Bobi Wine draws inspiration from Senegal President-elect

Drawing inspiration from last week’s election of 44-year-old Bassirou Diomaye Faye as Senegal’s new president, Bobi Wine said supporters of change in Uganda must remain hopeful for the end of President Yoweri Museveni’ four-decade grip on power.

“Friends, let us stick to what we believe in; our dream might seem too far away but it is not,” said the opposition National Unity Platform president.

“Our friends Faye and (Ousmane) Sonko were persecuted in Senegal. They were thrown in jail and tortured. Faye – who is my agemate – came out of jail only 10 days before the election. He is now the president-elect of Senegal.”

Bobi Wine was speaking on Monday afternoon at the funeral of a mother to one of the NUP mobilisers Safina Nansove.

In his remarks, Bobi Wine called on NUP members and supporters not to be disheartened by what is happening in the party.

Instead, he urged them to keep demanding accountability from their elected leaders.

Read: Mpuuga reconciliation still possible - NUP

“People who follow me do not because I am the most good-looking or the most educated person; but because I tell them the truth,” he said.

“I know that right now you are hearing about the disappointments happening amongst us but that should not take you off track because the actual enemy is Museveni.”

Senegal will tomorrow, Tuesday, swear in Faye as its fifth president, after the country’s highest court confirmed his victory last Wednesday

Faye – an anti-establishment candidate and ally of popular opposition figure Ousmane Sonko – won more than 54 per cent of votes cast in last Sunday’s delayed presidential poll.

His closest competitor in the polls, ruling coalition candidate Amadou Ba who was handpicked by outgoing President Macky Sall, took about 35 percent of the vote.