Uganda’s 80-year-old president, Yoweri Museveni, has indicated his interest in seeking a seventh term in office with the country’s presidential election scheduled to take place on January 12, 2026.
Museveni who has been in power for 40 years, made his bid known when he launched a voter registration last week, a decision which has polarized the eastern African nation with human rights groups alleging fears of what they call “mass atrocities” ahead of the elections.
Opposition figures have also condemned a crackdown by the Museveni government using the military led by his own son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
One of his staunchest opponents,
Robert Kyagulanyi, a music artiste popularly known as Bobi Wine, who condemned Museveni’s fresh bid, alleged that hundreds of his supporters have either disappeared or were killed during the last presidential election in 2021 where he presented the biggest threat yet to Museveni’s reign.
“As the opposition and myself have experienced the most horrific treatment from the government and we know they can even do worse things, including killing me, we don’t expect the coming elections to be better,” the musician-turned-politician who himself has been arrested multiple times and survived alleged assassination attempts, said in an interview with the AFP on Thursday.
“Museveni is aware his government has no legitimacy and is disliked by the population and can only use more violence to ensure he remains in power.
“But we are ready to carry the struggle to liberate our country, no matter how much we get into harm’s way,” he added.