Veteran journalist Charles Onyango-Obbo has highlighted the enduring perils faced by Uganda’s opposition leaders, tracing a pattern of state suppression that has spanned more than two decades.
In his analysis titled “The Perilous Path of Uganda’s Opposition Election Challengers: 2001-2026 (Don’t Try This at Home)”, Onyango-Obbo underscores how political dissent in Uganda remains fraught with risk, particularly for those challenging President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled for 40 years and is poised to extend his tenure to 45.
Onyango-Obbo chronicles the ordeals of former presidential challenger Dr Kizza Besigye, whose repeated arrests, violent assaults, and house sieges illustrate the high personal cost of opposition politics.
From temporary exile in 2001 to repeated arrests over 50 times, Besigye endured charges ranging from treason to rape, although he was later acquitted.
In 2011, he was partially blinded by pepper spray during the "Walk to Work" protests and required emergency treatment in Nairobi. In 2016, Besigye’s home was placed under years-long siege following elections.
The journalist draws parallels with the experience of Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, who assumed the opposition mantle in 2021.
Following the general elections that year, Kyagulanyi’s home in Magere, Kampala, was cordoned off for 11 days.
The January 2026 elections saw a repeat pattern: he was immediately placed under house arrest, and by January 16, security forces reportedly breached his compound and seized him, aiming to prevent public mobilization against the declared results.
Onyango-Obbo concludes that in Uganda, the shift from candidate to prisoner has become a standard feature of electoral politics.
“It is certainly not a job for the faint of heart, or even one you can casually wish on your enemy,” he writes, emphasizing the systemic obstacles that continue to define opposition politics in the country.
This analysis paints a stark picture of the persistent struggle for democratic space in Uganda, where challenging entrenched power remains a hazardous endeavor.