UK lifts Bobi Wine’s travel ban

The government of the United Kingdom (UK) has lifted a travel ban that was slapped on a known artiste, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine over accusations of inciting homophobic attacks on gays through his song 'Burn Dem' that released in 2014.

Mr Kyagulnayi, who is currently the President of National Unity Platform (NUP), a leading opposition party in Uganda, shared news of the lifted travel ban on Sunday morning through his X (formerly Twitter) handle.

“I am very glad to inform you that the ban against me from entering the UK has finally been overturned, and I will soon be visiting the UK after more than 10 years,” Mr Kyagulanyi’s X post read in part.

He further commended his legal team in the UK together with the NUP supporters in the diaspora who have always pushed to end his travel restrictions to the UK.

“I want to appreciate our legal team in the UK for the relentless fight and our NUP/People Power Diaspora comrades for constantly raising our voice through protests as well as knocking on different doors,” he said in his Sunday X post.

In the same post, the leading opposition leader in Uganda emphasized that it has been; “unfair [for the UK] to open their doors for Gen. Museveni, a world-renowned tyrant, and yet continue to shut the door for me who, together with many others are trying to build a free and democratic country.”

The anti-gay song that led to Mr Kyagulanyi’s ban from the UK is accessible on YouTube though it was said to have been pulled down 24 hours after it was uploaded. 

For almost a decade, Mr Kyagulanyi has been on a ban to enter the UK and he has missed several activities, with the most recent being the premiere of his film in August 2023. Mr Kyagulanyi has been recently traversing various parts of the world to premier and promote a new film called ‘Bobi Wine: The People’s President’ which documents human rights violations in Uganda as well as his rise from the Ghetto president to Uganda’s leading opposition leader.

This Publication has learnt that the film is scheduled for a second high-profile screening this month, and Mr Kyagulanyi is more likely to physically grace the show following the announced suspension of his travel ban.

The news of the lifted travel ban on Mr Kyagulanyi by the UK has attracted tens of congratulatory messages from his supporters and social media followers, including those in the UK who have expressed their readiness to welcome him for the first time in the past decade.