I've not asked Bobi Wine to apologise to Museveni - Lumumba

The Secretary-General of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), Justine Kasule Lumumba, has distanced herself from reports that she asked Kyadondo East MP, Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine to apologise to President Yoweri Museveni in order to resume staging his music concerts across the country.

Describing such reports as "fake news", Lumumba said she never made such remarks.

"My attention has been drawn to fake news posts making rounds on social media alluding to a statement I allegedly made asking Bobi Wine to apologise to the President in order to be allowed to stage his concerts. I would like to make it clear that I never made such statements," she said.

Lumumba's remarks come shortly after Museveni told the BBC in an interview that although he is yet to be briefed by the Police as to why they have been blocking Bobi Wine's music shows, he does not see a reason why someone who is against the economic progress of the country seeks to benefit from the same economic progress.

In the same BBC interview, Museveni also criticised Bobi Wine for urging investors not to invest money into Uganda, wondering why such a political leader can campaign against the economic transformation of his country.

"Mr Bobi Wine went to America and said that people should not come and invest in Uganda. That means he's an enemy of progress in Uganda. I was in the opposition myself in the 1960s as a member of the Democratic Party. But when I was a member of DP, I could not say ‘don't build the Masaka-Kabale road because I'm not in the government.' I couldn't say that," Museveni said in an interview with BBC Newsday's Alan Kasujja held at State House, Entebbe.

There was no activity at One Love Beach in Busabala where Bobi Wine was set to hold a music show on Independence Day. Photo by Kennedy Oryema

Museveni added: "If you're waging war on our country when you go and tell foreigners that they should not come and invest in our country then you're waging war on our prosperity. Why then do you want at the same time come and take advantage of that prosperity!"

On October 9, Bobi Wine's Independence Day music show was cancelled by the Inspector General of Police, Okoth Ochola, citing remarkable deficiencies which do not guarantee the lawfulness, safety and security of organisers of the show, Wine's supporters and fans at the proposed venue, One Love Beach in Busabala.