"But by December, that image had disappeared. As campaigning comes to an end on Tuesday, Bobi Wine, who is the main opposition candidate looking to unseat long-serving President Yoweri Museveni, now only appears in public wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet. For many Ugandans, his change in attire and the state violence that led to it are symbols of a foregone political outcome: An incumbent victory likely to be rejected by his competitors."
"While the violence has not reached the deadly levels of the 2021 election, when more than 50 people were killed and hundreds of Bobi Wine supporters were detained following spontaneous protests in the capital, Kampala, the campaign environment has become increasingly militarised defined by calculated repression, intimidation and a steadily shrinking space for Bobi Wine to sell his manifesto, analysts have observed."
Bobi Wine, a singer-turned-politician, ran for president and initially inspired cautious hope with public appearances in tailored suits. By December he appeared only in public wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet after repeated confrontations with security forces. Campaign convoys have frequently been met with tear gas, roadblocks and arrests, and events have often been disrupted with abrupt dispersals and sealed roads. Although violence has not reached 2021 levels of deadly clashes and detentions, the campaign environment became increasingly militarised, marked by repression, intimidation and a steadily shrinking space for opposition campaigning. Museveni, an 81-year-old incumbent, seeks a seventh term after ruling nearly four decades.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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