ugandans are about to vote in an
election
in which one of the world's longest
serving presidents is seeking to extend
his 35-year rule uganda's president has
seen six u.s counterparts
come and go it's 35 years
since he took power
but now yuvari museveni is facing his
biggest challenge
in decades it comes in the form of a
charismatic
young opposition candidate with his
sights on victory
in uganda's 2021 elections
robert chagulani santamu is a pop star
turned politician
his fans know him by his stage name
bobby wine
he has risen to prominence amid an
election campaign
marred by a crackdown on the opposition
and violence
which has left dozens dead
the self-styled ghetto president wants
to win uganda's most turbulent election
in decades
president obama
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[Music]
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but the leader bobby wine wants to
unseat still
enjoys high levels of public support
despite
his increasingly authoritarian approach
museveni took power as a young rebel
leader in 1986.
since then he has won five elections but
observers have cast doubt
on whether they all have been free and
fair
museveni is campaigning as the stability
candidate
as president he helped to lift millions
out of poverty and to limit the spread
of hiv
he says he is the candidate who will
keep ugandans safe
is growing bobby wine won the support of
many young people
with his pledges to tackle youth
unemployment and corruption
the singer has been arrested multiple
times with authorities saying his
campaign rallies violate covet-19
restrictions
he says he's being intimidated even his
home has been raided
i don't know maybe um so i'm sorry um
even right now as we speak they are
being raided by the military
i have to end the interview because i
can see soldiers beating my security
guard
the arrests have enraged his supporters
after he was arrested in november
protests followed and 37 people died as
police violently dispersed the crowds
the crackdown helped bobby wine to style
himself as a radical challenger to an
authoritarian leader
despite being thin on paul's details and
lacking in experience
but even if wine doesn't win his
campaign will have severely weakened the
incumbent
with dozens already dead there are fears
more instability
and more violence could be on the way we
are deeply concerned
by the deteriorating human rights
situation in uganda ahead of the
parliamentary and presidential elections
that are scheduled for the 14th of
january and the challenges that the
situation may pose not only for voting
day itself
but for the post-electoral period
the stakes could not be higher when
ugandans go to the polls
the country's neighbors will be watching
the election closely
with uganda's reputation as an island of
stability in the region
already hanging in the balance
now people in the capital kampala
expressed fear
ahead of the poll many have already left
the capital
concerned that the violence could break
out further
i hope for the elections to end in peace
because this is our country and we're
not going anywhere
those who have money have left but for
us the poor
we have remained in the city
from the time i was born these are the
elections i've seen that
has caused a lot of tension in the whole
country
in that most people even are now running
to the villages they don't know the
future
we cannot help for free and fair
election
i think the government should come out
and explain
to the people that please during and
after election
there's going to be peace unless people
have peace of mind others are not eating
people shifting they're doing something
nothing
and dw's julius mugamba is in kampala
with more on the story good to see you
julia so we've just been listening to
people saying
that they're afraid of more violence as
the vote draws closer
what is the mood in the country i think
the people who are afraid of violence
have many reasons to
think like that and to have all that
fear around them because this is one of
the most
uh i should say bloody campaigns that
we've had the most violent campaigns
we've had
in november you might recall we lost
almost more than 54 people
more than 50 people uh due to violence
so imagine if that happened during
campaigns and now what will happen
during the election so this is the mode
that it's spreading
across the country with very many people
fearing that in case their rights in
case their demonstrations
anything could go bad and they have more
reasons now to think
tomorrow might bring anything julius
let's have a listen to president
museveni and i want to ask you something
about what he's just
going to say
there have been practices of
intimidation
well especially the opposition people
have been threatening people not come
out and vote
i held a meeting with the security
forces they are ready to defend you
there are four don't fear anything come
out
and vote nobody will intimidate you
would intimidate you nobody will
attack you if anybody tries to do that
we shall get him
or her a stern warning from president
museveni there julius but
is there more to be read into what he's
saying
i think there is more to be read into
what he's saying because why in the
world would he mention fear
i think the head of the state is already
recognizing the fact that
there is fear coming out to say that the
security will defend ugandans to go and
vote peacefully peacefully it means he
has already uh recognized the fact that
there is fear now what we uh what many
ugandans how many people are
interpreting this
is that uh tomorrow's election is very
likely
not to be like the usual elections that
we've had in the last four rounds
so tomorrow is likely to be a very very
different election
and that stand warning that the
president has put through is also going
out to people perhaps who are intending
to demonstrate intending to protest a
riot he's
said he's telling them clearly that they
will not be given chance
it's clear that the main challenger
bobby wine
is a threat to or is seen as a threat to
uh president uh
just judging by how the authorities have
have suppressed his campaign
and even before the pandemic really but
does he have a chance
julius i think bobby wine has a chance
and so is presidential very much even
what ugandans will decide tomorrow
is highly anticipated you cannot really
tell who is going to win this election
bobby one years has a chance because
he's been calling out young people
to give him a chance to to to vote
tomorrow
and if they really vote like he has been
asking them to like they've been
promising
him then he has a chance but also on the
other side
very important to note that president
george evan has also been busy
campaigning
and his support for all these years
cannot be taken for granted
so both candidates have a chance i
should say
do people in uganda think that the
election will be free and fair
about being free unfair yeah there are
some ugandans who think that the
election will be free and fair
but the opposition for a very long time
by that we're not just in this election
they've made it clear that they do not
have confidence
in the uganda's election commission and
this is the body that is organizing the
election tomorrow
but regardless of them saying that they
do not have confidence in the electoral
commission
they've called them their people not to
sit back home to go in big numbers and
turn up to vote
so talking about free unfair also goes
to where does someone fall when it comes
to the political divide
those supporting the government will
tell you clearly that this is the
election to go for and those against the
government will tell you
that it is unlikely that the election
will be free and fair
all right that's julius bugamba
reporting in kampala for us thank you
julius
you