By Political analysts in Uganda have warned President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda to be alert and watch out for any move that the ‘Ghetto President’ will be taking now that he assumed a seat in the parliament.
Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, also known as Bobi Wine by stage name, is a Ugandan musician, rated one of the best in Uganda, since he started his career in the early 2000s.
The singer earned the title ‘Ghetto President’ from the fact that he was raised in a ghetto, worked in a ghetto, has a music studio in the ghetto, understands the ghetto and when he started singing, he has always been defending the people of the ghetto, generally the people whose voice is not heard.
He always managed to do this through his music despite the fact that he sometimes hit the government’s wrong deeds. Due to his openness, he won many Ugandan people’s hearts, love and support.
Robert Kyagulanyi, a.k.a Ghetto President, joined parliament in a parliamentary bi-election after he won with a landslide win by the end of June, as an independent candidate. He is now a Kyadondo East Member of Parliament.
The 35 year old Kyagulanyi’s anti-government view is obvious as he always say that a political change is needed in Uganda.
“We want to cause a political change, it’s a long overdue,” says the Ghetto President.
Just like several politicians have advised, Mr. Kyagulanyi also added his voice to theirs through advising President Museveni to retire and handover the seat to whoever the Ugandan people will decide to choose.
He advised President Museveni to retire as a hero he is. He said that it would be better if Mr. Museveni stepped down and just advised whoever the next President will be, now that he has the experience of 31 years that he has so far spent ruling, than waiting until nobody will want to look at him anymore.
Mr. Kyagulanyi says that he wants to use his star power to spark ‘political change’. He wants to get the youths informed and know how powerful they are in creating change in a peaceful way. He says he wants to create mental awareness.
“I see decisions being made by almost one person. It limits our talents,” says Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, referring to President Museveni.
The Ghetto President once announced publically in one of his rallies, to his wife, and promised that he would one day make her the country’s ‘first lady’.
Mr. Kyagulanyi in one of his interviews at Pearl FM, a radio station in Uganda, quoted President Museveni’s words he said when he had just earned the seat, when he talked about Africa’s greatest problem.
“The problem in Africa and Uganda in particular is not the people, but the leaders that cling onto power for so long,” He quoted President Museveni’s words.
Uganda is at a point where the parliament especially members of the NRM, ruling party are planning onto lifting the presidential age limit.
According to Uganda’s Constitution, Article 102 (b), a person is not legible to being the president of the country if he/she is below 35 years, or above 75 years. Therefore, the age lifting is done in favor of Mr. Museveni to be able to come back as a presidential candidate in 2021, now that he is 72 – according to Mr. Kyagulanyi and some other politicians.
If this is done, Mr. Kyagulanyi warns that it would spur instability in Uganda.
The ghetto President believes that, ‘people’s power is stronger than the people in power’.
Reporter: Shamilah Namuddu