Bobi Wine

Quick facts about Bobi Wine

1. He is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, born on February 12, 1982, in Nkozi, Mpigi District, Uganda. His stage and political moniker "Bobi Wine" combines a tribute to his musical inspiration Bob Marley with the metaphor of "fine wine that gets better with time," while his supporters universally crown him the "Ghetto President."
2. He built a massive East African music career releasing over 70 socially conscious Afrobeat and reggae anthems including "Ghetto", "Time Bomb", and his 2016 Disney film soundtrack feature "Kiwani" (Queen of Katwe) before transitioning from pop star to political opposition leader.
3. He made his formal political breakthrough in June 2017 by winning the Kyadondo East parliamentary seat in a landslide as an independent, before founding the People Power Movement and taking leadership of the National Unity Platform (NUP).
4. He survived brutal state torture and military detention following the August 2018 Arua incident, where elite security forces shot dead his driver, Yasin Kawuma, and severely beat Wine with iron bars before charging him with treason and illegal possession of firearms.
5. He mounted high-profile presidential bids against President Yoweri Museveni who has ruled Uganda since 1986, leading the largest opposition bloc into Parliament amidst widespread internet blackouts, military house arrests, and international electoral violence complaints.
6. He starred in the acclaimed feature documentary Bobi Wine: The People's President, which detailed his 2021 campaign trail under military repression and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 Oscars alongside a 2024 Peabody Award.