Stage set for 2026 presidential debate as Bobi Wine confirms attendance

NTV Uganda has officially set the political stage for a high-stakes showdown, announcing that it will host a presidential candidates’ debate this weekend ahead of the 2026 general election. 

The debate is scheduled for Sunday, 30th November 2025, at 8:00 PM, promising a direct confrontation between the country’s leading political figures.

The station’s promotional materials indicate that all eight candidates vying for the nation’s highest office have been invited and are expected to attend, though confirmation from all camps remains pending. 

The President Yoweri Museveni’s camp has yet to officially commit to his attendance.

However, the anticipation picked up on Thursday following confirmation from opposition figure Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine. 

Using his social media platform, Wine announced his participation with a potent, challenge-laden message. 

“I will be there to share our vision for a New Uganda and to challenge Dictator Museveni on whatever new lies he wants to tell the people of Uganda after 40 years of deception and failed promises. See you then!” his post read. 

The scheduled event is only the second televised presidential debate in Uganda’s history. 

The first such major political discourse took place in January 2016, preceding the general election held that year. 

That inaugural debate, hosted by the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) and the National Consultative Forum (NCF) on 15th January 2016, saw key opposition figures like Kizza Besigye and Amama Mbabazi participate.

President Museveni initially skipped that first forum, only attending a subsequent, second debate held in February of the same year. He complained famously about the short time allocated to the candidates during debate

The repetition of the question mark over the incumbent's presence heightens public fascination and casts the current event as a defining moment in the 2026 campaign. 

The impending NTV event is being watched keenly as an opportunity for candidates to articulate their policy visions and for the nation to scrutinise its potential leaders in a direct, unmediated forum.