Ugandan opposition MP and former music star Bobi Wine has made his first trip to the UK in a decade, more than three weeks after the UK government lifted a reported nine-year visa ban against him.
“London, it’s been 10 long years!” he captioned a photo of himself outside BBC’s London office on Wednesday.
Bobi Wine had allegedly been banned from visiting UK after the release of his 2014 song “Burn Dem”, which rights groups said contained lyrics inciting homophobic attacks.
Bobi Wine was denied a UK visa shortly after releasing the song, forcing him to cancel two planned shows in the country.
At the time, the UK Home Office declined to confirm whether it had banned Bobi Wine’s entry when it was contacted by the Guardian newspaper.
On 5 November, Bobi Wine, real name Robert Kyagulanyi, said that he was finally able to return to the UK.
“I am very glad to inform you that the ban against me from entering the UK has finally been overturned, and I will soon be visiting the UK after more than 10 years,” Bobi Wine shared on X.
He added that his legal team had relentlessly fought for the lifting of the travel ban.
He said the legal team had argued that it was “unfair” for the UK government to grant entry to Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, whom he branded “a world-renowned tyrant”, while banning him and “many others [who] are trying to build a free and democratic country”.