Bagisu youth grab UPC man for circumcision
Jun 25, 2008
Traffic on Nasser and Nkrumah roads came to a stand-still when an elderly UPC veteran from Mbale, Stephen Mujoroto, was “arrested†by five youth for allegedly dodging imbalu (the Bagisu cultural circumcision rite).
By Ronnie Kijjambu
Traffic on Nasser and Nkrumah roads came to a stand-still when an elderly UPC veteran from Mbale, Stephen Mujoroto, was “arrested†by five youth for allegedly dodging imbalu (the Bagisu cultural circumcision rite).
Mujoroto, who is a staunch UPC supporter and former Nsangi sub-county chief in the Obote Two regime, was seized at the Canaan Restaurant on Uganda House at about 11:00am.
Well-built youth, one of them believed to be Mujoroto’s son, held him by the trousers when they identified him chatting away with colleagues.
Sensing danger, the group fled, thinking the Kampala City law enforcers were arresting criminals.
But after the youth explained their mission, Mujoroto’s colleagues allowed them to take him to sort out the “tribal affairâ€.
Mujoroto’s pretence to be weak and unable to walk did not save him. The youth lifted him into a special hire taxi and took him to Nsambya to face the circumcision knife.
His friends at the scene later said the group had been hunting for Mujoroto the previous day, but on a tip-off, he hid for the whole day.
A youth said to be his son argued that problems had afflicted their family, which he blamed on their father’s refusal to be circumcised.
He said they had sent several emissaries, including his elder sisters, to persuade him to circumcise to no avail.
The helpless Mujoroto opted to dodge photographers. Most of his friends had known him to be a Muganda. After his arrest, a crowd that gathered blamed Mujoroto for having sex for such a long time without being circumcised.
Traffic on Nasser and Nkrumah roads came to a stand-still when an elderly UPC veteran from Mbale, Stephen Mujoroto, was “arrested†by five youth for allegedly dodging imbalu (the Bagisu cultural circumcision rite).
Mujoroto, who is a staunch UPC supporter and former Nsangi sub-county chief in the Obote Two regime, was seized at the Canaan Restaurant on Uganda House at about 11:00am.
Well-built youth, one of them believed to be Mujoroto’s son, held him by the trousers when they identified him chatting away with colleagues.
Sensing danger, the group fled, thinking the Kampala City law enforcers were arresting criminals.
But after the youth explained their mission, Mujoroto’s colleagues allowed them to take him to sort out the “tribal affairâ€.
Mujoroto’s pretence to be weak and unable to walk did not save him. The youth lifted him into a special hire taxi and took him to Nsambya to face the circumcision knife.
His friends at the scene later said the group had been hunting for Mujoroto the previous day, but on a tip-off, he hid for the whole day.
A youth said to be his son argued that problems had afflicted their family, which he blamed on their father’s refusal to be circumcised.
He said they had sent several emissaries, including his elder sisters, to persuade him to circumcise to no avail.
The helpless Mujoroto opted to dodge photographers. Most of his friends had known him to be a Muganda. After his arrest, a crowd that gathered blamed Mujoroto for having sex for such a long time without being circumcised.