National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has intensified his international campaign against President Yoweri Museveni’s government, seeking support from influential figures in the United States to increase pressure on Kampala over claimed human rights abuses, political repression and democratic backsliding.

The opposition leader, who has remained outside Uganda since the disputed 2026 general elections, says international engagement has become an important part of his efforts to draw attention to the challenges facing opposition supporters and activists in the East African country.

Speaking during an interview with The World podcast in Boston on Saturday, July 18, 2026, Bobi Wine said his movement continues to rely on both domestic resistance and international solidarity as it pushes for political change under Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986 and is among Africa’s longest-serving leaders.

“Our hope is with those people, however few they are in the United States administration, to raise our voices. We know that all through history it is the voice of the few that has influenced change while those that are oppressed are fighting on the ground,” the opposition leader said.

“While our comrades in Uganda are still holding fort in Uganda and trying to ensure that they don’t give up, we largely rely on the influence of the US, well knowing that the Ugandan government depends on US decisions.”

Washington lobbying push

His remarks came amid reports that he met members or staff of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., around July 16, 2026, as part of a broader lobbying effort aimed at highlighting Uganda’s human rights record, governance concerns and post-election accountability issues.

Several of his close associates, including Sir Dan Magic, shared photographs showing Bobi Wine outside an office at the US Capitol. The images were accompanied by claims that discussions focused on urging Uganda’s international partners to hold accountable individuals accused of political persecution, election-related abuses and suppression of dissent.

“President Bobi Wine has just met with the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington,” one post stated.

“If justice cannot be found at home, it must be sought wherever it can be found,” the accompanying message added.

Neither Bobi Wine nor the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations had publicly released an official readout of the reported meeting as of July 18, 2026. However, the reported engagement is consistent with the opposition leader’s long-running strategy of seeking international support for democratic reforms and greater scrutiny of Uganda’s governance record.

Post-election pressure

In recent months, Bobi Wine has held a series of meetings with lawmakers, diplomats, policy advisers and human rights advocates in the United States and Europe. Those engagements have coincided with growing interest among some members of the US Congress in Uganda’s political trajectory, human rights situation and accountability following the country’s contentious elections.

The former presidential candidate has repeatedly argued that international partners, particularly the United States, can play a significant role in encouraging respect for democratic institutions, civil liberties and the rule of law in Uganda. His supporters contend that external pressure is necessary to complement efforts by activists and opposition groups working inside the country.

Critics, however, have often argued that Uganda’s political future should be determined primarily through domestic processes rather than international intervention, a debate that has become increasingly prominent as the country moves further into the post-election period.

For Bobi Wine and the NUP, the latest Washington outreach represents another step in a campaign that seeks to internationalise concerns about Uganda’s governance while maintaining pressure on Museveni’s administration at home.

As Uganda’s opposition continues to challenge a government that has been in power for nearly four decades, the struggle for democratic change remains a central issue in the country’s political landscape.

The reported meetings in Washington underscore how the contest between Uganda’s opposition and Museveni’s government is increasingly playing out not only within Uganda’s borders but also in international corridors of influence, where Bobi Wine hopes foreign policymakers can amplify calls for accountability, human rights protections and democratic reform.