Government spokesperson and Uganda Media Centre executive director, Mr Ofwono Opondo has equated Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi popularly known as Bobi Wine to a passing cloud that will soon fade away with time.
Mr Opondo was on Tuesday responding to Bobi Wine’s remarks in an interview to BBC from the US where he has been receiving medical treatment.
In the short video clip interview, Mr Kyagulanyi says he will win the fight for freedom or die trying.
The singer-turned-politician left Uganda for medical treatment in the United States following accusations he was tortured by security forces.
Kyagulanyi became an MP in 2017, firing up a youthful population and proving to be a thorn in the side of President Museveni.
He was charged with treason last month after protesters allegedly stoned Museveni’s car during a by-election campaign.
The lawmaker’s arrest sparked violent protests and international condemnation over his alleged torture.
Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, is expected to seek another term in 2021 after constitutional changes were passed last year to scrape age limits.
In this context, the brash former slum-dweller channels the daily frustrations of many young Ugandans.
Wine’s “age, his background and his story” make him a challenge unlike any Museveni has faced during his 32-year rule, political analyst Rosebell Kagumire told AFP.
“Many Ugandans nonetheless credit Museveni with delivering a degree of stability after he came to power at the head of a rebel army. Now the majority of Ugandans are young women, and they don’t relate to Museveni’s political message,” Mr Kagumire said.
However, it is unclear what Kyagulanyi’s political ambitions will be in the next election, Kagumire said.
He has not yet even said that he wants to stand for president but a lot of people expect that he will.
“I’m gonna continue most importantly calling upon Ugandans, especially the young people to stand up for what they believe in; to not give up and to continue pushing until they get the freedom and dignity they deserve. I’m going to continue the fight for freedom, and it’s a fight that we must either win or die trying,” he said.
However, in resposnse to the story, Mr Opondo tweeted saying: “Bobi Wine is a passing cloud as time will tell. He isn’t the first or only to be pampered.”
Bobi Wine is set to hold a press conference in Washington DC later on Thursday.
