Kampala, January 13, 2026 – As Ugandans prepare to vote on Wednesday, January 15, in presidential and parliamentary elections, President Yoweri Museveni stands on the verge of a seventh term, extending a rule that began with a guerrilla victory in 1986. At 81, the veteran leader faces a familiar challenger in Bobi Wine, the 43-year-old former pop star whose youthful energy has galvanized a demographic that has known no other president.
More than three-quarters of Uganda’s population is under 40, and many view this election as a referendum on generational change. Wine, real name Robert Kyagulanyi, campaigns on unemployment, corruption and police brutality, drawing huge crowds in urban centres and slums. His National Unity Platform frames the vote as a “protest against stagnation.” Museveni, meanwhile, touts decades of relative peace, economic growth and Uganda’s role as Africa’s largest refugee host. “We have protected the gains,” he repeats, promising middle-income status through oil production, manufacturing and foreign investment.
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