Bobi Wine campaigns in Kinyarwanda during Kisoro visit

By The Inspirer.

Ugandan musician-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, made headlines this week when he and his wife, Barbara Itungo Kyagulanyi, addressed voters in Kinyarwanda while campaigning in Kisoro District.

During the event, Bobi Wine urged the crowd, saying, “I ask you, speak it all, speak it all.” His wife Barbara then took the stage, playfully noting, “Did you see that I taught him? You heard him, he knows it. Give me your marks!” She continued in Kinyarwanda, connecting with the audience: “I came to ask you to consider me as the First Lady.”

Barbara’s use of Kinyarwanda is rooted in Kisoro’s diverse linguistic heritage. Many residents speak multiple languages, including Kinyarwanda and Runyankole, and some trace their ancestry back to Rwanda.

Bobi Wine is running for president of Uganda under the National Unity Platform (NUP), with elections scheduled for January 15, 2026. His Kisoro campaign reflects an effort to engage voters in the languages most familiar to them, strengthening his grassroots appeal.