The presidential rally in Uganda: ritual, drama and multiple axes of communication

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyses the rally practices of President Yoweri Museveni and opposition presidential candidates Kizza Besigye and Robert Kyagulanyi (better known as ‘Bobi Wine’) in Uganda. Drawing on literatures on political ritual, social drama and rallies, the article illustrates the multiple forms and axes of communication that take place between various actors – both present and absent – who are involved in these rallies. Based on ethnographic research in Uganda over multiple election cycles, the article argues that the meaning and function of various performative, material and rhetorical components of these rallies cannot be understood in isolation from broader political contexts, specifically: local NRM politics for Museveni, and systemic state repression for Besigye and Bobi Wine. By placing rallies within these contexts, the article makes sense of the political rituals undertaken by participants.