KAMPALA – Ugandan parliamentarian and musician Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine has mocked President Yoweri Museveni after his longtime ally President Omar al-Bashir suffered a downfall on Thursday.
The parliamentarian who emphasized that people power is more powerful than the people in power warned Kampala regime that the developments in Khartoum should send a clear signal to ruling party NRM chairperson and longtime President, Gen Yoweri Museveni whom he accuses of presiding over a-three decade of iron-fisted rule.
“You can fool some people sometimes, but you cannot fool all the people all the time,” Bobi Wine said adding that those who make peaceful change impossible make revolutionary change inevitable.
“General Museveni, I hope you get the message loud and clear,” he noted.
He added; “All dictators must always remember that they can fool people so many times but they cannot fool all the people all the time. When #PeoplePower is bringing down despotic Field Marshals, then despotic Generals should be put on notice. Power to you, People of Sudan.”
The Sudanese military on Thursday is believed to have ousted longtime Mr. Bashir in a coup following months of popular protests against his three decades rule.
The army deployed at strategic points around the capital Khartoum and the international airport was closed, as tens of thousands of protesters gathered at the defense ministry celebrating the fall of al-Bashir.
“It has fallen, we won,” protesters chanted outside the ministry.
Sudan’s armed forces were set to make an announcement, state media said, amid reports the military had taken control of state radio and television stations.
“The armed forces will present an important statement shortly. Be ready for it,” state television said early in the morning.
However, hours later the Sudanese were left waiting for details as there were apparent differences within the military.
“There is an internal conflict within the military and we are awaiting an announcement,” Khalid Omer Yousif, the Secretary-General of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party, told DW.
Reuters, citing unnamed officials, reported that al-Bashir has stepped down and a transitional council headed by military officers will govern the country.
It was unclear what would happen to al-Bashir. Sudanese sources said that the president and his aides had been put under arrest.
Despite the immediate jubilation around al-Bashir’s downfall, the military intervention risks replacing one military dictatorship with another, dashing protesters’ hopes for a civilian government and opening the way for instability.
Organizers of the protests urged people to stay on the streets until the “regime steps down completely and power is handed to a civilian transitional government.”
Kamal Omar, a 38-year-old doctor who joined the protests, said a military government would not be acceptable. “We will continue our sit-in until we prevail.”
International pressure
The protests against al-Bashir gained a boost last week after Algeria’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in response to weeks of similar protests against his nearly 20-year rule.
Earlier this week, the US, Britain, and Norway called for Sudanese authorities to respond to protesters demands.
“The Sudanese authorities must now respond and deliver a credible plan for this political transition,” the three countries said in a joint statement.
Al-Bashir, an Islamist and former army officer, seized power in a coup in 1989. He had remained resistant to giving up power in the face of protests, saying that change can only come through elections.
He had warned of chaos similar to the Arab Spring uprisings that led to civil wars in countries like Libya, Syria and Yemen.
Al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and genocide committed during the conflict in Darfur.
