BOBI WINE: THE PEOPLE'S PRESIDENT

Bobi Wine: The People's President, National Geographic Documentary Films

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Review by Mark Dujsik | August 10, 2023

Robert Kyagulanyi, a politician and activist who also goes by the stage name Bobi Wine, was probably the best chance Uganda had of ending the rule of President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in that position since 1986, following the most recent of several armed revolutions that led to and followed the ousting of the dictator Idi Amin. Bobi Wine: The People's President, an intimate and ultimately sobering look at what it truly means to stand up to unjust power, follows Kyagulanyi as he attempts to do just that—put an end to this administration at the ballot box.

Kyagulanyi is old enough to remember the early speeches and optimism of Museveni's rule, but now, the Ugandan music star only sees a man as corrupt with and drunk on power as some authoritarian dictator. The starting point for the musician's political career arrives when Museveni and his supporters in the country's parliament put forth a bill that would amend the constitution, allowing the President to seek yet another term in spite of the fact that the law has an age limit for the position. Sometimes, corruption is simply that obvious.

Directors Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp's documentary is an up-close-and-personal look at Kyagulanyi's political career. It starts from 2017, when he announces himself as a candidate to become a member of parliament, and carries through to the 2021 general election, when the singer/representative decides that he should be the face of the opposition to Museveni on the presidential ballot.

The film begins with hopeful energy, showing us increasing crowds of supporters from all parts of Uganda rallying behind Kyagulanyi and his anti-corruption anthems. Beyond wanting the current president out of office and some vague sentiments about caring for the poor, we never get a sense of Kyagulanyi's platform, but such things are the luxuries of those who live in a free country.

What we see from this film, which shows Kyagulanyi on the campaign trail and in the recording studio and at home with his wife and children, is a Kyagulanyi who's clearly sincere about the needs of ordinary people, as well as his righteous belief that those needs will never be met by Museveni—no matter how long he contrives ways to extend his administration. The filmmakers are obviously enamored with Kyagulanyi, and it's difficult not to feel a similar way when we hear his story, his music, and the passion he has for making life better for people.

Things turn in despairing, horrific, and violent ways, though, and it also becomes apparent that the makers of Bobi Wine: The People's President were hardly prepared for and can barely keep up with the full extent of how far Museveni and his supporters are willing to go to keep their man in power. The sense of constant and imminent danger is palpable in the later sections of this documentary, as is the loss of the hope that drives the film until that point.

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