Its not new for foreign non-governmental organizations to sponsor political opposition in Uganda. Indeed, many have done this openly and have had public manifestos alluding to this fact. However, the nature and intention of these groups has always been clear and aimed at promoting democratic competitiveness and promotion of human rights in the country. Others of recent have been LGBT rights promotion organizations based in Europe and America that have been critical of the treatment of queer people in the country.
When President Museveni accused gay rights groups and foreign powers of funding and sponsoring Bobi Wine, many scoffed at him and said that he was clutching onto his last straws of grass.
However, a simple dig into the foundations that are indeed sponsoring Bobi Wine shows that he truly serves their interests and has made no effort to hide not keep it secret.
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom is a foundation in the Federal Republic of Germany devoted to the promotion of liberal principles and to political education. This is according to their bio publicly available on their website.
In 2019, Bobi Wine received a “freedom award” from this organization for opposing President Museveni who these organizations see as a stumbling block to their efforts of normalizing LGBT rights worldwide.
The liberal principles they refer to here include LGBT rights and the fight against governments around the world that suppress these rights. The group is critical of countries that have no laws protecting or enabling same sex marriage.
President Museveni has received strong criticism from these groups for his failure to accept these as human rights and also for the Anti-gay bill that had been passed in Parliament.
People like Bobi Wine are seen as receptive of these rights and that’s why he is a very much favoured candidate for his liberal policies like the use of marijuana.
