Mukono, Uganda — At a recent opposition rally in the east of Kampala, the Uganda’s black, yellow and red flag has become the most visible sign of resistance to President Yoweri Museveni, who is widely expected to secure a seventh term after nearly four decades in power.
His challenger, the pop star-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, better known as Bobi Wine, has cast the vote as a protest, not a contest he expects to win.
The tactic has unsettled the authorities. Police last month warned against using the flag “casually and inappropriately”, language that critics say signals a broader clampdown. Human rights monitors, including the United Nations Human Rights Office, have reported harassment and intimidation of opposition supporters during the campaign.
For those in the crowd, the symbolism is deliberate. “The flag is the only weapon we have,” said Conrad Olwenyi, 31, a woodworker attending the rally.
“We cannot fight the security forces. They have guns. We only have the flag. If they shoot you when you have it, they are shooting the country,” he said.
Uganda’s flag dates to independence from Britain in 1962. Its colours speak to shared identity: black for the people of Africa, yellow for sunshine, red for brotherhood. At its centre sits the grey crowned crane, a bird prized for grace and calm. Until now, it has rarely been contested terrain.
In the last election, in 2021, Mr Kyagulanyi’s National Unity Platform adopted red berets as a campaign symbol. The government banned them, saying they resembled military uniform, and used the ruling to raid party offices. The flag, analysts say, is a safer and smarter substitute.
“It is a way of reclaiming patriotism,” said Kristof Titeca, a long-time observer of Ugandan politics. The move, he added, appears to have caught the state off guard. “That surprise explains the sudden enforcement of rules that were largely ignored before.”
There are laws governing how the flag may be displayed, as in many countries across East Africa. Yet they were seldom applied in Uganda until now. To critics, the change points less to concern for the symbol than to anxiety about visibility.
“It shows panic,” said the cartoonist Jimmy Spire Ssentongo. “They are not worried about misuse of the flag. They are worried about how much support the opposition is drawing.” As Mr Museveni, now 81, edges closer to 40 years in office, he added, space for dissent has narrowed.
The ruling party rejects that view. Israel Kyarisiima, a national youth coordinator for the National Resistance Movement, said the issue was context, not suppression. “Everyone has a right to use the national flag,” he said. “But it depends on how it is being used. The opposition is politicising it.”
Opposition supporters tell a different story. They accuse security forces of singling out those carrying flags at rallies. In a Christmas message, Mr Kyagulanyi urged followers to protect anyone attacked for holding one.
The warnings have done little to dampen the display. “Now we have something that shows our unity as Ugandans,” said Ruth Excellent Mirembe, 25, waving a flag at another gathering. “They are trying to make it a crime. This is oppression at its highest level. This flag represents all of us.”
As Uganda heads to the polls, the outcome may be all but settled. Yet on roadsides and in town squares, the flag tells a different story, not of who will win, but of who still wants to be seen.
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