Singer Bobi Wine, real name Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi has lately emerged as political force leading a revolution dubbed People Power.
His rapid rise in the opposition ranks has threatened the ‘old guard’ and are worried he could claim supremacy.
This explains the recent comments by a long-time powerful state opponent Col Kizza Besigye that Bobi Wine can’t defeat President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in an election.
Besigye, in his early 60s has dominated the political arena for close to two decades as the only political threat to Museveni’s 30 year military rule.
Before he fell out with a man he served as a personal doctor in the 80s, Besigye was among a few soldiers that fought to usher the current government into power.
And today, for the second time Besigye’s political journey as top opposition principal is encountering hiccups stirring speculation that he has become unpopular among his loyalists after the ‘birth’ of dancehall artiste Bobi Wine, just like 2015 when former Premier Amama Mbabazi outshined the FDC strongman.
Mbabazi almost grabbed Besigye’s support and structures he has fought for since he left government in 1999.
Besigye who has long been a darling to many- nicknamed him Mandela of Uganda had in the recent past received criticism for failing to unseat his rival and also rejecting to relinquish power.
It thus beats many on how to support a man who suffocates young, dynamic and innovative new leaders and instead shift blame to Mr. Museveni who has failed to quit power peacefully.
Besigye continues to accuse Museveni of greed and abrogating the constitution by extending term limits.
But political observers query his audacity since he has also refused to pave way for other leaders to emerge in opposition and turning around his word that he had quit politics only to comeback in 2015 as FDC Presidential Candidate.
Nevertheless, Besigye has an average support of 4 million Ugandans, how he has failed to mobilize them to capture power remains a question for another day.
But a much bigger question of the day should be why has Besigye failed to add on this support (4 million) but instead his loyalists/ supporters keep abandoning him each day?
Is it that Besigye doesn’t do or tell these disappointed supporters what they want to hear? Or he has also lost truck like he accuses Museveni.
More so, can Bobi Wine muster these ‘heartbroken’ supporters and give them hope?
Should Bobi Wine change strategy since Besigye has been abandoned because of his confrontational approach?
If Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu can team with Bobi Wine in Arua election, can the two work together, form a formidable force to liberate those yearning for change?
Muntu a former FDC president served one term and his efforts to seek a re-election were unsuccessful. He was accused by FDC of failing to suit in his predecessor’s shoes because of his ‘boardroom’ type of politics.
Muntu is a moderate and considers mobilisation as only channel to dislodge the NRM governmen
Violence
Mr Kyagulanyi subscribes to politics of empowering the youth. At all times he speaks of how he hustled up to where he is.
But must he use violence as the only path to capturing power?
Through an interaction with different scholars in town, one reason young people abandoned Besigye’s struggle was leading them to the front line, they suffer consequences whereas police drops him to his plush residence in Kasangati and next morning he reviews video footage while taking spiced tea in his leather chairs
Yasin Kawuma, Bobi Wine’s driver has left behind a kindergarten of children who don’t have hopes for their next meal.
Whereas in every struggle there are collateral damages, Ugandans made their position clearer by distancing themselves from Besigye’s extremism method.
That should be an eye opener to Mr. Kyagulanyi if he gets out of detention.