Uganda will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on Jan. 14,
but the actions of incumbent President Yoweri Museveni leave no doubt
that it will not be a fair or free exercise in democracy. Tuesday,
the Uganda Communications Commission ordered a shut-down of social
media, blocking Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. Journalists covering
opposition rallies have been attacked, government critics locked up,
and his main challenger, the musician-turned-legislator Bobi Wine has
faced years of harassment, repeated arrests, rallies broken up by
tear gas and bullets from Museveni’s “Special Forces Command.”
As a member of parliament in 2018, Wine was locked up, beaten and
charged with treason. As a presidential candidate, Wine has stated
that security forces have raided his home, and on Dec. 30, his entire
security detail, media team and medical team was arrested and had to
be replaced, only for the new team to also be arrested.
In his address ahead of Thursday’s election, President Museveni of Uganda confirms Facebook has been blocked, saying the platform had blocked ruling party message-senders.
— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) January 12, 2021
“I am sorry for inconvenience but we can't tolerate arrogance of anyone deciding for us who is good & bad’ pic.twitter.com/XJehPgTOau
A growing list of
international artists and academics are calling on the African Union,
the United States, United Kingdom and European Union to
“condemn in the
strongest possible terms the ongoing assault on Uganda’s opposition
and commit to support a safe free and fair election for all Ugandan
citizens.” The
list ranges from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Femi Kuti to Brian
Eno, and
their
letter is available to read here.
Why treat a fellow human being like this just because they support @HEBobiwine? Where do such creatures get all this anger from? pic.twitter.com/Fz3ZOj6ggb
— Kanyomozi District (@PatriqKanyomozi) January 12, 2021
While shutting down Facebook, Museveni claimed to be fighting for Ugandan democracy in the face of foreign meddling, so it’s unlikely after 35 years in power that he’ll be moved by something signed by Coldplay’s Chris Martin. However, as videos of Wine supporters being assaulted in the street circulate, attention may be what keeps Wine safe enough to continue the fight.
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