As promised yesterday, the National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine has clarified on the controversy surrounding his age and academic qualifications.
Addressing the media on Monday in Kampala, Bobi Wine said that he was born in 1982 but not 1980 as some of his alleged academic documents show.
“I was born on February 12th 1982 in Nkozi. My brother Julius Walakila, who I follow- same father, same mother, was born on 23rd October 1979 according to all his official records. There is no way I would be born on 12th February, 1980, only four months after the birth of my elder brother,” musician turned politician explained.
He however, added that in turn of events, when he was at St. Aloysius Bukalagi Primary School in 1992 in Primary Six, his father requested Mr Kato, the headmaster of Kanoni Catholic School to allow him register and sit Primary 7. exams there.Bobi Wine therefore spent his third term of Primary 6 in Primary 7; he registered and sat for PLE in 1992.
“My father was advised that in order for my age to match with that of other candidates who included my elder brother Julius Walakila who was sitting PLE at Bukalagi the same year, he needed to increase my age by two years. That is when my year of birth was altered from 1982 to 1980. Despite sitting PLE without studying P.7, I passed my exams well.
“But I would continue with this anomaly in age throughout my education both at S.4, S.6 and university education. 9years ago, in 2011, my late father, J.W. Ssentamu talked about this story and the video recording is available. Similarly, 14 years ago, in 2007, my elder brother Eddy Yawe was interviewed by the New Vision – an extract of which is available. He also spoke of how I skipped P.7 and sat PLE. The same fact is spoken of in previous different interviews by my elder brother Chairman Nyanzi. From as far back as 2008, I have done several interviews in which I spoke of this story,” Bobi Wine clarified.
The Kyadondo East Member of Parliament further disclosed that it was a point of getting his first passport in March 2000 that he decided to correct the anomaly in his date of birth to reflect the real one which is 12 February,1982.
“I remember swearing an affidavit to reflect this change, which is what was required at the passport office at the time. I saw some misguided people claiming that I changed my age at the time I was joining Parliament in 2017. No. All my records outside the academic documents since 2000 bear my true year of birth. Regarding the arrangement and spelling error in my names, I swore a Statutory Declaration in 2017 as required by law, and filed it accordingly. It was the basis of my nomination as Kyadondo East Member of Parliament. At that time, I also applied for verification of my UNEB results and they were verified.”
“I hope this clarification brings comfort to all those well intentioned supporters and comrades who might have been worried about these schemes. I have been a law abiding citizen who values and treasures integrity, my shortcomings here and there notwithstanding. If my legal team deems it fit to undertake any other steps to clarify these issues in light of the most recent jurisprudence, they will do so, and I will inform you friends accordingly. For now, we stand confidently right before the law and any other moral code! The detractors as we say, will die in their own movie!”
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