Tracing the Obugabe saga

Title: The Ankole Kingship Controversy: Regalia Galore RevisitedAuthor: Martin R. DoorbosPrice: Sh8,000 Review by: A. G. MusamaliSince the restitution of Ugandan kingdoms in the mid-1990s, the kingdom of Nkore is still in limbo. What is even more surprising, at least to me, is that somebody came all the way from Europe to explain the whole saga in a comprehensible and unemotional manner.Martin R. Doorbos’ The Ankole Kingship Controversy: Regalia Galore Revisited explains the whole saga, and does it in such an entertaining way that the book of historical analysis could pass for a modern piece of fiction. Doornbos starts by fitting the Nkore kingship in its pre-colonial context, where the Bahima minority dominated the Bairu majority in just a few counties of the present Ankole (Mbarara, Bushenyi, and Ntungamo districts).He then proceeds to show how, even among the Bahima, it was only one clan, the Bahinda, who had the royal lineage and, therefore, who ruled. The author goes to great pains to explain the relations between the Omugabe (King) of Nkore and his people, showing that all land and livestock belonged to the Omugabe, who held divine attributes.The Omugabe ruled through his appointed chiefs and a council of elders that thought out everything very carefully before making any decision. It also turns out that while in theory the Omugabe owned all the land and cattle, in practice he did not arbitrarily requisition that wealth unless there was a very special communal reason, and in such circumstances, the subject-cum-caretaker was only too happy to hand them over.Upon the arrival of the colonisers, this arrangement was eroded because the Omugabe was then assigned minor ceremonial roles which ensured that the whites had a smooth colonial administration. Unfortunately, under this arrangement, neighbouring kingships of Buhweju, Igara, Shema, and Mpororo were shallowed by the Obugabe without adequate consultation with the stakeholders. Therefore, looked at thus, the Nkore Kingdom is simply a making of the whites and an imposition on the people. If Doorbos is to be believed, by independence the Nkole Kingdom was dead, and what former president Dr. A.M. Obote, with the conspiracy of his then attorney General, Godfrey Binaisa QC, abolished in 1966/67 was just a galore of regal items such as a drum, a throne, and the palace in which they were housed.The book shows that abolition did not even ruffle the reigning Omugabe, Sir Charles Godfrey Gasyonga, in the least. When Amin came to power, a delegation of elders petitioned against the restoration of Ankole Kingdom. Of course when Museveni (himself a Muhima) came along, the Reistitution of traditional Kingdoms Statute (1993) was passed, clearing the way for Prince John Barigye to be crowned.Then Barigye secretly arranged to have himself crowned at a ceremony attended by, among others, senior army officers. Next we see Government, Museveni himself at the forefront, coming in to oppose the restoration of the kingdom at the time when the same Government were in fact very actively participating in the crowning of new kings in Buganda, Toro, Bunyoro, and Busoga.And now we hear of two parallel organisations, the Nkore Cultural trust and the Ankole Cultural Foundation, each talking some gibberish about Obugabe.Doorbos’ book pieces it all together. He goes beyond analysis by suggesting alternative ways forward. If you are a munyankole, read it; if you come from another kingdom community, read it; but, especially, if you come from a non-kingdom community such as mine, read it because you have everything to gain from that knowledge.