Although President Yoweri Museveni won the presidential election with 59% of the vote on a 57% turnout according to the electoral commission over a dozen of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government cabinet members lost their seats while Bobi Wine's (Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu) National Unity Platform took over 90% of the seats in Buganda and became the largest opposition party...
Although President Yoweri Museveni won the presidential election with 59% of the vote on a 57% turnout according to the electoral commission over a dozen of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government cabinet members lost their seats while Bobi Wine's (Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu) National Unity Platform took over 90% of the seats in Buganda and became the largest opposition party...
Bobi Wine officially won 35% of the presidential vote and the NUP took 56 seats...
The FDC was jealous of Bobi Wine's popularity and could not bring itself to make common cause with him against Museveni and it now finds itself marginalised (AC Vol 60 No 23 Unity or bust for 2021)...
Bobi Wine took the anti-Museveni vote from the FDC and believes as Besigye did before him that the incumbent stole an election he rightfully won by rigging the results...
Even the pundits who point out that Bobi Wine's urban popularity is balanced by the NRM's loyal following in the countryside such as older voters who value stability and may still be grateful for the ending of the chaos of civil war 34 years ago acknowledge that Museveni unleashed a wave of murderous brutality as part of a suite of measures to minimise the opposition vote...
Even before the Electoral Commission declared Museveni the winner Bobi Wine had rejected the results claiming the election was rigged right from the start of the campaign...
Bobi Wine sent his children to the United States because he was so afraid of the possibility of them being injured in attacks on his person...
Throughout the campaign the opposition remarked on the ruling party's capture of the Electoral Commission whose chairman Justice Simon Byabakama (who was appointed by Museveni) did nothing as Bobi Wine and his supporters were beaten and their rallies disrupted...
While ruling party candidates were from time to time allowed to carry out massive rallies and processions Bobi Wine and FDC's Amuriat often found themselves in running battles or brutalised by security forces that included police and the military...
Bobi Wine was arrested many times...
The reason for the massive display of state force was the President's realisation that Bobi Wine's support was much stronger than previous candidates...
Muhoozi has for years been seen as a potential successor for his father and he has left no doubt about his dislike for Bobi Wine who he has attacked on social media countless times (AC Vol 58 No 3 Kith kin and cosh)...
While observers from the East African Community and African Union missions said the elections were largely free and fair many especially in central Uganda where Bobi Wine trounced Museveni have expressed the exact opposite...
