National Security

The Ghetto President: Youth, Repression, and Uganda's Emerging Political Challenger

This 2018 profile documents Bobi Wine's rapid ascent from ragga musician to parliamentary member and presidential aspirant in Uganda, following a brutal military beating that cast him as the principal threat to President Yoweri Museveni's 32-year rule. The piece traces Wine's journey from Kampala's slums through music stardom to political awakening, capturing a generational shift in which young Ugandans—nearly 80 percent of the population under 30—have begun to mobilize against an aging autocrat.