Busoga leadership row deepens
Jun 01, 2009
LEADERSHIP wrangles in the Busoga Kingdom have taken a new twist following a declaration by one faction to enthrone a new Kyabazinga on June 30.
By George Bita
LEADERSHIP wrangles in the Busoga Kingdom have taken a new twist following a declaration by one faction to enthrone a new Kyabazinga on June 30.
A meeting of clan heads in Nabiirye village in Nakalama sub-county in Iganga district on Saturday resolved that Prince Eriakesi Kiregeya of Kigulu chiefdom should be made king.
Rival Kigulu chief Prince Patrick Izimba declined to attend the meeting. “I was simply informed on telephone on Saturday morning, which was not proper,†he said.
George Mutekanga of the Mulinda clan, who chaired the meeting, argued that Kiregeya had been a crown prince (Kyabazinga-in-waiting) during the reign of the late Kyabazinga, Henry Wako Muloki.
“The time has come to look back to 1996 when an agreement was made to the effect that Muloki rules while Kiregeya awaits his turn,†Mutekanga told the 323 clan heads.
An agreement made at the time and co-signed by the Third Deputy Prime Minister, Kirunda Kivejinja and the then vice-president, Dr. Specioza Kazibwe, promised Kiregeya that he would be the next king.
Prof. Paul Wangoola was tasked to head a seven-man committee to popularise Kiregeya. “The committee has done the groundwork,†Wangoola said last week.
The meeting resolved that festivities to swear in Kiregeya would kick off on June 29 in Namungalwe, Iganga district and that the main celebrations would be on June 30 at the seat of Busoga Kingdom Bugembe in Jinja district.
The kingdom has been without a Kyabazinga since the death of Muloki on September 1. Attempts to make Moloki’s son, Wambuzi Muloki, succeed him have met stiff resistance from royals, who argued that the title is not hereditary.
The efforts were also thwarted by a petition in the Jinja High Court filed by Prince Fred Menya of Bugweri. President Yoweri Museveni in December advised the kingdom to nullify the October 31 polls that made Wambuzi the king and organise fresh free and fair elections.
LEADERSHIP wrangles in the Busoga Kingdom have taken a new twist following a declaration by one faction to enthrone a new Kyabazinga on June 30.
A meeting of clan heads in Nabiirye village in Nakalama sub-county in Iganga district on Saturday resolved that Prince Eriakesi Kiregeya of Kigulu chiefdom should be made king.
Rival Kigulu chief Prince Patrick Izimba declined to attend the meeting. “I was simply informed on telephone on Saturday morning, which was not proper,†he said.
George Mutekanga of the Mulinda clan, who chaired the meeting, argued that Kiregeya had been a crown prince (Kyabazinga-in-waiting) during the reign of the late Kyabazinga, Henry Wako Muloki.
“The time has come to look back to 1996 when an agreement was made to the effect that Muloki rules while Kiregeya awaits his turn,†Mutekanga told the 323 clan heads.
An agreement made at the time and co-signed by the Third Deputy Prime Minister, Kirunda Kivejinja and the then vice-president, Dr. Specioza Kazibwe, promised Kiregeya that he would be the next king.
Prof. Paul Wangoola was tasked to head a seven-man committee to popularise Kiregeya. “The committee has done the groundwork,†Wangoola said last week.
The meeting resolved that festivities to swear in Kiregeya would kick off on June 29 in Namungalwe, Iganga district and that the main celebrations would be on June 30 at the seat of Busoga Kingdom Bugembe in Jinja district.
The kingdom has been without a Kyabazinga since the death of Muloki on September 1. Attempts to make Moloki’s son, Wambuzi Muloki, succeed him have met stiff resistance from royals, who argued that the title is not hereditary.
The efforts were also thwarted by a petition in the Jinja High Court filed by Prince Fred Menya of Bugweri. President Yoweri Museveni in December advised the kingdom to nullify the October 31 polls that made Wambuzi the king and organise fresh free and fair elections.