National Unity Platform (NUP) President Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has issued a stark warning to Uganda’s ghetto youths, cautioning them against being used by the government to suppress opposition voices ahead of the 2026 general elections.
His warning follows a recent incident during President Museveni’s nomination rally, where a group of youths wearing yellow T-shirts typically associated with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) were caught on camera robbing members of the public in broad daylight along the streets of Kampala.
Speaking on Wednesday at NUP offices in Makerere Kavule, Kyagulanyi who seemed angry, accused government of reviving a long-standing tactic of deploying informal urban militias and vigilante groups to instill fear and intimidate the public in the lead-up to elections.
“You saw what happened recently on the streets of Kampala it’s not new,” Kyagulanyi said. “Ahead of 2026, they know I come from the ghetto. So Museveni deployed his officer, Ddamulira, to create fake ghetto structures to confuse and divide us.”
Kyagulanyi drew a direct line from past election cycles to the present, pointing to a history of state-aligned militias, including the 2001 Kalangala Action Plan, the 2006 Kiboko Squad, Boda Boda 2010 in 2011, Crime Preventers in 2016, and a blend of military and intelligence forces deployed during the contentious 2021 elections.
Kyagulanyi specifically condemned the exploitation of vulnerable youth in Kampala’s informal settlements, whom he said are being manipulated with small bribes and empty promises.
“Our brothers and sisters in the ghettos young men and women lured by a few shillings to act as tools of regime propaganda are the ones suffering. They’re given yellow T-shirts and a mere Ush. 10,000 to escort dictator Museveni during his activities. But today, many of them are in jail, scapegoated for the violence and theft that followed,” he furiously explained.
He referenced widely circulated social media videos showing ghetto youth being used by the regime and later arrested, labeling the pattern as “use and discard.”
“This regime doesn’t love you, they fear you. They know you have someone who understands you, someone who feels exactly what you feel. So they bribe you to make mistakes and then arrest you,” he said.
The NUP leader sent a clear warning to those among the ghetto youth still collaborating with the regime.
“I warn all those ghetto youths who hobnob with this government when the time to bring it down comes, you will fall with them,” he said. “Don’t say you were not warned.”
Kyagulanyi called on his supporters to remain united and disciplined as the campaign season approaches, urging vigilance against regime tactics designed to divide and demoralize opposition supporters.
“As we approach 2026, the regime is scared. They know the ghetto is awake. Stay united. Stay focused. We are on the right side of history,” he remarked.
