Bobi Wine and his wife Barbie
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The love message looked like a reindition of a song, “So Glad We Have Made It,” as opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, showered his wife, Barbie Itungo Kyagulanyi, with affection as she celebrated her birthday.
Bobi Wine’s message, shared publicly on September 7, painted a picture of a relationship that has survived both the highs and lows of life, with the National Unity Platform (NUP) leader describing Barbie as a blessing whose love and companionship he could never fully repay.
“We’ve walked through rose gardens and through hellfire, laughed until our stomachs hurt and cried until our eyes were red,” Bobi wrote, reflecting on the couple’s journey.
“Through it all and yet still together and still choosing each other,” he added, before expressing his gratitude for the woman who has remained beside him through some of the most defining moments of his personal and public life.
The birthday tribute came as the couple continued to mark a relationship that has stretched over more than two decades. Bobi and Barbie first met when he was a student at Makerere University and she was a student at Bweranyangi Girls’ Senior Secondary School. Their relationship eventually culminated in a wedding at Rubaga Cathedral in August 2011, after years of being together.
The couple now have four children and have built a family life alongside Bobi Wine’s transformation from musician and entertainer into one of Uganda’s most prominent opposition politicians.
For Bobi, however, Barbie’s birthday was an opportunity to look beyond politics, music and public life and celebrate the woman he described in deeply personal terms.
“Sometimes I wonder what I ever did to deserve a blessing like you,” he wrote.
“One lifetime could never be enough for me to love you or to reward you for all that you have been to me.”
The opposition leader then extended his birthday wishes beyond Barbie herself, praying that the blessings he associates with his wife would continue through their family for generations.
“So I pray that God’s blessings follow you, our children and our grandchildren, through every generation,” he said.
The tribute is consistent with Bobi’s previous public descriptions of Barbie as not merely his wife, but also his friend, mother to their children and an important partner in navigating the pressures surrounding his political career.
In an earlier interview, Bobi described Barbie as someone who helped him transition from his youthful years into adulthood, praising her intelligence, patience and ability to guide him.
Their relationship has also been publicly celebrated by Barbie, who has previously described her years with Bobi as a period of growth, self-realisation and happiness.
Bobi concluded his latest birthday message with a simple but powerful declaration of affection: “Happy birthday, my dearest Barbie Itungo. I love you.”
