Africa has the world's youngest population - and the world's oldest leader.

In Thursday's election in Uganda, the friction is clearly visible. 

On one side we have the old president - 76-year-old Yoweri Museveni, who with teeth and claws clings to power.

First he deleted the law that limited how long a president could sit, then he deleted the law that limited the president's age to under 75. 

For the older generation in Uganda, Museveni is a freedom fighter who ended the devastating civil war in 1986. But about 80 percent of Ugandans are born after taking office, and they are tired of seeing a country without jobs where schools, hospitals , the roads and infrastructure are substandard.

Shy young means

So a couple of years ago, only 35-year-old musician Robert Kyagulanyi, known under the artist name Bobi Wine, was elected to parliament.

He symbolizes the struggle of young people.

He comes from a poor part of Kampala and calls himself the ghetto president.

The poor in Uganda feel that he understands them, that he sees them and that he can make the country better.

Museveni has seen many elections during his time as president, but now for the first time he seems really worried.

He spares no means to stop Bobi Wine, and barely tries to hide it. 

Campaign has been banned in areas where the opposition is strong, such as in Kampala, citing corona restrictions.

Museveni is not allowed to hold campaign meetings in the capital either, but he does not have to either, because here there is no doubt about who people intend to vote for.

Museveni does not have a chance in the capital.

Prevented from campaigning

Museveni is strong in the countryside, and when Bobi Wine tried to give interviews to radio stations there, he was stopped by police from getting to the stations.

The radio is the most important source of information for the rural population. 

Bobi Wine has been arrested several times during the campaign, and several of his confidants have been killed.

When he was about to publish his election manifesto and his presidential candidacy, he was arrested, and in protests that followed in November, more than 50 people were shot dead in the worst violence Uganda has seen in years. 

When Wine was prevented from campaigning, he moved it completely to the net, where he is otherwise also like the fish in the water.

The young generation uses a lot of social media, and his songs and videos there are a way for him to reach out with his message.

Shut down social media

But on Tuesday, just a few days before the election, all social media and communication apps in Uganda were blocked.

Facebook and Whatsapp stopped working.

Wines' last way of campaigning was taken from him. 

I have spoken to several candidates in the parliamentary elections for Wine's party, who say that they have been arrested and tortured and interrogated about why they support Bobi Wine.

When we did interviews in Wines' old home, we were persecuted.

The young people's frustration and fighting spirit is a force that cannot be waved away.

They are tired of old leaders clinging to power and feeling that they are doing nothing to develop the country, but only living on corruption and to feed themselves. 

No one has any illusions that the election will be free and fair.

But there are reports from the countryside that a record number of people went to their home villages to vote. 

The question is what they intend to do when Museveni once again makes sure to win the election.