Inaugural Omusinga Birthday Run held with call for subjects to be peace ambassadors

KASESE - Kasese district residents, especially Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu (OBR) kingdom subjects, have been asked to be ambassadors of peace.

The call by President Yoweri Museveni during the inaugural Omusinga Birthday Run and the 59th coronation anniversary celebrations on November 14, 2025, was delivered by Kasese Resident District Commissioner Lt. Joe Walusimbi. The event, attended by thousands at Nyakasanga Playgrounds in Nyamwamba division, showed the need for unity amid recent security threats and cultural revival.

The message comes amid heightened security concerns following attacks on military installations in the districts of Kasese, Bundibugyo, Ntoroko, and Fort Portal city on November 1, 2025. 

The assaults left 41 injured, 90 arrested, one soldier dead, and six Police officers wounded. 

“A place without peace hinders economic activities like business, agriculture, transport and tourism. The latter being a major foreign income earner,” Museveni said.

“You must jealously guard the peace we have, especially in Kasese, which has immense tourism potential.”

He urged the residents to collaborate closely with security forces, reporting suspicious activities. 

“Security begins with you,” he stressed, while acknowledging the kingdom leaders' role in apprehending suspects. Ongoing investigations into the 90 arrested individuals aim to uncover motives and ensure justice.

Though Rwenzuru king Charles Wesley Mumbere was absent due to medical treatment in Turkey, kingdom prime minister Benson Kule Baritazale unveiled a five-year strategic plan to revitalise cultural values. (Credit: Samuel Amanyire)

Cultural revival  

Though Rwenzuru king Charles Wesley Mumbere was absent due to medical treatment in Turkey, kingdom prime minister Benson Kule Baritazale unveiled a five-year strategic plan to revitalise cultural values. 

Key initiatives include constructing a one-stop cultural village and launching a radio station to promote heritage. 

“These goals align with the OBR’s five pillars: Peace, unity, reconciliation, mindset change and socioeconomic transformation,” Kule said.

The kingdom also reiterated unfulfilled requests to Museveni, including funding for the king’s palace and repurposing the late Kazini’s hotel into an income-generating project.
Kasese Municipality MP Ferigo Kambale praised the Government’s support, including vehicles for the royal family and funding for King Mumbere’s medical care.

He highlighted shillings 53 billion from the World Bank’s Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) programme for road projects and an additional 78 billion for infrastructure.

Shillings 380 billion was allocated to address River Nyamwamba floods.

LC5 chairperson Eliphazi Muhindi Bukombi announced a one acre land grant for the cultural village and plans to establish a university on the site.