Uganda’s opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has accused state institutions of abandoning their constitutional mandate and serving the interests of the ruling regime, in a strongly worded New Year address to the nation.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday evening, the National Unity Platform (NUP) president said institutions such as the police, the military, and the Electoral Commission had failed in their duty to protect Ugandans and the Constitution.
Instead, he argued, they had selectively applied the law to suppress citizens demanding political change and better governance.
Bobi Wine criticised what he described as the growing use of “guidelines” and directives that contradict existing laws, warning that such actions undermine constitutional order.
He said no individual or institution has the authority to override the Constitution, regardless of their position within the state.
“We condemn in the strongest terms any attempt by these institutions to abandon their legal mandates and hide behind guidelines or directives that are outside the law,” Bobi Wine said, adding that any regulations issued in contradiction of the law should be rejected as illegal.
His remarks come amid ongoing tensions between the opposition and state agencies, particularly around political mobilisation, public assemblies, and electoral processes.
Opposition groups have repeatedly accused security agencies of using excessive force, arbitrary arrests, and restrictive rules to limit political activity, claims the government has often denied.
The Electoral Commission, police, and military have in the past defended their actions as necessary to maintain public order and national security. Government officials have also insisted that all institutions operate within the law and the Constitution.
Bobi Wine’s New Year message framed the struggle for democratic reform as a constitutional issue rather than a partisan one, calling on Ugandans to remain vigilant in defending the rule of law.
As Uganda heads toward another politically sensitive period, his statements are likely to reignite debate over the independence of state institutions and their role in the country’s democratic process.