False: Bobi Wine Did Not Say Ibrahim Traoré Should Step Down and Hand Over Power
Claim
A claim circulating on TikTok alleges that Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has asked Burkina Faso’s interim president Ibrahim Traoré to step down and allow the people elect their preferred leader.
The post, presented as breaking news, reads: “BREAKING NEWS! Bobi Wine the Ugandan opposition leader has said that it’s time for Ibrahim Traore to step down and hand over power to the people so that citizens can choose whoever they want through the ballot. Bobi has further added that he used to respect Ibrahim Traore but he now seems to be losing respect for Traore day by day.
We investigated the claim to establish whether Bobi Wine made these statements and whether the circulating post accurately represents his position on Traoré’s leadership.
Background
Ibrahim Traoré came to power in Burkina Faso in September 2022 following a military coup that removed then-interim president Paul-Henri Damiba.
Following his takeover, Traoré’s government initially committed to restoring civilian rule through elections. However, the country’s political transition was subsequently extended, and in July 2025, the government announced the dissolution of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).
Bobi Wine, who has frequently spoken about democracy and electoral accountability in Africa, has publicly commented on Traoré’s leadership on more than one occasion.
Evidence
We reviewed results from DMI’s Info Verifier using keywords including “Did Kyagulanyi ask president Ibrahim Traoré to step down from office?” The results did not provide evidence that Bobi Wine had made the statement.
Instead, the search returned reports and videos discussing calls by other African leaders for president Traoré to step down, rather than statements made by Bobi Wine. These included a YouTube video and a Sierra Leonean publication, SierraLoaded.
We also conducted an online media monitoring to establish whether Bobi Wine had made the alleged remarks. Our findings led us to several links on Facebook here, here, here and here sharing the same claim.
We reviewed the entire quote presented as breaking news and our findings revealed that the claim recycles remarks Bobi Wine made during a July 2025 appearance on the SMWX podcast in South Africa.
During the interview, Bobi Wine expressed support for president Traoré but said it would be “wonderful if he gave them a chance to elect him as president,” so that citizens could feel that he was their servant rather than their boss.
Bobi Wine said: “I am sure people love President Traoré. So, it would be wonderful if he gave them a chance to elect him as president, so that they feel that he is actually their servant and not their boss. That is my humble opinion.”
However, the circulating posts present these remarks as new statements calling for Traoré to step down and hand over power. The posts also add that Bobi Wine is losing respect for Traoré day by day, a statement that does not appear in the original podcast remarks we reviewed.
The circulating claim therefore combines a genuine statement from a 2025 interview with additional wording that changes its meaning and presents it as a recent call for Traoré to leave office.
We also reviewed the TikTok account that published the claim and found previous posts containing misleading or unsubstantiated information. While this does not by itself establish that the current claim is false, it provides context about the account’s history and the reliability of its content.
Methodology
To verify the claim we used the following tools;
Info Verifier:
We reviewed results retrieved using relevant keywords to identify material related to the claim and determine whether there was evidence supporting the statement attributed to Bobi Wine.
Media monitoring:
We reviewed the media for publications about the claim using relevant keywords and the full quote presented in the circulating post. This helped us identify similar posts, trace the remarks to Bobi Wine’s July 2025 SMWX podcast appearance, and compare the original statements with the circulating claim.
Account Analysis:
We reviewed the TikTok account that published the claim, including previous posts, to assess the context in which the claim was shared and identify any history of misleading or unsubstantiated content.
Verdict: False
Bobi Wine did not call on Ibrahim Traoré to step down and hand over power to the people, nor did he say that he was losing respect for Traoré. The circulating posts repurpose remarks Bobi Wine made during a July 2025 SMWX interview, in which he said it would be wonderful for Traoré to give Burkinabè citizens an opportunity to elect him as president. The posts alter the original context and present the remarks as a recent call for Traoré to leave office.