Kyanjo wants Buganda to break away
Jul 24, 2007
MAKINDYE West MP Hussein Kyanjo wants Buganda to secede from the<br>rest of Uganda, citing marginalization by the Central Government.
By Anne Mugisa
MAKINDYE West Member of Parliament Hussein Kyanjo wants Buganda to secede from the rest of Uganda, citing marginalization by the Central Government.
In an interview yesterday, Kyanjo said plans could be worked out to compensate people who have interests in Buganda but want to leave when it has seceded. Kyanjo had earlier called for the break-away on a local FM radio talk-show.
He enumerated three reasons for his call for secession, which included lack of respect for Buganda and its being cheated of its wealth.
He said the war that brought NRM to power succeeded because of Buganda’s support.
He explained that the war, which started in Kisomoro in Kabarole district, failed because the people did not see sense in it and refused to join it, yet “the biggest piece of the national cake is given to the westâ€.
“We are part of Uganda as part of an agreement that was aimed at keeping us together in harmony. The major components were that we must be respected, we must be peaceful and we must not be cheated. I don’t see any of these happening now,†Kyanjo said.
He alleged that all the good government jobs, including posts in the Cabinet and insecurity forces, as well as private businesses, were dominated by people from the west.
According to the Cabinet list, eight of the 25 full ministers and 10 out of the 44 ministers of state are from Buganda. The rest are shared by the other regions.
“Bunyoro, Toro, Ankole and Kigezi region is now a super sub-region. This cannot be explained. We should begin now to sit and see how to compensate people who have interests here.
Buganda is in captivity. My son cannot get employed…I want people to know that there is cheating,†he said.
Some other MPs from Buganda, who were interviewed, differed from
Kyanjo’s idea of secession, but said any regional imbalances should be addressed.
“I would not recommend seceding unless it were the very last resort,†Mathias Nsubuga Birekerawo (Bukoto South) said.
He suggested a rotational presidency as one of the ways of addressing the imbalances. He explained that before independence, Buganda had a federal status and was doing very well but that since 1967, Buganda has had a raw deal.
Asked about the claim that western Uganda was a ‘super region’, Nsubuga said he did not want to base his argument on the region. He said for 22 years until the overthrow of Tito Okello Lutwa, political power was based in the north before it shifted to the west.
Ssozi Kaddunabbi (Butambala) said Uganda was still a viable entity, but imbalances must be solved, including the return of all Buganda’s properties.
Joseph Bulikuddembe (Busiro South) warned that politicians should not project Baganda as a tribe that does not respect and is intolerant
to other tribes.
“Buganda is a cosmopolitan area and we live with others,†he argued.
MAKINDYE West Member of Parliament Hussein Kyanjo wants Buganda to secede from the rest of Uganda, citing marginalization by the Central Government.
In an interview yesterday, Kyanjo said plans could be worked out to compensate people who have interests in Buganda but want to leave when it has seceded. Kyanjo had earlier called for the break-away on a local FM radio talk-show.
He enumerated three reasons for his call for secession, which included lack of respect for Buganda and its being cheated of its wealth.
He said the war that brought NRM to power succeeded because of Buganda’s support.
He explained that the war, which started in Kisomoro in Kabarole district, failed because the people did not see sense in it and refused to join it, yet “the biggest piece of the national cake is given to the westâ€.
“We are part of Uganda as part of an agreement that was aimed at keeping us together in harmony. The major components were that we must be respected, we must be peaceful and we must not be cheated. I don’t see any of these happening now,†Kyanjo said.
He alleged that all the good government jobs, including posts in the Cabinet and insecurity forces, as well as private businesses, were dominated by people from the west.
According to the Cabinet list, eight of the 25 full ministers and 10 out of the 44 ministers of state are from Buganda. The rest are shared by the other regions.
“Bunyoro, Toro, Ankole and Kigezi region is now a super sub-region. This cannot be explained. We should begin now to sit and see how to compensate people who have interests here.
Buganda is in captivity. My son cannot get employed…I want people to know that there is cheating,†he said.
Some other MPs from Buganda, who were interviewed, differed from
Kyanjo’s idea of secession, but said any regional imbalances should be addressed.
“I would not recommend seceding unless it were the very last resort,†Mathias Nsubuga Birekerawo (Bukoto South) said.
He suggested a rotational presidency as one of the ways of addressing the imbalances. He explained that before independence, Buganda had a federal status and was doing very well but that since 1967, Buganda has had a raw deal.
Asked about the claim that western Uganda was a ‘super region’, Nsubuga said he did not want to base his argument on the region. He said for 22 years until the overthrow of Tito Okello Lutwa, political power was based in the north before it shifted to the west.
Ssozi Kaddunabbi (Butambala) said Uganda was still a viable entity, but imbalances must be solved, including the return of all Buganda’s properties.
Joseph Bulikuddembe (Busiro South) warned that politicians should not project Baganda as a tribe that does not respect and is intolerant
to other tribes.
“Buganda is a cosmopolitan area and we live with others,†he argued.