Uganda: No, BBC News Didn't Publish 'Projections' Saying Bobi Wine Will Lose Uganda's 2026 Election By a Wider Margin

@HEBobiwine / X
Uganda Presidential candidate Kyagulanyi Ssentamu Robert (Bobi Wine) campaigning in Busiro North five days before the lection on January 15.
16 January 2026
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Makinia Juma Sylvia

No, BBC News didn't publish 'projections' saying Bobi Wine will lose Uganda's 2026 election by a wider margin

IN SHORT: A graphic apparently published by BBC News claims that "projections from International Election Watch" show opposition leader Bobi Wine will lose Uganda's 2026 presidential election by a wider margin than in 2021. But the media house did not report this.

"Projections from International Election Watch show that Bobi Wine will lose the 2026 presidential elections with a wider margin compared to the one of 2021," reads the text on a screenshot circulating on social media.

The screenshot features an image of Ugandan opposition politician Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, seemingly addressing a crowd.

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Uganda held its presidential and parliamentary elections on 15 January 2026. The polls took place in a charged environment, with heightened political mobilisation and close public scrutiny of security deployments and alleged irregularities.

Bobi Wine is the presidential candidate of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Uganda's main opposition party. He faced Yoweri Museveni of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), along with other candidates cleared by the electoral commission to run.

The country's electoral commission has not yet declared the winner of the presidential election.

The election carries high stakes. Museveni has been in power since 1986, making him one of Africa's longest-serving leaders. Another win would extend his rule beyond four decades.

Bobi Wine, who rose to prominence in 2017, has become a leading opposition figure and a symbol of youth-driven, reformist politics. His growing support has heightened interest in the 2026 election in both Uganda and internationally.

In past Ugandan elections, rights groups and news organisations documented tensions and violence around campaigns and disputed outcomes. In such moments, screenshots bearing the BBC News logo spread quickly online.

But did the BBC publish the "International Election Watch" projection? We checked.

No such news

Africa Check searched the BBC's website, Facebook, X and Instagram accounts, where the broadcaster publishes breaking news, and found no such report.

On 13 January 2026, BBC News posted the circulating graphic on its official social media pages with the word "fake" printed across it in red.

"This story is false and was not published by BBC News. For accurate information, we encourage audiences to refer to our official BBC News Africa platforms," reads their post on X.

The circulating screenshot is fake and should be ignored.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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