Kampala, Uganda – With the 2026 general election drawing closer, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu popularly known as Bobi Wine has reignited the flames of political resistance calling on leaders of the National Unity Platform (NUP) in the Buganda Region to organize and mobilize for what he called the #ProtestVote2026.
Speaking during a high-energy closed-door leadership training session in Kampala on resilience under dictatorship, the opposition heavyweight urged party leaders to return to their constituencies ready to awaken what he calls “the sleeping giant of people power.”
“We charged them to go back to their respective areas and organise our people for the #ProtestVote2026,” Bobi Wine said. “I must say that I am super energised by the passion and enthusiasm.”
While the Buganda regional training was a success, Bobi Wine didn’t mince words when he condemned the Ugandan police for blocking similar events planned in Western and Northern Uganda, a move he labeled partisan and unconstitutional.
“Although the police blocked our similar events… we made a strong protest note and hope to visit these regions soon,” he said, highlighting what many within the opposition have long complained about, the use of state security to suffocate democratic engagement.
The NUP’s attempts to host peaceful political training events in Gulu, Mbarara and Fort Portal were reportedly stopped by local police citing “public order concerns.”
No violence was reported but critics say the crackdown is yet another sign of shrinking civic space in Museveni’s Uganda.
The Buganda meeting wasn’t just about slogans and chants. The training involved deep dives into non-violent resistance strategies, community organizing, digital security and legal protections for activists.
“Our goal is not chaos it is clarity. We are learning how to protect ourselves, organize our communities and resist intimidation through strategy and resilience.”
This shift from populist rallies to structured political education signals a maturing opposition force that appears to be laying the groundwork for sustained grassroots pressure ahead of 2026.
Uganda is now entering a critical political season. With President Museveni expected to seek a seventh term tensions are rising across the political divide.
Bobi Wine, who came second in the 2021 polls has remained the loudest and most persistent voice of opposition, even in the face of arrests, abductions of supporters and surveillance.
This latest mobilization in Buganda, the country’s most politically active region, suggests NUP is laying down early electoral groundwork and signaling to the regime that it won’t be blindsided this time.
Despite the state’s grip on security and electoral institutions, Bobi Wine and his movement are betting on organised defiance as the ultimate game-changer.
“People Power is not a slogan. It is the force of a free people reclaiming their future,” he said.
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