On election day, Ugandan youth weigh stability versus possibility
Ugandan presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, and his wife, Barbara Kyagulanyi, campaign in Kampala, Uganda, Jan. 12, 2026.
Abubaker Lubowa/Reuters
KAMPALA and MBARARA, Uganda
Like many sub-Saharan African countries, Uganda is a very youthful nation ruled by a much older man. The median age here is 16, but the country鈥檚 president, Yoweri Museveni, was born the same year that Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy.
He became president in 1986, long before most of his countrymen and countrywomen were born. But ahead of Thursday鈥檚 presidential election, both Mr. Museveni and his leading challenger, former pop star Robert Kyagulanyi 鈥� better known as Bobi Wine 鈥� have gone to great lengths to woo young voters.
In the camp of Mr. Museveni 鈥� who has never lost an election in 40 years 鈥� the pitch is stability and continuity; in Mr. Wine鈥檚, it is a clean break from the past. And young Ugandans are rallying around both sides.
Why We Wrote This
Africa has some of the world's youngest populations, and some of its oldest leaders. In Uganda, young voters must decide between a 40-something former pop star and a sitting president in his 80s.
The 鈥済hetto president鈥�
The Sunday before the election, morning sunlight slants through the orange-tinted windows of a church in Kampala鈥檚 working-class Kamwokya neighborhood. A priest raises his arms and prays for peace ahead of election day. On the rutted road outside, the thick air smells of sewage and frying fish. Weathered campaign flyers paper rickety stalls, promising that Mr. Wine鈥檚 National Unity Platform (NUP) party will deliver 鈥渁 new Uganda now.鈥�
Kamwokya is Mr. Wine鈥檚 childhood home. The self-styled 鈥済hetto president鈥� was a popular singer before winning a seat in Parliament in 2017. That year, the government announced it would eradicate presidential age limits, a move designed to allow Mr. Museveni to remain in office.
Mr. Wine became the face of a movement to defend the constitution, both on the floor of Parliament and in fiery protest songs. That movement helped cement his status as one of Mr. Museveni鈥檚 most vocal critics. In 2021, he lost to Mr. Museveni in a presidential election marred by .
Just over half Mr. Museveni鈥檚 age, Mr. Wine says he speaks for young people in a country where nearly 80% of the population is under 35.
Many of them feel that President Museveni 鈥渉as overstayed in power,鈥� explains Mukisa Hussien, a nephew of Mr. Wine who is also running for local office in Kamwokya. Mr. Wine鈥檚 supporters point to credible accusations of intimidation and manipulation that have tailed Mr. Museveni鈥檚 previous victories.
Ahead of Thursday鈥檚 vote, Amnesty International Ugandan authorities of a 鈥渂rutal campaign of repression鈥� against the opposition, and the Ugandan government is the opposition, human rights activists, and journalists.
One Kamwokya resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, says that the day before a Monitor contributor visited the area, a young person was arrested on suspicion of planning street demonstrations. 鈥淲e are in total fear,鈥� the resident says.
Meanwhile, over the past several weeks, Mr. Wine has campaigned amid clouds of tear gas wearing a slim bulletproof vest. The youthful crowds following him, dressed in Mr. Wine鈥檚 signature red and waving Ugandan flags, have often been pepper-sprayed and beaten.
Mr. Wine also says that hundreds of members of his campaign team have been arrested. In December, a while attending an NUP rally in the northern city of Gulu. The NUP says he was attacked by a criminal gang loyal to Mr. Museveni. The Ugandan government denies the charge.
Preparing for election day
Israel Kyarisiima has a different vision for the future. Little more than a mile from Kamwokya, the 20-something sits in an austere government office, wearing a highlighter-yellow shirt emblazoned with Mr. Museveni鈥檚 face.
The coordinator of 鈥淕en Z for Gen 7鈥� 鈥� that is, Generation Z for General Museveni 鈥� Mr. Kyarisiima has his own grievances, ranging from unemployment and corruption to overpriced internet data. But unlike Mr. Hussien, he sees working within the ruling party as the only way to create real change.
鈥淲e have to sit at the same table as the leadership that is established in the country,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat guy is 81 in age, but his physique and his brains are like a Gen Z.鈥�
On the other side of the country, in the western city of Mbarara, the yellow National Resistance Movement flags erected at traffic circles wave in the breeze like a field of sunflowers. If Kamwokya is Mr. Wine鈥檚 stronghold, this is Mr. Museveni鈥檚. He was born in a nearby village and went to high school here.
Where Mr. Wine is calling for a new Uganda, Mr. Museveni鈥檚 slogan is 鈥減rotecting the gains.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 very, very easy for someone who has been in power for 40 years to campaign because you have a lot to show,鈥� explains Tumwebaze Mwine, the NRM candidate for one of the five seats in Uganda鈥檚 Parliament reserved for young people.
Mr. Mwine feels that Uganda鈥檚 youth must build on the foundation Mr. Museveni has built for the country. 鈥淎t the end of the day, it is the youth that need to drive [the NRM and Uganda]. It is our vehicle,鈥� Mr. Mwine says.
Uncertain prospects
Other young people in Mbarara aren鈥檛 so sure.
Motorcycle driver Amos Tumwesigye, who is in his mid-20s, has adorned his bike with stickers for the NRM parliamentary candidate, but refuses to say whom he will vote for.
鈥淎 piece of paper cannot change a government,鈥� he says. 鈥淓ven if I vote or don鈥檛 vote, they are same.鈥�
Back in Kampala, security forces have deployed heavily across the city, with grim-faced men in army uniforms stationed outside businesses and shopping malls.
Still, many young people hold out hope for change.
In Kamwokya, Najjuma Babirye, who is in her early 20s, ekes out a living selling crimson T-shirts emblazoned with Mr. Wine鈥檚 face, moving her stock whenever the police chase her away. She admires his bravery and supports his run, regardless of the danger it poses for her.
鈥淭hey will tear-gas us, arrest us, even kill us,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut they can鈥檛 kill all of us.鈥�
Felix Ainebyoona and Derrick Wandera contributed reporting.