Five years of Bobi Wine’s iconography

I should begin this way: struggles choose their icons. Not the other way round.

There are many, many change-loving Ugandans – perhaps good-intentioned, and with wonderful ideas – who would love to call the shots in the fight against Yoweri Museveni’s chiefdom.

But the struggle has not chosen them. It is not within their powers to catapult themselves to the front. Through a series of often unrelated events and circumstances, and the actions of particular individuals, a struggle sets it own project and picks its own leaders/icons to deliver on this project.

While it tends to pick from those who have offered themselves – often people with outstanding public profiles – oftentimes, struggles have picked perfect strangers and turned them into kingmakers. They could even be dead, in exile or in jail to move a revolutionary moment.

Notice also that the struggle doesn’t have a clear-cut formula of who qualifies to be its icon. If there was one – such as a university degree or being imprisoned – many would have fought blood and tears to make that requirement. But there is none.

Yes, struggles make mistakes. They might anoint a wrong icon. But to their credit, once a struggle realises its mistake, it discards that icon. It could be immediate or later. Notice also that struggles often define their projects on a short-term basis.

Thus, struggles are projects defined in a specific time. Indeed, once that project is completed – in success or failure – that icon has to be replaced or reformed against a new project. Sometimes, there is an immediate replacement.

But many times, we all have to wait. Notice also that oftentimes, there are many things ongoing in society requiring urgent leadership. Not all of them will concern the struggle in selecting the icon of the moment. Oftentimes, the struggle on its own accord chooses one supposedly more urgent or more encompassing struggle and selects a more fitting icon.

The problem then begins when observers and pundits write their own concerns and frustrations onto the icon of the moment without understanding the assignments that the struggle spelled out for its icon.

BOBI WINE’S ANOINTMENT 

When the struggle selected Bobi Wine to be its icon, it found Ugandans at a point of absolute desperation. Our love with Dr Kizza Besigye had not necessarily died down but had hit a stalemate.

It had run out of oomph and urgency. Still confronted by the same project – getting rid of Yoweri Museveni – we had become sceptical as to whether KB would deliver on this project. We were desperate for a new icon.

Then in 2017, the stars aligned in favour of an artiste – almost from nowhere (except for cultural studies majors). Amidst this desperation, Ugandans heaped all their concerns and frustrations onto this artiste.

Problematically associated into the belief that leaders ought to know everything, we wanted Bobi Wine to be a policy wonk, a military strategist, a trade unionist, a financial expert. When he didn’t meet our frustrations, many clever pundits and journalists came after him.

Sadly, while the policy questions they were asking were right, they were asking the wrong man. Ignored or misunderstood by many was that the assignment Bobi Wine had had been particularly and precisely defined by the struggle that chose him: Yoweri Museveni.

It is my sobering opinion that while Bobi Wine might actually claim something, he had no idea what type of Uganda he would try to craft had he managed to lead a Museveni overthrow.

And that is not a weakness on his part – as wisecracks ridiculed him. Defining a new Uganda required a new set of icons and leaders that the struggle would entrust with this responsibility. These icons have not emerged because the first assignment remains incomplete.

Indeed, after the failure of the project assigned, Bobi Wine’s stardom had to die with the dead project. But stars don’t disappear just like that. Because a star never really knows about their selection, they also never know when their shine is about to disappear.

While they continue into a routine of normality – as leaders and icons –they enter a state of stalemate as their shine goes through the throes of fading. (Again, this is not a swipe at Bobi Wine; I am simply narrating the life-cycle of movements and struggles).

Notice that if the star destined for disappearance manages to repackage themselves for selection, their stardom can actually be reinvigorated. It is easier for them to be re-selected. This is what happened to Dr Kizza Besigye for over 20 years, when he remained as the champion of the struggle.

BOBI WINE RE-ELECTION?

In all fairness, Bobi Wine (2017-2021) isn’t the star we have now as we move into the next revolutionary moment. While the project of unseating Museveni is still the main assignment, Bobi Wine has lost his lustre as the man for the job.

But this has nothing to do with the man’s weaknesses. Not at all. He remains the same man with the same strengths. But this is the lifecycle of struggles – and their icons. The icons enter routines of normal people; they are exploited by both the pugilist on the other side, and by friendly but selfish hungry hyenas.

Because projects are meant to be executed short-term, protraction dents the icons. In addition to intense scrutiny and competing interests, hitherto ignorable weaknesses become visible or spotlighted.

Since the struggle is yet to find a new icon, Bobi Wine will trudge on. Again, he has power to refashion himself and make himself available for re-selection or even dominance. The problem is that this reselection is not entirely in his hands.

While he could lead actual struggle – such as exorbitant taxes or theft by telecoms – or resign from NUP, he has to wait for the myriad stars to align. The point I am making is this: No one can really write him off but the stars, which neither of us can really read.

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The author is a political theorist based at Makerere University.