The United Kingdom has officially lifted the travel ban that had been in place for over a decade on Bobi Wine, clearing the path for his travel to the UK this November to launch his diaspora mobilisation tours there.
According to reports, Uganda’s National Unity Platform (NUP) leader would soon be allowed to enter the United Kingdom.
Bobi Wine was excluded by the UK’s Home Office on the basis of his anti-gay lyrics he released in 2014.
In the lyrics, Bobi had urged the public to “shoot all the battymen.”
Human rights activists quickly piled pressure on the Home Office to block Bobi from performing at the Troxy Arena in the UK.
Since then, the Home Office has kept Bobi away from England.
Bobi Wine later engaged British diplomats, international lawyers and activists to enable him to travel to the UK.
The meetings took place at Bobi’s home in Magere where he met with diplomats and activists from all over the world.
NUP legal chief, Benjamin Katana told ChimpReports on Monday morning that “it’s true the travel ban on Bobi Wine has been lifted.”
Katana said “he (Bobi) has also been issued a visa to travel to the UK.”
International lawyers argued that Bobi apologised for the anti-gay lyrics words and spent years advocating for the rights of LGBTQ people and should be allowed to enter the UK.
According to UK newspaper, The Telegraph, Peter Tatchell, the veteran gay rights campaigner, and other bodies, publicly backed Bobi Wine and called for him to be allowed into the UK.
“He (Bobi) wants to come in order to help promote a new film called Bobi Wine: Ghetto President, which charts his rise from a Kampala slum to take on one of Africa’s longest-standing autocracies,” said the Telegraph.
Part of the new film, which will be released in November, 2023, is directed by British filmmaker Christopher Sharp and focuses on alleged widespread election fraud in Uganda.
Bobi Wine has already missed one premier of the film in August – his lawyers said the Home Office never responded to an application to allow him in.
The power to exclude a foreign national is in the gift of the Home Secretary, but he or she is expected to review decisions periodically.
