Uganda’s pop star-turned-opposition leader, Bobi Wine, on Monday, announced he plans to challenge longtime President Yoweri Museveni in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for 2021, reported Yahoo News.
“I will challenge President Museveni on behalf of the people,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press news agency.
Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, however, said he was concerned about his safety after what he believes was an attempt on his life last year in August. His driver was shot dead in his car after protesters threw stones at the president’s motorcade.
“I live every day as it comes, not being sure of the next day,” he said during the interview. “I am not blind to the fact that the regime wants me dead and wants me dead as soon as possible.”
The 37-year-old said he is fearful of harm from running for the presidential election because “there has never been a threat to this regime like the threat we pose to it today as a generation.”
He said he expects ongoing threats as the government continues to shut down opposition politicians. The Ugandan authorities have repeatedly denied Wine is being targeted.
Wine first came to prominence in 2017 when he won the election as a legislator representing a constituency near Kampala.
As the leader of the popular movement “People Power,” Wine has got the support of many who want Museveni to step down. Museveni, who has been president since 1986, will turn 75 next month.
He changed the country’s constitution to remove age limits that would have prevented him from seeking another term. The long-serving Ugandan President seeks to run for a new term in 2021 as he has no intentions of stepping aside.
Wine said his aim ahead of the election is “to multiply myself in various young men and women, so that there are as many Bobi Wines as possible.”
Notably, Uganda has never witnessed a peaceful transfer of power since the East African country gained independence from Britain in 1962.
