Bobi Wine

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Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (born February 12, 1982 in Mpigi District ), better known by his stage name Bobi Wine , is a Ugandan politician , musician , actor and philanthropist . Since July 2017 he has represented the constituency of Kyadondo East in the Wakiso district in the parliament of Uganda . Due to his social background, he is also called "Ghetto President" by the media. His arrest and a related charge of high treason attracted worldwide attention in August 2018 .

Personal

Kyagulanyi was born in 1982 in Mpigi District, now part of Gomba District . He was baptized a Roman Catholic and grew up in the Kamwookya slum in the northeast of the Ugandan capital Kampala . During his studies he met his future wife Barbara, a high school student. The couple married in August 2011 and live with four children away from the media in Magere Village in the Wakiso district . In 2013, Kyagulanyi was named Family Ambassador for the non-profit organization Twaweza. In October 2015 his father died, who had 40 children in total and whom he described as a great influence in his life. Hundreds of mourners, including government officials and other celebrities, attended the funeral.

Kyagulanyi studied music, dance and acting at Makerere University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts . In February 2018 he completed a political course for "Leadership in the 21st Century" at the renowned Harvard Kennedy School in the United States .

entertainment

Kyagulanyi began a music career in 1999 under the name Bobi Wine. His first singles Akagoma , Funtula and Sunda put him in the limelight and made him one of the biggest pop stars in East Africa . His music combines genres such as ragga , dancehall and afrobeat . He founded the music collective Fire Base Crew and Ghetto Republic of Uganja and is nicknamed "Ghetto President". By September 2014 he recorded more than 70 songs. His song Kiwani can be heard on the soundtrack of the Disney biopic Queen of Katwe from 2016. In addition, Bobi Wine tried his hand at local film productions - known as Binayuganda - as an actor. In 2010 he played alongside the well-known Ugandan actress Cleopatra Koheirwe in the film Yogera , in 2015 he received a leading role alongside Helen Lukoma in the film Situka , which is supported by the education and development organization Twaweza .

In 2008 he received a license as a professional boxer from the Uganda Professional Boxing Commission (UPBC) .

politics

Even before Kyagulanyi became active as a politician, he started controversy with statements on Uganda's political and social problems. He has had long-standing enmity with the musician Bebe Cool . Cool is considered a supporter of Ugandan long-term president Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM), while Bobi Wine campaigns for the interests of the opposition . In July 2014 Bobi Wine was supposed to perform in Birmingham and London , but both concerts had to be canceled after protests against homophobic lyrics. Almost two years later, the artist distanced himself from earlier statements on the subject of homosexuality via Twitter .

During the 2016 presidential election campaign, he made songs to call for tolerance and freedom of expression , and he also criticized corruption and injustice in the country. His song Dembe was allegedly banned on the radio, but the Uganda Communications Commission denied it. During the election, the government blocked communication via social media , while the musician protested via VPN . On International Press Freedom Day , Kyagulanyi spoke out in favor of freedom of expression in Kampala. Three months after the election, the US ambassador invited the artist and his wife to a formal event and discussed the country's youth with them.

In April 2017, Kyagulanyi announced his first-time candidacy for the Ugandan parliament . His campaign, where he went door to door to collect votes, caused a stir in and outside Uganda. He won the by-election in Kyadondo East as an independent candidate by a large margin over two experienced supporters of the parliamentary parties NRM and Forum for Democratic Change . In the following months he was partly responsible for the strengthening of the opposition, whose candidates were able to win more and more by-elections. In his capacity as a member of parliament, he took part in protests against a social media tax that, according to critics, is intended to prevent the flow of information between citizens.

Arrest and prosecution

On August 15, 2018, Kyagulanyi was arrested in the city of Arua , northwest Uganda. He was charged with illegally possessing firearms and inciting violence. As a supporter of the independent parliamentary candidate Kasiano Wadri, he is said to have stopped and attacked President Museveni's car convoy on August 14. The attackers allegedly threw stones at the president's motorcade and provoked an argument with the security forces. Kyagulanyi, one of the head of state's most prominent critics, later testified that police shot his car, killing his driver in the process.

On August 16, he was tried in a military tribunal for illegal gun possession. Kyagulanyi was allegedly ill-treated before appearing in the courtroom, according to a Times report . According to one of his lawyers, the defendant was in worrying health. While the government firmly rejected all allegations of torture, opposition leader Kizza Besigye called for the detainee to be released immediately at a press conference . After increasing popular protests, the court dropped the charges and announced further action in a civil court. Immediately after his release, Kyagulanyi was arrested again on August 23 and charged with treason . Around 80 artists and cultural workers, including pop stars like Chris Martin and Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka , signed an open letter calling for the 36-year-old to be released. On August 27, he was released on bail after protests continued . He was arrested again at Entebbe Airport just four days later after planning to undergo medical treatment in Washington . At the beginning of September he then traveled to the USA via the Netherlands for medical treatment , where he arrived on September 2nd. He had previously refused treatment in a hospital in Kampala, as one of the treating doctors - according to his own account - was the doctor who had monitored him during the mistreatment in detention.

Humanitarian engagement

Bobi Wine campaigned repeatedly for ghetto residents in his lyrics and supported various projects to fight poverty . In 2012 he initiated a hygiene campaign aimed at hospitals, waste processing and simple hand washing for disease prevention . He was also involved with the mayor of Kampala in cleaning up the Kamwookya slum. In the same year he financed the construction of simple toilets and a drainage canal in a particularly shabby slum in the capital. Compared to the New Vision newspaper, he acknowledged his roots and said that the slums would always be his “home”, no matter where he went.

In August 2013, together with representatives from Save the Children , UNHCR and the Red Cross, he visited the Bundibugyo refugee camp in the district of the same name and supplied it with relief supplies. In his role as a family ambassador for the East Africa NGO Twaweza, he sees education as the key to a “change of course in Uganda”. In 2014, Bobi Wine, as an ambassador for the Save the Children campaign Every One, recorded a song with 13 other Ugandan artists on the topics of maternal mortality and child health. On behalf of the organization, the musician and his wife visited midwives and health workers in various hospitals in the country. His volunteer work also took him to a refugee camp for people from South Sudan .

He was also committed to fighting malaria .

Awards

Bobi Wine has already received several awards as a musician.

Pearl of Africa Music Awards

  • 2005: Song of the year for Mama Mbiire (with Juliana Kanyomozi )
  • 2006: Artist of the year
  • 2006: Best Afrobeat Song for Bada
  • 2007: Best Afrobeat Artist or Group
  • 2007: Best Afrobeat Song for Kiwani
  • 2008: Best Afrobeat Artist or Group

HiPipo Music Awards

  • 2013: Best Afrobeat Song for Jennifer

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Bobi Wine: Biography. Eachamps.com (EACS), July 11, 2017, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b c Caroline Ariba: Bobi giving back to the hands that lifted him up. New Vision , September 6, 2012, accessed on August 24, 2018 (English).
  3. ↑ Habre Musiira: Barbie and Children Take Bobi Wine Campaigns to Another Level. Chano8 Magazine, May 19, 2017, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b Bobi Wine rough as a musician, smooth as a father. New Vision , September 11, 2014, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Bobi Wine's father passes on. Daily Monitor , February 10, 2015, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Politics as Bobi Wine's father is laid to rest. Daily Monitor , February 13, 2015, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  7. ^ Bobi Wine set to graduate from Prestigious Harvard University after pursuing leadership course. Watchdog Uganda, February 6, 2018, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Habre Muriisa: Up Close and Personal with the Ghetto President Bobi Wine. Chano8 Magazine, January 13, 2013, accessed August 24, 2017 .
  9. ↑ a b Gillian Nantume: Uganda: Tracing Bobi Wine's Journey to Elective Politics. allAfrica.com, May 1, 2017, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Douglas Bugingo: Uganda: Bobi Wine Secures Pro Boxing License. allAfrica.com, November 7, 2008, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Bebe Cool fans forsake him over politics, and join Bobi Wine. Bigeye.ug, July 12, 2017, accessed on August 24, 2018 .
  12. ↑ 'Burn the gays' rapper axed from UK venues. Gay Star News, July 29, 2014, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  13. ↑ Nelson Wesonga: UCC denies banning Bobi Wine Dembe song. Daily Monitor , January 3, 2016, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  14. ^ Being On Social Media Is An Ultimate Act Of Defiance - Bobi Wine. Chano8 Magazine, February 19, 2016, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  15. ↑ Lee Osborne: PHOTO: Bobi Wine and his wife hang out with US Ambassador. Bigeye.ug, May 25, 2016, accessed on August 24, 2018 .
  16. ↑ Patience Authaire: Ugand's 'Ghetto President' to stand for parliament. BBC , May 31, 2017, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  17. ↑ Ugandan mucisian Bobi Wine wins Kyadondo MP seat. The Star, Kenya, June 29, 2017, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  18. ^ Bobi Wine calls win a 'renewal of leadership'. The EastAfrican , July 15, 2017, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  19. ^ A Pop Star, a Protest, and a Likely Case of Torture in Uganda. The Atlantic , August 25, 2018, accessed August 26, 2018 .
  20. ↑ Robert Ariaka: Bobi Wine faces treason charges. New Vision , August 15, 2018, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  21. ↑ Jane Flanagan: Uganda MP Robert Kyagulanyi who spoke out against President Museveni 'tortured' before military court hearing. The Times , August 17, 2018, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  22. ↑ Ugandan MP Robert Kyagulanyi in a worrying state of health Following his detention at Makindye. NTV, Kenya, August 18, 2018, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  23. ↑ Patience Akumu: Bobi Wine's arrest and what it could mean for Uganda. Al Jazeera , August 22, 2018, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  24. ↑ Hillary Orinde: Uganda drops charges against Bobi Wine. Standard Digital, August 23, 2018, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  25. ↑ Uganda's Bobi Wine: Pop star MP charged with treason. BBC , August 23, 2018, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  26. ↑ Political pop star faces the death penalty. ORF , August 23, 2018, accessed on August 25, 2018 .
  27. ^ Anna Reuss: Bobi Wine. Süddeutsche Zeitung , August 27, 2018, accessed on August 27, 2018 .
  28. ↑ Bobi Wine: Uganda's pop star MP re-arrested at airport. BBC , August 31, 2018, accessed August 31, 2018 .
  29. ↑ jj / hk (dpa, afp): Ugandan opposition member Bobi Wine left. Deutsche Welle , September 1, 2018, accessed September 4, 2018 .
  30. ↑ Lydia Nabakooza: The September general clean up Kampala Uganda. YouTube , September 30, 2012, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  31. ↑ Bobi WINE in Bundibugyo Charity Drive. Bigeye.ug, August 14, 2013, accessed on August 24, 2018 .
  32. ^ Bobi Wine appointed parenting ambassador. New Vision , September 29, 2013, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  33. ↑ Martha Parsons: Leading music artists produce new campaign song in Uganda. Save the Children , June 6, 2014, accessed August 24, 2018 .
  34. ^ A b Bobi Wine In Campaign Against Malaria. Bigeye.ug, April 24, 2014, accessed on August 24, 2018 .
  35. ^ Bobi Wine thrills South Sudanese refugees. New Vision , May 15, 2014, accessed August 24, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Wine, Bobi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kyagulanyi, Robert Ssentamu (real name); Ghetto President
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ugandan politician, musician, actor and philanthropist
DATE OF BIRTH February 12, 1982
PLACE OF BIRTH Mpigi district