National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has defended his decision to leave Uganda following the January 2026 presidential election, saying it was necessary to protect his life and that of his family.
Speaking in an interview with Ugandan journalist Mordecai Muriisa in the United States, the two-time presidential candidate said his departure should not be mistaken for abandoning the political struggle against President Yoweri Museveni’s government.
According to Bobi Wine, the decision came after what he described as serious threats to his safety and the security of his family in the aftermath of the election.
“It Was a Tactical Withdrawal”
The opposition leader said leaving Uganda was a strategic move aimed at preserving his life so he could continue pursuing his political objectives.
“Running to save my life is not abandoning the struggle. All the great revolutionaries I know have always taken what we call a tactical withdrawal,” Bobi Wine said.
He added that critics would always find fault with his decisions regardless of the circumstances.
“We must know that naysayers will always have something to say. Even when you survive, they’ll say, ‘You recovered, why didn’t you become a martyr?’ So it is not what the naysayers say that matters, but what we believe in.”
Claims He Outsmarted Security
Bobi Wine also claimed he managed to leave Uganda by evading security forces.
“I’m alive today because I was able to outsmart the Ugandan military, beat Museveni and his son at their own game, and I left Uganda intact. Otherwise, I would be dead,” he said.
These are Bobi Wine’s personal claims, which have not been independently verified.
Background
Bobi Wine left Uganda after the January 15, 2026, presidential election in which President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner.
He said he went into hiding for several weeks after the polls, alleging that security forces surrounded his home in Magere shortly after he cast his vote.
According to the NUP leader, he eventually left the country with the assistance of his supporters after concluding that remaining in Uganda posed a serious risk to his life.
