A prison officer in Uganda got fired for backing the wrong politician online. Lawrence Ampe, an officer with the Uganda Prisons Service, was dismissed after he posted support for opposition leader Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, on TikTok and X. Ampe used those posts to accuse senior officials of corruption and abusing lower-ranking staff.
He is not sorry about it either. After his dismissal, he posted a statement calling it part of a fight for national liberation, telling people to stay focused on change even when it costs them personally. Photos showed his stuff packed on a motorcycle taxi as he left his post. The official reason is clear: uniformed service members are banned from partisan politics and must stay neutral.
This move has sparked accusations of a double standard from critics and the opposition. They point out that other security force members have openly supported President Yoweri Museveni and the ruling National Resistance Movement without any punishment, sometimes even getting promotions. Bobi Wine himself put out a statement saying Ampe was punished for exposing abuses, and promised that an opposition government would reform the security sector to end this kind of selective enforcement. He finished by saying his party stands with the fired officer.
He is not sorry about it either. After his dismissal, he posted a statement calling it part of a fight for national liberation, telling people to stay focused on change even when it costs them personally. Photos showed his stuff packed on a motorcycle taxi as he left his post. The official reason is clear: uniformed service members are banned from partisan politics and must stay neutral.
This move has sparked accusations of a double standard from critics and the opposition. They point out that other security force members have openly supported President Yoweri Museveni and the ruling National Resistance Movement without any punishment, sometimes even getting promotions. Bobi Wine himself put out a statement saying Ampe was punished for exposing abuses, and promised that an opposition government would reform the security sector to end this kind of selective enforcement. He finished by saying his party stands with the fired officer.
