By KT Reporter
As the election clock ticks away, Bobi Wine delivered a fiery New Year’s message calling on Uganda’s youth to unite in a peaceful effort to end President Museveni’s four decades in power.
The speech, broadcast from the National Unity Platform headquarters in Makerere Kavule on Thursday evening January 1, 2026, comes amid escalating accusations from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and reports of intensified security crackdowns on opposition activities.
Kyagulanyi, a musician-turned-politician contesting the presidency for the second time after a contentious 2021 bid where he claimed widespread irregularities, positioned his campaign as a generational struggle for dignity and accountability.
“Uganda is rich in people and resources, yet millions of its citizens live in total poverty, not because they lack capacity to transform their lives, but because they lack accountable leadership for so long a time,” Kyagulanyi said in his address.
He highlighted ongoing brutality, noting, “We have been intimidated, teargassed, arrested, supporters attacked and killed; We are blocked from towns; from using main roads, we have been blocked from campaigning in some districts.”
Despite these obstacles, he claimed overwhelming public support, adding, “Millions of Ugandans have turned out to welcome us and assert their readiness to reclaim their country and stand for a New Uganda.”
Museveni, who has ruled since 1986 and is now seeking a seventh elected term, fired in his own national address on December 31, 2025, accusing Kyagulanyi of fomenting violence and serving foreign interests.
“I have been busy campaigning, but I have heard that gangs of Mr. Kyagulanyi have been beating people, I have heard this myself from people who have fallen victim to these atrocities,” he stated, also banning the caning of lawbreakers and alleging Kyagulanyi’s use of 200 vehicles to fabricate crowd sizes.
This exchange echoes past elections, where opposition figures have faced similar charges amid allegations of state-sponsored suppression. The 2026 race features eight nominated candidates, as confirmed by Electoral Commission following nominations in September 2025.
Beyond Museveni (NRM) and Kyagulanyi (NUP), contenders include: Mugisha Muntu of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), and Nandala Mafabi of the FDC, an economist and former opposition leader in parliament.
This multi-candidate field underscores Uganda’s fragmented opposition, with Kyagulanyi as Museveni’s primary challenger, drawing on youth discontent in a country where over 75 per cent of the population is under 35, according to World Bank data.
Key hurdles for the NUP include persistent security crackdowns, which have intensified as polls nearby. Reports from human rights groups detail arrests, teargassing, and dispersal of rallies, with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, deploring an “intensifying crackdown on the opposition and the media” in December 2025. Over 550 NUP supporters are reportedly under arrest since campaigning began.
Opposition musicians aligned with NUP have also faced house arrests and violence, signaling a broader effort to silence dissent. These actions occur against a backdrop of Uganda’s electoral laws, governed by the 1995 Constitution, the Presidential Elections Act (2005), and the Electoral Commission Act, which mandate fair campaigning.
The Constitution’s Article 102 requires candidates to be citizens by birth and of sound mind, while amendments in 2005 abolished presidential term limits, allowing Museveni’s extended tenure.
In his address, Kyagulanyi rallied the youth: “To the young people of Uganda, you are the heartbeat of this struggle. Remain united and non violent, this does not negate your right to self defense.” He also addressed missing relatives and scars from “unlawful detention and brutality,” vowing solidarity and reflection on the “monster we must bring down come 15th January 2026.”
NUP, a progressive social democratic party registered under Uganda’s Political Parties and Organizations Act (2002), boasts 57 members of parliament and coverage in 146 districts. Its 2026-2031 manifesto, launched in September 2025, pledges sweeping reforms under 11 priorities to foster “A New Uganda Now.”
Commitments include Creating 10 million jobs by 2032 through tourism, creative sectors, manufacturing, simplifying taxes with a UGX1,000,000 PAYE-free threshold; raising Tax:GDP ratio by 6 points by checking corruption; restoring term limits, judicial independence, electoral audits; criminalizing enforced disappearances; decentralizing 40% of the national budget to local governments;
boosting health spending to 15 per cent of GDP for universal access including telemedicine and mental health facilities; making primary education free with meals and skills- focused curricula, aiming for a 1:40 teacher-student ratio.
Establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for war-affected regions; achieving universal clean water access; and expanding electricity to 60 per cent of rural households by 2030, with reduced tariffs.
These pledges address blunt realities in Uganda where poverty rate stands at 20.3 per cent (Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2024), with youth unemployment at 13.3 percent amid corruption scandals that have eroded public trust.
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