Popular Ugandan opposition leader and former presidential candidate, Bobi Wine, has called upon the people of the country to hold nationwide protests against the recently held presidential elections, as well as violence inflicted by the Museveni-led government.
Making the charge at a news conference at his party’s office in Kampala, Wine, born Robert Kyagulanyi, stated that since he could not find justice for the stolen election in a court of law, he was prepared to seek that in the court of the people. Wine ran against President Yoweri Museveni for the country’s apex seat under the umbrella of the National Unity Platform (NUP).
Showing off stacks of files which he said were declaration forms proving his victory at the polls, Wine said: “These election results declaration forms clearly show that I won with 54% of the votes in the recent presidential elections. This was part of the evidence we wanted to hand over to the Supreme Court but we were not given that opportunity.” This information contradicts the 35% allocated to him by the Ugandan Electoral Commission.
“I call upon you to rise up peacefully, unarmed and demonstrate against a regime that has oppressed us,” he said to applause. “They’ve oppressed us, exploited us and turned into slaves in our own country. The women, whose sons are missing, the Ugandans who voted and your results were short-changed, come out and peacefully demonstrate against that impunity,” he said.
Speaking further on the proposed protests, Wine explained that the protests will be premised on four key demands that he expects President Museveni to attend to.
“We demand that General Museveni immediately puts an end to the abduction and kidnap of our people who are taken away every day. We demand an independent audit of the elections. We demand that General Museveni releases all political prisoners with immediate effect. And finally, we are demanding that General Museveni immediately stops trying civilians in military courts,” Wine said.
The East African country’s Electoral Commission, on January 16, announced President Yoweri Museveni as the January 14 election winner. Wine challenged the election results in the country’s top court, but later withdrew his application.
