National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, used his nomination rally on Wednesday to deliver a defiant message to his supporters urging them not to give up on the struggle despite the risks ahead.
Addressing thousands of cheering supporters, Bobi Wine acknowledged the doubts that many Ugandans hold after the disputed 2021 election and the violent crackdown that followed.
He directly responded to questions from those who wonder why they should risk their lives by voting again.
“I know some of you are already asking: Why vote again after what happened in 2021? Why risk it, when teargas, sound bombs, bullets, prisons, and torture chambers wait ahead? My answer is this: We risk it all because the alternative is worse,” he declared.
The opposition leader said surrendering would only hand victory to what he described as a repressive system.
He argued that refusing to participate in the coming election would mean forfeiting the right to demand change and leaving the country’s future in the hands of those in power.
“If we surrender our duty to act now, we shall have resigned to our fate and lost the moral authority to complain about what happens next,” Bobi Wine told the crowd, drawing loud applause.
His message was both a call to courage and a warning against political apathy.
While he admitted the dangers of facing off with the state machinery, Bobi Wine insisted that the struggle for freedom and democracy was worth the risk.