Uganda: Bobi Wine jailed over 2018 protest

He was taken into custody on 29 April at Naggalama police station before being transferred to Buganda Road Court and charged with inciting violence and holding unlawful gatherings. He was denied bail.

The singer, who is a staunch critic of President Yoweri Museveni, denied the charges and told the court that he was a victim of political persecution.

“Your honour, I am confident, because indeed it’s not me on trial in this court, it’s the court on trial,” he told the judge. “I have not committed any crime. I am only here because I disagreed with the political leadership of this country and in particular President Museveni. My spirit is confident because I am here not because I have stolen public funds or killed somebody but because I am fighting for them, for you, for everybody in this country.”

Police spokesperson Fred Angana said that the director of public prosecutions had sanctioned the charges after investigating the matter.

“There was an old case of disobeying the statutory duty section 116 of the of the penal code,” he told local media. “Honourable Robert Kyagulanyi, together with Julius Katongole and Fred Nyanzi, among others, on 11 July disobeyed section five and 10 of the Ugandan Public Order Management Act of 2013 by holding a public meeting without giving notice to any authorised officers.”

Before Museveni signed the Public Order Management Act into law in 2013, it had received criticism from human rights organisation including UK non-profit Article 19, which insisted that the bill violates international human rights standards such as freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly.

Before Monday's arrest, Bobi Wine was on his way to the police headquarters in Kampala where he was to appear in the criminal investigations department. Crowds of people, many on motorcycles, had joined the singer on the streets. They were dispersed by police officers with tear gas.

He was to be questioned about inciting violence and unlawful assembly on 22 April during the preparation of his Easter concert at Busabala Beach. Police blocked that show because he had not met security guidelines and placed him under house arrest from 23 to 27 April.

The latest development marks the second time the opposition figure has been charged in a Ugandan court. Last year, Bobi Wine was arrested and charged with treason after Museveni’s presidential convoy was pelted with stones during campaigning in Arua. Bobi Wine's arrest drew widespread condemnation from various embassies, public figures and civil rights groups.

The singer recently released 'Afande' (Police Officer), a song against police brutality and human rights abuses: