Uganda’s opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has warned that he would call for protests if President Yoweri Museveni rigs the election slated for this week.
AFP quoted Wine as saying he would also welcome an intervention by the United States of America.
“We’ve told the people not to wait for our instruction,” he said.
“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 added.
“We did not promise comfort. We did not promise that they would not unleash violence upon us. But we have insisted that our people must be non-violent because we know non-violence defeats violence.”
Due to his near-total grip over the state and security apparatus, 81-year-old Museveni is anticipated to extend his four-decade rule in the east African nation, where more than 20 million people are registered to vote on Thursday.
Bobi Wine, 43, his major rival, is running for president again after his 2021 campaign was allegedly rigged and subjected to brutal repression.
Amnesty International and the United Nations are two of the watchdogs accusing Uganda’s government of persecution prior to the elections, including hundreds of arrests of Wine’s followers.
East Africa’s youth are protesting the lack of jobs and the deterioration of democracy in Kenya, Tanzania, and other countries, which has led to an increase in political unrest throughout the area. Wine admitted that more crackdowns will probably result from protests.