Uganda elections: Why Bobi Wine campaigns in a flak jacket
By Associated Press, January 14, 2026The Ugandan opposition leader, Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, campaigned in the town of Mukono wearing a flak jacket and helmet as soldiers filled the streets of the country’s capital, Kampala, ahead of a presidential vote.
The safety gear seen in a photo captured offers no protection from the stinging clouds of tear gas that often follow Wine on the campaign trail at rallies where security forces are a constant presence.
Wine is challenging President Yoweri Museveni, who is seeking a seventh term in the Thursday, January 15, 2026, election.
Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986 by repeatedly rewriting the rules to stay in power. Term and age limits have been scrapped, and rivals jailed or sidelined.
In a New Year’s Eve address, the president said he recommended security forces use tear gas to break up crowds of what he called “the criminal opposition.”
Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president in 2021. He was roughed up by the police, his clothes ripped from his body, and dozens of his supporters were jailed.
Meanwhile, Uganda’s communications authority has told all service providers to suspend internet access ahead of Thursday’s general election.
It justified the decision on the grounds of public safety to prevent “online misinformation, disinformation [and] electoral fraud… as well as preventing [the] incitement of violence”.
Earlier this month, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) described reports of an internet blackout as “mere rumours, saying the commission’s role was to guarantee uninterrupted connectivity nationwide.
During the last election in 2021, which saw widespread protests with dozens killed, the internet was cut for at least a week.
Users of regular mobile data have already reported that they cannot access the internet, though some business facilities, such as large hotels, continue to enjoy wireless connectivity.
Voice calls and basic SMS services are expected to remain operational.
In its letter to the mobile phone operators, the UCC said it was acting on “a strong recommendation” from the security agencies, including the army and police.
“This temporary suspension is a precautionary intervention to ensure peace, protect national stability and prevent the misuse of communication platforms during a sensitive national exercise,” the letter said.
Thursday’s presidential election is a rematch of the 2021 contest, with 81-year-old President Yoweri Museveni, in power for four decades, being challenged once again by the relatively youthful former pop star, 43-year-old Bobi Wine.