Ugandan pop star MP Bobi Wine’s controversial arrest

This appeared in The Millennial Source

Ugandan pop star turned politician Bobi Wine was arrested along with his entourage on January 6 as he tried to hold a rally to unseat current President Yoweri Museveni. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse supporters of Wine’s People Power Freedom movement gathered in the country’s capital, Kampala.

Opposition rises

Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known by his stage name Bobi Wine, is a popular opposition figure in Uganda and is the parliamentary representative for the Kyadondo East constituency.

His supporters were accused of holding an illegal assembly. According to police commander Edson Muhangi, Wine was attempting to hold his meeting in an open area when he had only been allowed to meet supporters in an enclosed area such as a conference hall.

Wine aimed to start his first day of a series of consultations with supporters to outline plans to run for president in the 2021 elections. Under Uganda’s 2000 election law, presidential candidates may carry out “nationwide consultation” in the 12 months prior to their official nomination as candidates.

Wine was released from police custody at Naggalama Police Station in the early hours of January…