Hundreds of supporters erupted in cheers as Uganda’s leading opposition figure, Robert Kyagulanyi popularly known as Bobi Wine made his way through a recent campaign rally, greeted by a striking sea of national flags. In the tense final days before Thursday’s election, the Ugandan flag has emerged as a powerful and controversial symbol in an increasingly charged political environment.
Political analysts widely expect President Yoweri Museveni, 81, to secure a seventh term in office, citing his firm grip on state institutions after nearly four decades in power. Yet Bobi Wine, 43, has sought to recast the election as a referendum on governance and freedoms, mobilising supporters around a message of resistance and reform. Central to that effort is the national flag traditionally a unifying emblem, now repurposed as a sign of dissent.
Authorities have reacted sharply. Last month, police warned against what they termed the “casual and inappropriate” use of the flag, a move critics interpret as an attempt to curb visible opposition support. Human rights organisations, including the United Nations Human Rights Office, have reported repeated cases of intimidation and harassment of opposition supporters by security forces during the campaign period.
For many of Bobi Wine’s backers, the flag has become a non-violent tool of protest. “It is the only weapon we have,” said Conrad Olwenyi, a 31-year-old woodworker attending a rally. “We cannot fight the security forces because they have guns. We only have the flag. If they shoot you when you have the flag, they are shooting the country.”
Uganda’s flag, adopted at independence in 1962, carries deep symbolism: black stripes representing Africa, yellow for the country’s sunshine, red for African brotherhood, and the grey crowned crane Uganda’s national bird at its centre. In previous elections, Bobi Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) adopted red berets as a campaign symbol, only for the government to ban them on the grounds that they resembled military attire. That ban was later used to justify raids on opposition offices.
Analysts say the shift to the national flag is both strategic and symbolic. “It is a way of reclaiming patriotism,” said Kristof Titeca, a specialist on Ugandan politics. “It appears to have taken the government by surprise, which explains the subsequent clampdown.”
Although Uganda has laws regulating the use of national symbols, they were rarely enforced in the past. Their sudden application has raised concerns about shrinking civic space. Prominent cartoonist and commentator Jimmy Spire Ssentongo described the response as a sign of political anxiety. “This is not about protecting the flag,” he said. “It is about the visibility of support for the opposition at a time when the space for freedom of expression is narrowing.”
Government officials, however, reject claims of repression. Israel Kyarisiima, a youth coordinator for Museveni’s ruling National Resistance Movement, argued that the opposition is politicising a national symbol. “Everyone has a right to use the flag, but context matters,” he said.
Despite warnings and reported incidents of harassment, opposition supporters continue to display the flag at rallies. Bobi Wine has urged his followers to defend anyone targeted for carrying it, framing the issue as one of national identity and constitutional rights.
“Now we have something that truly shows our unity as Ugandans, and they are trying to criminalise it,” said Ruth Excellent Mirembe, 25, waving a flag at a recent rally. “This represents us as Ugandans. Trying to stop its use is oppression in its highest form.”
As Uganda heads into election day, the struggle over the meaning and use of the national flag underscores deeper tensions over power, patriotism, and political freedom in the country’s future.
