OPINION

 By Nelson Bwire Kapo

With shock, I listened to the message by the National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine in Kibuku on June 4th 2023, where he told his zealous supporters during a football tournament at Kadama football ground, that they should out rightly reject, and disassociate themselves with any individual that supports President Museveni!

In his speech, Bobi Wine called upon his supporters to cut ties with anyone that supports Museveni and I quote him.

“Make sure that every friend you have does not like Museveni, if you have a friend who supports Museveni then get another friend. If you are a man and have a wife/ partner who supports Museveni, find another. If you are a woman and you have a boyfriend who likes Museveni, dump that man because he is a fool,” Bobi Wine said to an audience that included children.

What an absurdity! What a shame! What a bunch of political statements devoid of any taste, unpalatable, retrogressive, ridiculous, illogical to say the least. This is what actually one would term as obscurantism-political bankruptcy. It is leading our people into futurelessness.

In any case, Bobi Wine sang a song (Obululu tebutwawula) in which he says one person not supporting the same candidate is not a bad thing, it grows the nation. He added that we should not divide ourselves because of politicians! What an irony of a politician he has become then. 

In the same song, Bobi Wine wondered of what benefit it is for any politician to stalk a fire of division and hatred and such a politician goes to bed peacefully while people fight and kill each other because of their message of hatred! In this song, Bobi Wine said he and his wife are happy to support different political candidates, so is his father and mother!  Is it not astonishing that he now wants Ugandans who support Museveni rejected?

Bobi Wine should be called out by all right thinking citizens for such statements that sow division and hate among us at a time when we have successfully managed to abandon the politics of identity and sectarianism that characterized past regimes.

Leaders such as Bobi Wine should be preaching Unity and Development rather than using the lectern to advocate for citizens to hate each other because of mere political beliefs.

Sensible people should be able to see into that kind of ideological bankruptcy exhibited by a leader of Bobi Wine’s calibre. Does he think that his supporters will be able to trade with each other alone and develop?

Bobi Wine for instance has a beach and several other businesses, why doesn’t he first block Museveni’s supporters from his beach or from obtaining a paid for service from any of his many businesses.

He also claims to have worked his way through investing and doing many businesses besides music, can Bobi Wine attribute this wealth to support he got from only those who hate Museveni? Or can he say his music became popular because Museveni’s supporters were prohibited from listening to it?

Also take note that Bobi Wine’s son Solomon Kampala and Bebe Cool’s son Alpha Thiery are good friends. But Bebe Cool supports Museveni!

The West that Bobi Wine admires so much and where he spends most of his time lately is now controlling the air, the water, and land on account of big markets while he and other parochial leaders call upon our people to hate each. Then how will we grow trade both internally and externally?

The stimuli for prosperity is a big market, it will in turn increase production, increase jobs, expand the tax base and improve service delivery. People like Bobi Wine and his supporters should ask why China with 1.3billion people is looking outward to trade with Uganda, do they like us so much?

Unity brings us closer to our goal as Ugandans and Africa, a bigger market, a centre of gravity! Bobi Wine on the other hand is advocating for a backward type of political fragmentation!

To my fellow youth and Ugandan citizens, Mathew 7:15 says: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You shall know them by their fruits.

While President Museveni whose supporters we should hate is advocating for market integration, for trade and investment, for strategic security, Bobi Wine is trading in obscurantism and falsehoods. He should be rejected and his message treated with all the contempt it deserves.

The writer is the social media manager for H.E Yoweri T. Kaguta Museveni, State House Uganda.