Pay for oil site â€" Bunyoro
Aug 04, 2006
BUNYORO Kingdom is seeking compensation from the Government for the Waraga oil site in Hoima district, saying the area is a significant “spiritual centre†for the kingdom.
By Fred Kayizzi
BUNYORO Kingdom is seeking compensation from the Government for the Waraga oil site in Hoima district, saying the area is a significant “spiritual centre†for the kingdom.
Yolamu Nsamba, the principal private secretary to Omukama Solomon Iguru, on Wednesday said the kingdom had informed the Government about their demand because it had ‘tampered†with their sacred shrine.
He told a press conference at Iguru’s Karuziika Palace that Waraga was named after the late Omukama Isaza Waraga Rugambanabato, who ruled Bunyoro in the 12th century.
He said the area later became a centre of worship for the Banyoro, especially those from the royal family.
“We have told Government to consider paying us for messing up our spirits and tampering with our royal tomb. Omukama Isaza Waraga lived his last years at this site and his body was buried there. The ancient site of Waraga’s palace and grave is still marked by vegetable oil-yielding mikooge (tamarind trees) that the ancients planted,†Nsamba explained.
He added, “Therefore, this place, like other tombs of great kings, was a sacred shrine, an equivalent of Nakayima in Mubende district. It is highly respected in our kingdom. You cannot just tamper with it. It is an important cultural symbol for Bunyoro. It is a centre for spiritual worship which all Banyoro, including kings, visited regularly.â€
“This practice of worshipping at Waraga survived through the ages even when British rulers made a law in 1927 to make traditional worship a crime.â€
However, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Kaba-gambe Kaliisa, said Parliament was yet to make a law about sharing of royalties from mineral exploitation.
BUNYORO Kingdom is seeking compensation from the Government for the Waraga oil site in Hoima district, saying the area is a significant “spiritual centre†for the kingdom.
Yolamu Nsamba, the principal private secretary to Omukama Solomon Iguru, on Wednesday said the kingdom had informed the Government about their demand because it had ‘tampered†with their sacred shrine.
He told a press conference at Iguru’s Karuziika Palace that Waraga was named after the late Omukama Isaza Waraga Rugambanabato, who ruled Bunyoro in the 12th century.
He said the area later became a centre of worship for the Banyoro, especially those from the royal family.
“We have told Government to consider paying us for messing up our spirits and tampering with our royal tomb. Omukama Isaza Waraga lived his last years at this site and his body was buried there. The ancient site of Waraga’s palace and grave is still marked by vegetable oil-yielding mikooge (tamarind trees) that the ancients planted,†Nsamba explained.
He added, “Therefore, this place, like other tombs of great kings, was a sacred shrine, an equivalent of Nakayima in Mubende district. It is highly respected in our kingdom. You cannot just tamper with it. It is an important cultural symbol for Bunyoro. It is a centre for spiritual worship which all Banyoro, including kings, visited regularly.â€
“This practice of worshipping at Waraga survived through the ages even when British rulers made a law in 1927 to make traditional worship a crime.â€
However, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Kaba-gambe Kaliisa, said Parliament was yet to make a law about sharing of royalties from mineral exploitation.