Who’s the true crown price of Rwenzori?
Jan 11, 2007
<b>By Ibrahim Makoma</b><br><br>I wish to respond to Charles Wesley Mumbere’s article which appeared in New Vision of January 8, 2007, in which he portrayed himself as the rightful heir to the Bakonzo/Bamba throne. We have cautioned Government that recognising his Banyarwenzururu group will be d
By Ibrahim Makoma
I wish to respond to Charles Wesley Mumbere’s article which appeared in New Vision of January 8, 2007, in which he portrayed himself as the rightful heir to the Bakonzo/Bamba throne. We have cautioned Government that recognising his Banyarwenzururu group will be doing a disservice to the people in the region.
Mumbere attacked all those who are trying to oppose or undermine his purported claim on the Obusinga leadership. We the Baswagha are not prepared to surrender our birth right to anybody. Our grandfather Tibamwenda, whom he acknowledges in his article, refused to surrender his birth right to the Babiito dynasty. Likewise we cannot allow Mumbere, a “foreigner†from Bwamba/Bundibugyo, to steal our birth right from us.
Falsehoods
I attended the function at which Dr. Crispus Kiyonga declared that “he was prepared to make a principled compromise on the cultural institution in Kasese district.†This was on the inauguration of the new administration in the district. I understood him to mean that he was prepared to support the establishment of a cultural institution in Kasese and not necessarily the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu of Charles Mumbere. I believe Kiyonga will at an appropriate time give more light on his statement.
Contrary to what Mumbere stated in his article, the Kajura Report observed that there has never been a centrally and legally recognised cultural institution in the Rwenzori region. The Kajura Commission acknowledged that the Rwenzururu which was led by Mumbere and his late father Isaya Mukirania had committed a lot of atrocities in the Rwenzori region and recommended the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Mumbere states that the Banyarwenzururu fought for the human rights of Bakonzo/Bamba. The Bakonzo and Bamba got what they had fought for in 1974 when the central government granted the people of Kasese and Bundibugyo their separate districts. There is therefore no justification for the Rwenzururu insurgency that continued thereafter during which the Banyarwenzururu unleashed their suffering on the people they were purporting to liberate.
Mumbere falsely claims that he was crowned King. This is not true given the circumstances in which his late father Isaya Mukirania died after he had tried to forcefully crown himself one. Mumbere is tactfully avoiding going through the required rituals in case, in the unlikely event, he is made King because he would suffer the same fate as his late father.
Mumbere amused me with his shallow definition of a Prince. According to him, “to be Prince your parent must have been officially declared and crowned as Kingâ€. A Prince is a male member of a royal family who is not King. However, Mumbere is not a prince. He comes from the Bahira clan which has never been a royal clan among the Bakonzo. The Tibamwenda family (my family) he calls bogus princes belongs to the Baswagha clan known to be the royal clan among the Bakonzo. Therefore, it is Mumbere who is actually the “bogus prince†since he does not belong to any royal family or clan.
The Tibamwendas as a royal family stretches far back to Mubingya, Tsurunga, Walyamba and Nkoni. To say that the traditional history of the Bakonzo started in the 1960s with Mumbere's father, Mukirania, is not only an insult to the Bakonzo but also a distortion of history. Tibamwenda’s war against oppression of his people started in 1919 and ended with his execution in 1921.
By attacking the Tibamwenda family and trying to intimidate them, Mumbere clearly shows how his claim is suspect and what a big worry our claim is to him. His alleged claim that he has talked to our family members is false. On a number of occasions he sought my father’s audience but he has always turned his request down. At one time he had requested for a meeting with my father under the chairmanship of Bishop Egidio Nkaijanabwo which my father turned down. This clearly shows how desperate Mumbere is. He has gone to the extent of trying to convince my father to surrender his birth right and that of his children to him.
To say that the Task Force led by Retired Bishop Zebedee K. Masereka has “vanished†is not only aimed at the gullible but is also derogatory.
Conclusion
I would like to advise Mumbere to establish his Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu in his home area of Bwamba/Bundibugyo if he can be accepted there and leave Kasese alone. The Bakonzo in Kasese district and those living elsewhere who subscribe to the cultural institution in Kasese district will establish their institution based on the traditions and customs and require no foreign mercenary.
The writer claims to be the crown prince of Bukonzo Kingdom
I wish to respond to Charles Wesley Mumbere’s article which appeared in New Vision of January 8, 2007, in which he portrayed himself as the rightful heir to the Bakonzo/Bamba throne. We have cautioned Government that recognising his Banyarwenzururu group will be doing a disservice to the people in the region.
Mumbere attacked all those who are trying to oppose or undermine his purported claim on the Obusinga leadership. We the Baswagha are not prepared to surrender our birth right to anybody. Our grandfather Tibamwenda, whom he acknowledges in his article, refused to surrender his birth right to the Babiito dynasty. Likewise we cannot allow Mumbere, a “foreigner†from Bwamba/Bundibugyo, to steal our birth right from us.
Falsehoods
I attended the function at which Dr. Crispus Kiyonga declared that “he was prepared to make a principled compromise on the cultural institution in Kasese district.†This was on the inauguration of the new administration in the district. I understood him to mean that he was prepared to support the establishment of a cultural institution in Kasese and not necessarily the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu of Charles Mumbere. I believe Kiyonga will at an appropriate time give more light on his statement.
Contrary to what Mumbere stated in his article, the Kajura Report observed that there has never been a centrally and legally recognised cultural institution in the Rwenzori region. The Kajura Commission acknowledged that the Rwenzururu which was led by Mumbere and his late father Isaya Mukirania had committed a lot of atrocities in the Rwenzori region and recommended the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Mumbere states that the Banyarwenzururu fought for the human rights of Bakonzo/Bamba. The Bakonzo and Bamba got what they had fought for in 1974 when the central government granted the people of Kasese and Bundibugyo their separate districts. There is therefore no justification for the Rwenzururu insurgency that continued thereafter during which the Banyarwenzururu unleashed their suffering on the people they were purporting to liberate.
Mumbere falsely claims that he was crowned King. This is not true given the circumstances in which his late father Isaya Mukirania died after he had tried to forcefully crown himself one. Mumbere is tactfully avoiding going through the required rituals in case, in the unlikely event, he is made King because he would suffer the same fate as his late father.
Mumbere amused me with his shallow definition of a Prince. According to him, “to be Prince your parent must have been officially declared and crowned as Kingâ€. A Prince is a male member of a royal family who is not King. However, Mumbere is not a prince. He comes from the Bahira clan which has never been a royal clan among the Bakonzo. The Tibamwenda family (my family) he calls bogus princes belongs to the Baswagha clan known to be the royal clan among the Bakonzo. Therefore, it is Mumbere who is actually the “bogus prince†since he does not belong to any royal family or clan.
The Tibamwendas as a royal family stretches far back to Mubingya, Tsurunga, Walyamba and Nkoni. To say that the traditional history of the Bakonzo started in the 1960s with Mumbere's father, Mukirania, is not only an insult to the Bakonzo but also a distortion of history. Tibamwenda’s war against oppression of his people started in 1919 and ended with his execution in 1921.
By attacking the Tibamwenda family and trying to intimidate them, Mumbere clearly shows how his claim is suspect and what a big worry our claim is to him. His alleged claim that he has talked to our family members is false. On a number of occasions he sought my father’s audience but he has always turned his request down. At one time he had requested for a meeting with my father under the chairmanship of Bishop Egidio Nkaijanabwo which my father turned down. This clearly shows how desperate Mumbere is. He has gone to the extent of trying to convince my father to surrender his birth right and that of his children to him.
To say that the Task Force led by Retired Bishop Zebedee K. Masereka has “vanished†is not only aimed at the gullible but is also derogatory.
Conclusion
I would like to advise Mumbere to establish his Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu in his home area of Bwamba/Bundibugyo if he can be accepted there and leave Kasese alone. The Bakonzo in Kasese district and those living elsewhere who subscribe to the cultural institution in Kasese district will establish their institution based on the traditions and customs and require no foreign mercenary.
The writer claims to be the crown prince of Bukonzo Kingdom