Veteran explains Rwenzururu origin
As the debate on the Obusinga rages on, Petero Mupalya, only surviving member of the three founders of the Rwenzururu Movement narrates what happened.
Anne Mugisa
As the debate on the Obusinga rages on, Petero Mupalya, only surviving member of the three founders of the Rwenzururu Movement narrates what happened.
He dissociates himself from the Obusinga agitation. He says it is a manipulation and one of the reasons the Rwenzururu Movement was formed. He also warns that the issue has the capacity to destabilise the population and eventually lead to a split in the districts, because one group is manipulating the Rwenzururu Movement to impose their culture on the others.
Mupalya, 73, is a retired teacher and is currently on the executive of the seven-district, Regional Elders Association (REA) which, encompasses Bundibugyo, Kasese, Kabarole, Kamwenge, Kyenjojo, Kibaale, Masindi and Hoima.
According to him, there are over seven ethnic groups in the Kasese-Bundibugyo area where Mumbere is claiming kingship. The Bamba, Bakonjo, Batuku, Babwisi, Batooro, Banyabindi, Basongora, Bambuti are all indigenous to the region.
He narrates that the Rwenzururu Movement started with an ‘innocent’ election where 22 councillors were elected to represent constituencies from Bwamba and Busongora counties, in the Orukurato (Toro Kingdom Parliament).
The election took place on October 15, 1961, and 10 councillors, including the three leaders of the Rwenzururu Movement came from Bwamba. Mupalya was one of them.
The 22 joined 32 others from the rest of the kingdom and the king’s four nominees to make a 58-member Rukurato. The Toro Government had been constituted and the Rukurato inaugurated by Omukama George Rukidi.
It is from this Rukurato that the revolt against Toro by representatives from its two counties started, purely to protest unfair treatment. Kawamara and Mukirane realised that the Toro Constitution did not mention Bamba and Bakonjo, but referred to everybody in the kingdom as Batoro.
The two moved a motion that the Constitution be amended to specifically mention those two groups and read that “the three tribes in Toro will be Batoro, Bamba and Bakonjo, who shall share places of responsibility equally and on meritâ€.
The positions they wanted were the Omuhikirwa’s (Prime Minister’s Office), the cabinet posts and the saza chieftaincy. However, the Constitutional Committee which was dominated by Batoro rejected the motion insisting that all people in Toro were Batoro.
When this was defeated in the Constitutional Committee, Kawamara, Mukirane and Mupalya moved a motion before the full Rukurato that at least the Constitution should stipulate that all groups share positions of responsibility on merit. This was again defeated.
Following the defeat of the motion, the three led 14 other councillors from Bwamba and Busongora and walked out of the Rukurato on March 13, 1962. The 17 went to the District Commissioner (DC) Mr Caudrey, and suggested that he calls the Omuhikirwa and his cabinet and ask them to arrange a meeting with the king so that they could air their grievances. They wanted Caudrey to mediate. The Omuhikirwa and his people refused and blocked the meeting. The three then decided to return to their constituents to explain their walk-out.
In the course of the rallies, the Toro government sent its police who arrested Mupalya, Mukirane and Mbirika as suspected ringleaders. Kawamara was arrested a day later. Kawamara, Mupalya and Mukirane were detained at the king’s central prison in Fort-Portal until mid-April when they were brought before the judge, Joseph Kakete, charged with making a defamatory statement against the king. They were released on bail.
A few days later they were convicted and sentenced to eight months imprisonment with hard labour. However, they appealed against the conviction and sentence. They appeared in the High Court on July 17, 1962 and secured bail pending disposal of their appeal. They were ordered to return to court on November 19.
But in October, Mukirane disappeared without telling his two colleagues. The next they heard was that he was in the Rwenzori Mountains. He had jumped bail!
Mupalya and Kawamara returned to court, lost the appeal and were sent to Luzira prison to complete their sentence. On March 14, 1963, they were released.
But on April 9, 1964, Kawamara and Mupalya were re-arrested with 25 supporters and detained by the Central Government at Luzira. They were accused of breaching the peace. They were detained until February 25, 1965. When the tribunal cleared and freed them, Mupalya stayed in Bwamba until the monarchy was abolished and Uganda became a republic in 1967.
Since jumping bail,
Mukirane had stayed up in the Rwenzoris from where he tried to destabilise the post-monarchy Toro and the Central government in those areas. He declared himself king, gave himself the title Kibanzhanga and appointed his cabinet.
When he died in 1966, his friends installed his son Charles Wesley Mumbere as his successor who gave himself the title Iremangoma Omusinga, and made his own cabinet.
Mupalya says that Mukirane did all this in the bush and never consulted his colleagues. He says that they never picked Mukirane to be king or president as his supporters claim.
He concludes that obusinga is not Bundibugyo’s priority and that the Bamba cannot replace the yoke of a monarchy with another one. he says the people have more pressing needs.
As the debate on the Obusinga rages on, Petero Mupalya, only surviving member of the three founders of the Rwenzururu Movement narrates what happened.
He dissociates himself from the Obusinga agitation. He says it is a manipulation and one of the reasons the Rwenzururu Movement was formed. He also warns that the issue has the capacity to destabilise the population and eventually lead to a split in the districts, because one group is manipulating the Rwenzururu Movement to impose their culture on the others.
Mupalya, 73, is a retired teacher and is currently on the executive of the seven-district, Regional Elders Association (REA) which, encompasses Bundibugyo, Kasese, Kabarole, Kamwenge, Kyenjojo, Kibaale, Masindi and Hoima.
According to him, there are over seven ethnic groups in the Kasese-Bundibugyo area where Mumbere is claiming kingship. The Bamba, Bakonjo, Batuku, Babwisi, Batooro, Banyabindi, Basongora, Bambuti are all indigenous to the region.
He narrates that the Rwenzururu Movement started with an ‘innocent’ election where 22 councillors were elected to represent constituencies from Bwamba and Busongora counties, in the Orukurato (Toro Kingdom Parliament).
The election took place on October 15, 1961, and 10 councillors, including the three leaders of the Rwenzururu Movement came from Bwamba. Mupalya was one of them.
The 22 joined 32 others from the rest of the kingdom and the king’s four nominees to make a 58-member Rukurato. The Toro Government had been constituted and the Rukurato inaugurated by Omukama George Rukidi.
It is from this Rukurato that the revolt against Toro by representatives from its two counties started, purely to protest unfair treatment. Kawamara and Mukirane realised that the Toro Constitution did not mention Bamba and Bakonjo, but referred to everybody in the kingdom as Batoro.
The two moved a motion that the Constitution be amended to specifically mention those two groups and read that “the three tribes in Toro will be Batoro, Bamba and Bakonjo, who shall share places of responsibility equally and on meritâ€.
The positions they wanted were the Omuhikirwa’s (Prime Minister’s Office), the cabinet posts and the saza chieftaincy. However, the Constitutional Committee which was dominated by Batoro rejected the motion insisting that all people in Toro were Batoro.
When this was defeated in the Constitutional Committee, Kawamara, Mukirane and Mupalya moved a motion before the full Rukurato that at least the Constitution should stipulate that all groups share positions of responsibility on merit. This was again defeated.
Following the defeat of the motion, the three led 14 other councillors from Bwamba and Busongora and walked out of the Rukurato on March 13, 1962. The 17 went to the District Commissioner (DC) Mr Caudrey, and suggested that he calls the Omuhikirwa and his cabinet and ask them to arrange a meeting with the king so that they could air their grievances. They wanted Caudrey to mediate. The Omuhikirwa and his people refused and blocked the meeting. The three then decided to return to their constituents to explain their walk-out.
In the course of the rallies, the Toro government sent its police who arrested Mupalya, Mukirane and Mbirika as suspected ringleaders. Kawamara was arrested a day later. Kawamara, Mupalya and Mukirane were detained at the king’s central prison in Fort-Portal until mid-April when they were brought before the judge, Joseph Kakete, charged with making a defamatory statement against the king. They were released on bail.
A few days later they were convicted and sentenced to eight months imprisonment with hard labour. However, they appealed against the conviction and sentence. They appeared in the High Court on July 17, 1962 and secured bail pending disposal of their appeal. They were ordered to return to court on November 19.
But in October, Mukirane disappeared without telling his two colleagues. The next they heard was that he was in the Rwenzori Mountains. He had jumped bail!
Mupalya and Kawamara returned to court, lost the appeal and were sent to Luzira prison to complete their sentence. On March 14, 1963, they were released.
But on April 9, 1964, Kawamara and Mupalya were re-arrested with 25 supporters and detained by the Central Government at Luzira. They were accused of breaching the peace. They were detained until February 25, 1965. When the tribunal cleared and freed them, Mupalya stayed in Bwamba until the monarchy was abolished and Uganda became a republic in 1967.
Since jumping bail,
Mukirane had stayed up in the Rwenzoris from where he tried to destabilise the post-monarchy Toro and the Central government in those areas. He declared himself king, gave himself the title Kibanzhanga and appointed his cabinet.
When he died in 1966, his friends installed his son Charles Wesley Mumbere as his successor who gave himself the title Iremangoma Omusinga, and made his own cabinet.
Mupalya says that Mukirane did all this in the bush and never consulted his colleagues. He says that they never picked Mukirane to be king or president as his supporters claim.
He concludes that obusinga is not Bundibugyo’s priority and that the Bamba cannot replace the yoke of a monarchy with another one. he says the people have more pressing needs.