What has Bobi Wine said about the late Pope Francis?
Following the passing of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, Ugandan musician-turned-opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, known popularly as Bobi Wine, has shared moving reflections on his unique experience performing for the pontiff during his historic visit to Uganda in 2015.
Which song did Bobi Wine sing for Pope Francis?
The official welcome song, Viva Papa, was created to honor Pope Francis’s visit, and featured many voices — including the Lubaga Cathedral’s Saint Cecilia Choir — but Bobi Wine was the lead act. “I’m a Catholic, a renowned Catholic, and when the Pope was coming… I was reached out to to do a song,” he said. “It was an honor that I took with friends like my fellow Catholic, and namesake, Sylver Kyagulanyi, my brother, Paddyman, and the Rubaga Cathedral Choir.”
Despite being the most visible face in the performance, Bobi Wine was quick to deflect individual praise. “I might be the one upon whom the spotlight is shown on, but I don’t want to take credit alone. It was all of us.”
More than a musical performance, Bobi Wine described it as a spiritual collaboration: “The church music production involves hefty costs… but you don’t look at what goes in, especially in financial terms. It’s a project of love, I would say. So I cannot even remember any financial implications whatsoever. I just remember it as an honor and as a beautiful process.”
The song, which has over 385,000 views on YouTube, was widely embraced by the public. Yet its impact extended far beyond popularity. It planted a seed that would eventually grow into Bobi Wine’s political ambitions.
What did Bobi Wine learn from the Pope?
“You see, the Pope teaches us decency, humility and obedience,” he recalled. “But in many ways, Pope Francis, at a personal level, taught me stubbornness.” That quote, a bit unexpected, was actually rooted in one of the Pope’s most profound messages — one Bobi Wine echoed in the opening lines of Viva Papa: “Things have a price and can be for sale. But that’s not the case with human dignity.”
“If the Pope is the one who has said it, and I’ve even reiterated it in a song in his presence, then it’s true — things can have a price, but not my dignity and freedom,” Bobi Wine affirmed. “That, in many ways, made me pursue to uphold my human dignity at all cost.”
Less than two years after that performance, Bobi Wine entered politics, winning a by-election for MP of Kyadondo East in 2017. By 2021, he was running for the presidency, where he finished second with 35% of the vote, challenging longtime President Yoweri Museveni.
Reflecting on Pope Francis’s legacy after his death, Bobi Wine spoke with reverence: “For me, my satisfaction comes even from a distance. The message that he gives — that I feed on, but also other faithfuls feed on. For me, that alone is satisfaction. Of course, meeting him personally and having a conversation is a further spice.”
Describing Pope Francis as “a remarkable leader,” Bobi Wine added, “He will always be remembered, especially for fronting peace and love in the world.”
