Opposition presidential candidate Bobi Wine has told Africanewsthat people in Uganda are eager to participate in the January 14 election despite an ‘increasing climate of repression’ in the country.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, is challenging longtime ruler Yoweri Museveni.
“We are in this election as a protest. And we have called upon the people to turn out massively and cast a protest vote”, Wine said in an interview with Africanews.
He said he would only accept results from a ‘credible’ exercise.
“But from the look of things, it is far from credible”, he said, lamenting that over 120 members of his campaign team are still in detention more than two weeks since they were arrested by security forces.
In November, 54 people were killed by security forces after two days of protests against the arrest of Wine.
In late December, Museveni named three army generals to head security in Kampala, a move criticized by the opposition as meant to intimidate people ahead of voting day.