Grammy-winning Buju Banton Endorses Bobi Wine, Urges African Unity

Buju Banton, identified on Instagram as @bujubanton and born Mark Anthony Myrie, publicly signalled solidarity with Ugandan opposition figure Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine, after video of Wine at Buganda Road Court circulated online and before Wine was sent to Luzira prison. In a social post reproduced by Watchdog Uganda, Buju wrote, "On this day in 2019 we as Africans will see it fit to silence the voice of the people??? No more… Bobi Wine, I Buju Banton stand with you and my people in Uganda…Freedom."

Robert Kyagulanyi, the Kyadondo East MP and opposition presidential hopeful, has faced repeated detentions and violent encounters with security forces; Bobi Wine told The Gleaner that he has been "jailed, detained, beaten and shot at more times than [he] can count." MBU reported that the Instagram clip Buju shared showed Wine at Buganda Road Court on a Monday prior to his transfer to Luzira prison, and that Buju reposted the footage as a direct rebuke to moves he described as attempts to silence freedom fighters.

The musical element ties the two men together: Watchdog Uganda identified a revolutionary collaboration track titled "Ballot or Bullet," quoting the lyric, "….and if it takes a revolution, freedom will have to come. By the ballot or the bullet, let thy will be done," and reported that Bobi Wine shared the track on his social media on a Saturday. Watchdog also said the song "will not enjoy airplays basing on the message it portrays" and that social platforms were used to distribute it. MBU added that Buju and Bobi "hit studio and recorded a few songs" after meeting, though full release details and dates for those sessions have not been published.

Their working relationship stretches back to public meetings and performances across 2019 and 2020. Bobi Wine performed at Rebel Salute in January 2020 and has credited Jamaican artists including Buju Banton when speaking to The Gleaner, saying, "I want Jamaicans to keep supporting me and I thank them for all the support that they have already given me. Big up to Buju Banton, Tony Rebel, Capleton, Anthony B, Vincenzo and the Jamaican media." The Africa Center for Strategic Studies documents a May 2020 concert in Kenya that Wine and Buju organised to inspire East African youth to "reclaim and redefine" Pan-African liberation, and includes a screen capture captioned "Bobi Wine and Buju Banton performing in Kenya in 2020."

The political backdrop remains stark: the Africa Center maps Wine as the leading challenger to long-time President Yoweri Museveni, described in its analysis as 76 years old, and highlights Wine's rhetoric about a generational rift using the Luganda word "bazukulu," or grandchildren. Watchdog reported Wine telling Kenyan radio station Hot 96 FM, "We are not allowed to express ourselves. And we are saying enough is enough."

Reaction to Buju’s public stand has been evident online. MBU captured a reader comment saying, "Bobi is a hero & a legend at a young age," and the UK branch of the National Unity Platform reportedly shared Buju's statement, drawing what one summary called massive engagement. Between the court appearance, Luzira detention, the "Ballot or Bullet" release on social feeds, and a history of Jamaica-Uganda musical solidarity stretching back to a 2018 Morgan Heritage/Steven Marley initiative, Buju's endorsement has folded a Grammy-winning Jamaican voice into an ongoing transnational campaign for political change in Uganda.