He also purchased medicine to treat diseases like malaria and typhoid for the Kamwokya Slum Health Center, a facility established by advocates for the underprivileged. Additionally, he supported youth entrepreneurship by funding initiatives such as laundromats, hair salons, and car washes.

“I have helped many Ugandans to become politically awake. I taught them about their human rights,” Wine says. “For example, people used to fear holding public political meetings, but I taught them by example and they’ve since started holding rallies.”

Wine says since he entered politics, he has been “humiliated.'' There have been reports of him being arrested, detained, and tortured by security forces. Additionally, his bodyguard, Francis Senteza, was killed in a military vehicle accident in 2020. As a musician, Wine allegedly faced harassment as well but his supporters believe the latest attempts are to suppress political dissent in Uganda.

“According to Uganda’s constitution, Bobi Wine has all the qualifications to be the president of Uganda,” Pastor Solomon Male, a political critic and director of the Arising for Christ organization, tells AfroVibes. “He’s the one we believe in to save us from the corrupt government.”

“Only fools can ignore or underestimate Bobi Wine, a man originally disregarded only to become the leader of opposition,” Paul Mukasa, a senior educator and Bright Academy primary school director, tells AfroVibes.

Other Ugandans deem Wine inconsequential.

“No one, least of all Bobi Wine, will erase President Museveni’s good record in Uganda and Africa at large,” Ofwono Opondo, the director of Uganda Media Center and government spokesperson, tells AfroVibes.

The road to accomplishing his mission has not been easy. Still, Wine ran for Uganda’s presidency in the 2021 general elections. In 2020, he officially joined the NUP and was subsequently nominated by the party. Although President Museveni was declared the winner for a sixth term, Wine insists the elections were marred by fraud and intimidation, emphasizing that he was the rightful winner. While this claim has neither been proven nor disproven, the Africa Elections Watch coalition said in a post-election statement that they observed “several irregularities.” Tibor Nagy, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, also said on Twitter, now called X, that the electoral process was “fundamentally flawed."

Despite the defeat, Wine became even more determined. He continues to support Ugandans through Caring Hearts Uganda, a non-governmental organization led by his wife, Barbara Itungo. The organization donated 100 mattresses to hospitals in central Ugandan cities, including Kasangati, Wakiso, and Buwambo. “We work to raise the living standards of young people especially in slum areas,” Itungo, the executive director of Caring Hearts Uganda, tells AfroVibes, “We promote proper menstrual health care, personal development, and business skills.”

In addition, Wine personally covers school fees for 280 Ugandan students, averaging 250,000 Ugandan shillings per student each term, with three terms per year. This amounts to about $57,000 USD annually. Through his political party, NUP, Wine also provides food for the families of his supporters who have been arrested and remain in detention. Over the years, dozens of Wine’s supporters have been killed in protests and over 100 prisoners remain detained across the country.

Bobi Wine's (L) campaign met with force. AFP/GETTY IMAGES

He also continues to expose fraud. Recently, he openly criticized a member of his own party who fraudulently shared 1.5 billion Ugandan shillings with three other parliamentary commissioners, asking him to return it.

As Wine continues to influence donor countries on issues concerning Uganda, his mission has since been heightened. His presidential campaign was chronicled in the documentary Bobi Wine: The People’s President, which earned a nomination for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 2024 Academy Awards.

“Nowadays I travel a lot to foreign countries,” Wine says. “I am satisfied with the UK government and other governments for listening to the calls I made.”

UK’s former Labour MP for Leeds North West, Alex Sobel, revealed it was Wine who had lobbied for sanctions against three Ugandan officials in 2023 – Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, and two former ministers, Mary Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu. Sobel posted on his X account, “During the meetings we held in Parliament with Bobi, one of our objectives was to ensure that corrupt Ugandan politicians face sanctions and travel bans.”

Back in Kampala, Wine recently addressed his supporters, making a bid for even more international support. “The donors have started seeing Museveni as a poor performer,” he said in his address. “But the U.S. still gives him USD 1 billion annually. The donors should stop giving Museveni money because he uses it to buy firearms which are used to torture Ugandans. They should start working with me.”

Bobi Wine with his supporters. ISAAC KASAMANI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Some critics maintain Wine’s claims regarding the government in Uganda, which is officially a republic, are exaggerated.

“Bobi Wine is unpatriotic because he goes to donor countries saying that Uganda is under dictatorship and says there is a lot of human rights abuses which is not true,” Monday Kintu, a senior member of the ruling party, National Resistance Movement and former Resident District Commissioner, tells AfroVibes. “He has been benefitting from the government and has amassed a lot of wealth but does not appreciate it.”

As of today, Wine looks forward to the Ugandan general elections of 2026. If he wins the presidency, he hopes to push for more reforms and to “advocate for a more just and equitable society.”

“We have started recruiting new party members,” Wine says. “The exercise is going on all over the country.”