This archive report was first published on 20 October 2019.
On October 20, 2019, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni confirmed that he had ordered the cancellation of musician-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine's concerts.
Museveni made the statement in an interview with the BBC, where he claimed that Bobi Wine was an enemy of the country's prosperity and therefore could not be allowed to benefit from its proceeds.
“Bobi Wine went to America and said that people should not come to invest in Uganda. That means he is an enemy of progress in Uganda. When you go and tell foreigners that they should not come and invest in our country, you are waging war on prosperity. So why then do you want to come and take advantage of that prosperity,” Museveni posed.
Bobi Wine, the leader of the opposition-leaning People Power Movement, has been barred from holding music concerts in the country for the past year, with multiple attempts met with stiff resistance from the police and army.
According to Bobi Wine, he has been barred from holding 156 concerts, and he denies Museveni's allegations, calling the President 'corruption, liar, and despot.'
“Shamelessly Mr Museveni brands me enemy of Uganda’s progress! Mr. President, your first name is corruption, second liar, third despot. You’ve run down our country, killed our people, destroyed institutions and rule us through the barrel of the gun. You are the enemy of Uganda,” Bobi Wine said.
