Bobi Wine named among Foreign Policy's 100 Global Thinkers

By Paul Kayonga

Kyadondo East Member of Parliament Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu has been named among Foreign Policy's 100 Global Thinkers. The legislator, better known for his musical moniker Bobi Wine, was named among the most influential people in the world in the activism and arts section.

Kyagulanyi's inclusion comes with the brief that, "Uganda’s firebrand singer-turned-politician grew up poor in Kampala. Today, he represents a section of the city as a member of parliament. Bobi Wine, born Robert Kyagulanyi, has rallied Uganda’s youth by arguing against a proposed social media tax and fighting for the dignity of the poor. Ugandan soldiers attempted to silence Wine in August 2018, first beating him brutally and then bringing him to trial for treason in a military court, although he is a civilian. Wine recovered, picked up attention in the international media, and his “people power” campaign continues, undeterred."

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The Foreign Policy is one of the world's foremost magazines. Over the course of almost half a century of award-winning journalism, design, and the presentation of important new ideas from the world’s leading thinkers, Foreign Policy has established itself at the forefront of media organizations devoted to the coverage of global affairs.

2019 marks the 10th anniversary of FP's Global Thinkers edition. The Global Thinkers are split into 10 categories of 10. The first group comprises thinkers who have had enormous impact on the world in the past decade. The other groups are for people who have been influential in the past year: thinkers and doers 40 and under, as well as those in defense and security, energy and climate, technology, economics and business, science and health, and activism and the arts. 10 of the thinkers are selected by FP readers. Another 10 are profiled under great minds who died in 2018.

Kyagulanyi shares the list with Christine Lagarde the Managing Director, International Monetary Fund. Since taking over the International Monetary Fund’s top job in 2011, Christine Lagarde has spent her time in office dispensing tough love. The strict conditions she attached to bailouts for countries such as Greece and Ukraine haven’t won her many friends but have helped calm international markets during a turbulent decade. In an era when skepticism toward international institutions is growing, Lagarde has got time and again proved the importance of the fund’s role as a lender of last resort, even while trying to retool it as a champion of progressive policies on climate change and inequality. Her aim: to prevent crises before they happen.

Others also includes, Fareed Zakaria; Author And Tv Host. The authors believe that one of the most influential foreign-policy analysts for almost two decades, Fareed Zakaria has proved prescient on subjects including the decline of U.S. power, the rise of the rest, and the spread of illiberal democracy. As the U.S. media continues to grow more insular, his CNN show, Fareed Zakaria GPS, now in its 11th year, remains a rare haven of smart takes on world affairs. The Indian-born Zakaria’s success offers hope that readers and viewers still want intelligent coverage of global events—even if fewer and fewer outlets are willing to provide it.

Others are Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand. It is asserted that, Jacinda Ardern, 38 years old, embodies a progressive political counterexample to the age of Donald Trump, one built on inclusiveness and equal rights. In her short time in office—she became New Zealand’s prime minister in October 2017 and then took a six-week maternity leave starting in June 2018—she has championed social welfare reform and stepped up health and education spending while also embracing New Zealand’s indigenous population by pledging to ensure that the Maori language is taught in all schools by 2025.

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Bobi Wine, could not refrain his sense of excitement despite being in court battling his treason case with 34 others, he logged in on twitter to express his feeling remarking that, “Extremely honored to be named amongst the @ForeignPolicy Global Thinkers, 2019, alongside other respected world leaders. I am humbled that the small things we do for our country and our people are appreciated by the world. Such recognition only reaffirms to us that ours is not a wrong cause. It only encourages to carry on, confident that we are on the right side of history. Indeed, when this struggle is over, as a people, we shall wear the victor's crown in a new Uganda” he posted on his Twitter handle.