TAKEAWAYS

• Bobi Wine says leaving Uganda after the 2026 elections was a tactical withdrawal, not abandoning the struggle.
• He claims he outsmarted Uganda’s security agencies and left the country safely despite being hunted.
• The NUP president cites leaders like Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Yoweri Museveni as examples of revolutionaries who spent time in exile.

Former presidential candidate and National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has come out to dismiss claims that he abandoned the struggle for democracy after leaving Uganda following the 2026 General Election.

Speaking in an interview with Ugandan journalist Mordecai Muriisa in the United States, Bobi Wine was asked about criticism from some of his supporters and opponents who accuse him of fleeing the country at a critical moment.

Responding to the criticism, Bobi Wine said those questioning his decision are entitled to their opinions, but maintained that preserving his life was necessary for him to continue fighting for the cause.

“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.”

He claimed Uganda’s military and security agencies were actively pursuing him but failed to capture him.

“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.”

Bobi Wine insisted that leaving Uganda should not be interpreted as surrendering the struggle, arguing that history is full of leaders who temporarily sought refuge outside their countries before returning to continue their campaigns.

“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.”

He cited several historical figures, including Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Ahmed Ben Bella, Julius Nyerere and President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, saying they all spent periods in exile during their political struggles.

According to Bobi Wine, his current stay abroad allows him to continue pursuing the struggle from a different front until circumstances allow him to return home.

“Sometimes it’s good to die a little in order to live longer. I ran from danger, that’s why I am able to fight from a different front until I go back home to the main front.”

It should be noted that the two-time presidential candidate left Uganda for the United States after losing the 2026 presidential election to the incumbent, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Before his departure, Bobi Wine remained out of the public eye for close to a month, with reports later indicating that he had quietly left the country. It remains unclear when the NUP leader intends to return to Uganda.