Film on Uganda’s ‘People’s President' Bobi Wine gains Oscar nomination
The musician, pro-democracy leader, and subject of the National Geographic documentary, 'Bobi Wine: The People’s President,' spoke out after his detention in October upon arriving in his homeland.
A documentary film based on musician-turned-presidential candidate Bobi Wine has been nominated for an Academy Award, a move that may broaden the spotlight on his pro-democracy movement.
The pop star's daring presidential run against Uganda’s longtime dictator—and his continued pressure for democracy in his homeland—are the background behind the documentary Bobi Wine: The People’s President.
Wine spoke to Nat Geo after his detention upon returning home in October. Video showed plainclothes men grabbing him on the tarmac.
The musician had lost a disputed election in 2021 for Uganda’s presidency—and authorities had sought to stop a planned march in support of Wine from the airport. Supporters were arrested, and journalists were pepper-sprayed and beaten by security forces, Wine said.
The opposition leader has endured periodic detention following his 2017 election to Parliament and during his 2021 presidential run. He has said that he keeps protesting the 37-year rule of Yoweri Museveni because an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere.
He realizes the risks, Wine said. "I risk because I know there is hope that one day it will all change. Giving up would be betraying 45 million people."
The U.S. State Department expressed concern that the detention of Wine and hundreds of his supporters meant “democratic space is shrinking in Uganda. Harassment of opposition voices and of human rights abuses damage prospects for Ugandan progress and its partnership with the international community.”
The documentary on Wine is one of five Oscar nominees for Best Documentary announced Tuesday. The others are: “Four Daughters”; “20 Days in Mariupol”; “The Eternal Memory”; and “To Kill a Tiger.”
