Bunyoro Omukama fears for his life

By Amlan Tumusiime

A driver escaped unhurt when an armed escort of Omukama (king) of Bunyoro-Kitara kingdom Solomon Gafabusa Iguru shot at his vehicle on Monday.

The escorts said the motorist was obstructing the Omukama’s motorcade with ill intentions. The incident occurred on the Masindi-Kigumba road.

Bunyoro prime minister Emmanuel Alibankoha Kiiza yesterday told journalists at Rukurato Hall in Hoima town that there was a plot to kill Iguru.

“The king has sent me to tell the world that his life is in danger. His enemies are plotting to kill him and he needs more protection from the Government,” Kiiza said.

Asked who the Omukama’s enemies were, he replied: “The opposition has always claimed that the king is an NRM supporter. That he always tells his subjects to vote Museveni. You also know the king’s stand on the Land (Amendment) Bill. Our enemies are many and we are fear for the king’s life.”
But Kiiza did not state Iguru’s view on the Bill that has been opposed by Buganda kingdom.

Even at home, Kiiza noted, the king was not safe because “the whole palace is open, there are paths everywhere.”
He said Iguru’s enemies were exploiting his weak security. “He travels with one guard with no advance security car.”
Iguru, the premier said, called him on Monday and told him that some people were trailing him.

Kiiza, however, refuted reports that the Omukama pulled the trigger.
“It was not the king who shot, it was his bodyguard who did it in the interest of the king,” he said.

The premier added that the driver clearly saw the kingdom emblem on Iguru’s official car but blocked the road for several kilometres.

Kiiza noted that the incident was the second in less than four months after another in Bulisa district.

“We have appealed to the Government several times to give the king an advance security car but we have not received a response. We shall remove the emblem so that he can travel like an ordinary person,” Kiiza said.

“The king is still in shock.”