Kaabaleega V Lugard: A battle of opposites
Jun 08, 2009
<b>By Kajabago-Ka-Rusoke</b><br><br>Kaabaleega was a son of Omukama (King) of Bunyoro-Kitara, Kaamurasi. His mother was called Kaanyaange from Buleega in present eastern DR Congo. Buleega was a county of Bunyoro-Kitara placed under a chief called Kaleeg
By Kajabago-Ka-Rusoke
Kaabaleega was a son of Omukama (King) of Bunyoro-Kitara, Kaamurasi. His mother was called Kaanyaange from Buleega in present eastern DR Congo. Buleega was a county of Bunyoro-Kitara placed under a chief called Kaleega by Omukama Isaza Nyakikooto Rugaamba n’abato Waraga when Waraga established an administrative policy of decentralisation, establishing counties throughout the whole of Bunyoro-Kitara to be administered by county chiefs. Kaabaleega had a brother called Kaabigumiire. They had different mothers from different ethnic groups. The mother of Kaabaleega was from the “Bairu†people whereas the maternal ethnic group of Kaabigumiire was “Humaâ€.
However, both Kaabaleega and Kaabigumiire were from the paternal ethnic family of Aba-Biito which is a sub- clan of Aba-Cweezi who are Hamites.
As Omukama Kaamurasi was passing away, he bequeathed Kaabigumiire to become the next Omukama of Bunyoro-Kitara. But Omukama Kaamurasi had a brother called Nyaika who did not want Kaabigumiire to become king in place of Kaamurasi. So Nyaika conspired against Kaabigumiire in order to make Kaabaleega king.
Nyaika and Kaabaleega mobilised both political and military forces mainly from the Bairu ethnic group and defeated Kaabigumiire from the minority maternal group of “Humaâ€. This was how Kaabaleega came to be referred to as Kaabaleega-ka-Nyaika (“Kaabaleega son of Nyaikaâ€), instead of Kaabaleega-ka-Kaamurasi (“son of Kaamurasiâ€).
Kabaleega was a Mu-biito king who was concerned with the sovereignty of Bunyoro-Kitara to the extent that he regretted why Kaboyo Olimi I, son of Omukama Kyebambe Nyamutukura rebelled against his father and seceded with Bunyoro-Kitara counties of Kyaaka, Mweenge, (present Kyeenjojo District), Kibaale (present Kamwenge District), Burahaya, Bunyaangabu (present Kabarole District), Busongora (present Kaseese District) and Bwamba (present Bundibugyo).
In the history of Bunyoro-Kitara, Tooro is made up of only two counties, Burahya and Bunyaangabu, which are a royal entitlement of the first son of the Omukama of Bunyoro-Kitara who at that time happened to be Kaboyo. That is why Kaboyo has used that name to politically cover seven Bunyoro counties calling them Tooro.
When Kaboyo died, his son Nyaika became Omukama of Tooro. When Nyaika died, his son Kazaana became Omukama. Kazaana, however, left no son which led to his brother called Mukaabirere to take over as the next Omukama. At this time, Kaabaleega wanted the former Bunyoro-Kitara reunited and therefore fought against Mukaabirere of Tooro and captured him alive, took him to his royal centre and killed him. Despite that, the brother of Mukaabirere called Mukaarusa took over Tooro again against Kaabaleega. But Kaabaleega attacked Tooro for the second time and, again, captured Mukaarusa and finally executed him. Next, Omu-biito Kakeende declared war against Kaabaleega as he established military alliance with the royal family of Buganda. Buganda supported him, fought against Kaabaleega. Kaabaleega overpowered them as Kakeende ran to Buganda and finally died from small-pox there.
All these were children of Nyaika son of Kaboyo Olimi I. The remaining seven children of Nyaika ran to Nkore and sought refuge from a Munyoro princess called Kibooga who was the mother of the Omugabe (king) of Nkore at that time. This lady was also Omu-biito, same clan with Nyaika’s children of Tooro and those of Bunyoro.
Kaabaleega came to know this and apparently Omugabe Ntare’s mother, Kibooga, was more friendly to Kaabaleega than Tooro’s Ba-biito. Kaabaleega conspired with her to kill Aba-biito Kanyaambu, Musukali and another four, all children of Nyaika son of Kaboyo by suffocating them in a closed grass-thatched house which she set on fire after she had invited them deceitfully for a friendly get-together. Since then, Kaabaleega restored Tooro to Bunyoro Kitara as it was before Kaboyo’s secession.
However, out of Nyaika’s seven children who ran to Nkore for refuge, Ntare’s mother killed six. Kyeebaambe Kasagama, the youngest is the one who survived. This was because his mother, Kahiinju, did not allow him to go and meet Kibooga. On hearing about the death of the six, the wife of the late King Nyaika, called Kahiinju, ran off to Buganda with her son Kyebambe Kasagama. She and her son were looked after by the royal family of Buganda kingdom under Kabaka Mukaabya.
However, before and after re-uniting Bunyoro-Kitara by restoring Tooro to it, Kaabaleega was exercising a complex economic arrangement in Bunyoro-Kitara.
One was love for cattle which multiplied in all counties of Mweenge, Kyaaka, Kahuunge, Rwaamwaanja, Butuku, Busoongora. But he also captured the youth of the Banyoro and turned them into human commodities sold to Arabs as slaves in exchange for beads, mirrors, shoes, cloth, guns, gunpowder and the royal attire usually referred to as Busuuti. He sold them as slaves.
Kings in Uganda had slaves they could sell but instead captured free youth and sold them. The Arab traders often kept the slaves at Bagamoyo in Tanganyika before they were shipped off as human cargo to Arab areas of destination where they would begin working as slaves. This economic activity was diminishing the population in Bunyoro.
The economic system of capitalism in Europe began developing into higher stages of imperialism and colonisation. These higher economic stages gave rise to the need for exporting capital from Europe to other countries for investment. The export of capital is characteristic of the capitalist higher state, imperialism.
However, imperialism was found not good enough and this led to a strong feeling that areas where capital was to be invested should be confiscated and conquered by imperialist powers so that the indigenous populations could be turned into labourers to produce raw materials for industrialised economic units of the European economic base. The same areas would be turned into markets for the manufactured items from industrialised Europe.
It was, therefore, better to let the African populations stay in their home countries from where they would produce raw materials at cheap costs. This economic system known as colonisation or colonialism binds countries together for the economic purposes of the one conquering them. Colonialism is more peaceful than depopulating African villages for the purpose of turning Africans into slaves abroad.
Britain passed an Act in parliament in 1807 abolishing the act of any Briton buying people from Africa and importing them in Britain. This is known as the Anti-slave Trade Act of 1807. Then in 1822, the same Parliament passed an Anti-slavery Act. That meant that all those who had slaves in their backyards should release them. These two parliamentary Acts caused a lot more of misfortune to Africans. British traders in Africa used to violate the 1807 Act by continuing to buy Africans and taking them to Europe. Each ship would carry an average of fifty thousand Africans all chained in the ship. The British government would in turn commission paramilitary vessels to crack down ships carrying the slaves.
On detecting a government paramilitary vessel for inspection, the owners of the ships would order all Africans in chains to be thrown in the sea. It is estimated more than 50,000 Africans were thrown in the sea per year. That is how Africa was depopulated. A second misfortune came with the 1922 Act. Many former slaves were released and pushed out of the masters homesteads but without any social security. They found it very difficult to establish any method of self-reliance and went back to their masters.
Whereas in West Africa the king was the seller and the European the buyer, in East Africa the Arab was the buyer. Omukama Kaabaleega had been advised by his Arab buyers that there were people whiter than Arabs and that those were interested in conquering and confiscating land, whereas they (Arabs) were only interested in trade.
In 1890, a British ex-soldier called Captain Lugard arrived in Uganda. He was heading the Imperial British East Africa company and offered a charter by the British government for purposes of trade. Omukama Kaabaleega suspected him of wanting to violate the sovereignty of Bunyoro-Kitara. He, therefore, took military action against him. Whereas Omukama Kaabaleega had a bad feeling towards the European, the Kabaka suggested that they be welcomed if they could add knowledge to his people.
In the face of Omukama Kaabaleega, Captain Lugard determined to conquer the sovereignty of Bunyoro in order to make the Omukama succumb to the British economic arrangement of colonising the area. The sovereignty was conquered by the European commanders who were commanding an army made up of non-Banyoro Africans called Nubians. Thus giving away parts of Bunyoro-Kitara to those who appeared to be more friendly to the in-coming British. For example, Prince Kyeebaambe Kasagama son of Nyalka Omukama of Tooro could not fail to befriend a force that would assist to make him king and restore the glory of his father and grandfather Kaboyo Olimi. So Tooro was cut off again from Bunyoro. Buganda which was not as hostile as Bunyoro was given four counties — Bugangaizi, Buyaga, Buruuli and Mubeende — cut off from Bunyoro-Kitara which proved unfriendly.
Such was the struggle of opposites both of them negative. Preserving and utilising sovereignty for personal gains against the wishes of the ordinary people is neither patriotism nor matriotism. Then conquering other people’s sovereignty is not ideal either. But no hope should be lost. Cadres should know that there is motion both in nature and society. There is nothing static. New geological layers underneath the earth supersede old ones. New cells in the bodies of organisms supersede old ones. New generations and social classes in a human community supersede old ones. There is a likelihood of a global socio-economic metamorphosis when negative anti-people social forces will be superseded by more morally sophisticated and positive ones capable of establishing a globally harmonious peace-loving human community. For example Uganda itself cannot accept a ruler who turns Ugandans into commodities and sell them for his or selfish ends. That is gone. Neither can Uganda allow any other Capt Lugard at the apex of its sovereignty. Such is Uganda’s status now after that historical metamorphosis.
The name Kaabaleega has been spelt as it is on purpose.
The writer is a lecturer at the leadership institute in Kyankwanzi
lSend a topical opinion with your picture to guestwriter@newvision.co.ug. We take 600 words only
Kaabaleega was a son of Omukama (King) of Bunyoro-Kitara, Kaamurasi. His mother was called Kaanyaange from Buleega in present eastern DR Congo. Buleega was a county of Bunyoro-Kitara placed under a chief called Kaleega by Omukama Isaza Nyakikooto Rugaamba n’abato Waraga when Waraga established an administrative policy of decentralisation, establishing counties throughout the whole of Bunyoro-Kitara to be administered by county chiefs. Kaabaleega had a brother called Kaabigumiire. They had different mothers from different ethnic groups. The mother of Kaabaleega was from the “Bairu†people whereas the maternal ethnic group of Kaabigumiire was “Humaâ€.
However, both Kaabaleega and Kaabigumiire were from the paternal ethnic family of Aba-Biito which is a sub- clan of Aba-Cweezi who are Hamites.
As Omukama Kaamurasi was passing away, he bequeathed Kaabigumiire to become the next Omukama of Bunyoro-Kitara. But Omukama Kaamurasi had a brother called Nyaika who did not want Kaabigumiire to become king in place of Kaamurasi. So Nyaika conspired against Kaabigumiire in order to make Kaabaleega king.
Nyaika and Kaabaleega mobilised both political and military forces mainly from the Bairu ethnic group and defeated Kaabigumiire from the minority maternal group of “Humaâ€. This was how Kaabaleega came to be referred to as Kaabaleega-ka-Nyaika (“Kaabaleega son of Nyaikaâ€), instead of Kaabaleega-ka-Kaamurasi (“son of Kaamurasiâ€).
Kabaleega was a Mu-biito king who was concerned with the sovereignty of Bunyoro-Kitara to the extent that he regretted why Kaboyo Olimi I, son of Omukama Kyebambe Nyamutukura rebelled against his father and seceded with Bunyoro-Kitara counties of Kyaaka, Mweenge, (present Kyeenjojo District), Kibaale (present Kamwenge District), Burahaya, Bunyaangabu (present Kabarole District), Busongora (present Kaseese District) and Bwamba (present Bundibugyo).
In the history of Bunyoro-Kitara, Tooro is made up of only two counties, Burahya and Bunyaangabu, which are a royal entitlement of the first son of the Omukama of Bunyoro-Kitara who at that time happened to be Kaboyo. That is why Kaboyo has used that name to politically cover seven Bunyoro counties calling them Tooro.
When Kaboyo died, his son Nyaika became Omukama of Tooro. When Nyaika died, his son Kazaana became Omukama. Kazaana, however, left no son which led to his brother called Mukaabirere to take over as the next Omukama. At this time, Kaabaleega wanted the former Bunyoro-Kitara reunited and therefore fought against Mukaabirere of Tooro and captured him alive, took him to his royal centre and killed him. Despite that, the brother of Mukaabirere called Mukaarusa took over Tooro again against Kaabaleega. But Kaabaleega attacked Tooro for the second time and, again, captured Mukaarusa and finally executed him. Next, Omu-biito Kakeende declared war against Kaabaleega as he established military alliance with the royal family of Buganda. Buganda supported him, fought against Kaabaleega. Kaabaleega overpowered them as Kakeende ran to Buganda and finally died from small-pox there.
All these were children of Nyaika son of Kaboyo Olimi I. The remaining seven children of Nyaika ran to Nkore and sought refuge from a Munyoro princess called Kibooga who was the mother of the Omugabe (king) of Nkore at that time. This lady was also Omu-biito, same clan with Nyaika’s children of Tooro and those of Bunyoro.
Kaabaleega came to know this and apparently Omugabe Ntare’s mother, Kibooga, was more friendly to Kaabaleega than Tooro’s Ba-biito. Kaabaleega conspired with her to kill Aba-biito Kanyaambu, Musukali and another four, all children of Nyaika son of Kaboyo by suffocating them in a closed grass-thatched house which she set on fire after she had invited them deceitfully for a friendly get-together. Since then, Kaabaleega restored Tooro to Bunyoro Kitara as it was before Kaboyo’s secession.
However, out of Nyaika’s seven children who ran to Nkore for refuge, Ntare’s mother killed six. Kyeebaambe Kasagama, the youngest is the one who survived. This was because his mother, Kahiinju, did not allow him to go and meet Kibooga. On hearing about the death of the six, the wife of the late King Nyaika, called Kahiinju, ran off to Buganda with her son Kyebambe Kasagama. She and her son were looked after by the royal family of Buganda kingdom under Kabaka Mukaabya.
However, before and after re-uniting Bunyoro-Kitara by restoring Tooro to it, Kaabaleega was exercising a complex economic arrangement in Bunyoro-Kitara.
One was love for cattle which multiplied in all counties of Mweenge, Kyaaka, Kahuunge, Rwaamwaanja, Butuku, Busoongora. But he also captured the youth of the Banyoro and turned them into human commodities sold to Arabs as slaves in exchange for beads, mirrors, shoes, cloth, guns, gunpowder and the royal attire usually referred to as Busuuti. He sold them as slaves.
Kings in Uganda had slaves they could sell but instead captured free youth and sold them. The Arab traders often kept the slaves at Bagamoyo in Tanganyika before they were shipped off as human cargo to Arab areas of destination where they would begin working as slaves. This economic activity was diminishing the population in Bunyoro.
The economic system of capitalism in Europe began developing into higher stages of imperialism and colonisation. These higher economic stages gave rise to the need for exporting capital from Europe to other countries for investment. The export of capital is characteristic of the capitalist higher state, imperialism.
However, imperialism was found not good enough and this led to a strong feeling that areas where capital was to be invested should be confiscated and conquered by imperialist powers so that the indigenous populations could be turned into labourers to produce raw materials for industrialised economic units of the European economic base. The same areas would be turned into markets for the manufactured items from industrialised Europe.
It was, therefore, better to let the African populations stay in their home countries from where they would produce raw materials at cheap costs. This economic system known as colonisation or colonialism binds countries together for the economic purposes of the one conquering them. Colonialism is more peaceful than depopulating African villages for the purpose of turning Africans into slaves abroad.
Britain passed an Act in parliament in 1807 abolishing the act of any Briton buying people from Africa and importing them in Britain. This is known as the Anti-slave Trade Act of 1807. Then in 1822, the same Parliament passed an Anti-slavery Act. That meant that all those who had slaves in their backyards should release them. These two parliamentary Acts caused a lot more of misfortune to Africans. British traders in Africa used to violate the 1807 Act by continuing to buy Africans and taking them to Europe. Each ship would carry an average of fifty thousand Africans all chained in the ship. The British government would in turn commission paramilitary vessels to crack down ships carrying the slaves.
On detecting a government paramilitary vessel for inspection, the owners of the ships would order all Africans in chains to be thrown in the sea. It is estimated more than 50,000 Africans were thrown in the sea per year. That is how Africa was depopulated. A second misfortune came with the 1922 Act. Many former slaves were released and pushed out of the masters homesteads but without any social security. They found it very difficult to establish any method of self-reliance and went back to their masters.
Whereas in West Africa the king was the seller and the European the buyer, in East Africa the Arab was the buyer. Omukama Kaabaleega had been advised by his Arab buyers that there were people whiter than Arabs and that those were interested in conquering and confiscating land, whereas they (Arabs) were only interested in trade.
In 1890, a British ex-soldier called Captain Lugard arrived in Uganda. He was heading the Imperial British East Africa company and offered a charter by the British government for purposes of trade. Omukama Kaabaleega suspected him of wanting to violate the sovereignty of Bunyoro-Kitara. He, therefore, took military action against him. Whereas Omukama Kaabaleega had a bad feeling towards the European, the Kabaka suggested that they be welcomed if they could add knowledge to his people.
In the face of Omukama Kaabaleega, Captain Lugard determined to conquer the sovereignty of Bunyoro in order to make the Omukama succumb to the British economic arrangement of colonising the area. The sovereignty was conquered by the European commanders who were commanding an army made up of non-Banyoro Africans called Nubians. Thus giving away parts of Bunyoro-Kitara to those who appeared to be more friendly to the in-coming British. For example, Prince Kyeebaambe Kasagama son of Nyalka Omukama of Tooro could not fail to befriend a force that would assist to make him king and restore the glory of his father and grandfather Kaboyo Olimi. So Tooro was cut off again from Bunyoro. Buganda which was not as hostile as Bunyoro was given four counties — Bugangaizi, Buyaga, Buruuli and Mubeende — cut off from Bunyoro-Kitara which proved unfriendly.
Such was the struggle of opposites both of them negative. Preserving and utilising sovereignty for personal gains against the wishes of the ordinary people is neither patriotism nor matriotism. Then conquering other people’s sovereignty is not ideal either. But no hope should be lost. Cadres should know that there is motion both in nature and society. There is nothing static. New geological layers underneath the earth supersede old ones. New cells in the bodies of organisms supersede old ones. New generations and social classes in a human community supersede old ones. There is a likelihood of a global socio-economic metamorphosis when negative anti-people social forces will be superseded by more morally sophisticated and positive ones capable of establishing a globally harmonious peace-loving human community. For example Uganda itself cannot accept a ruler who turns Ugandans into commodities and sell them for his or selfish ends. That is gone. Neither can Uganda allow any other Capt Lugard at the apex of its sovereignty. Such is Uganda’s status now after that historical metamorphosis.
The name Kaabaleega has been spelt as it is on purpose.
The writer is a lecturer at the leadership institute in Kyankwanzi
lSend a topical opinion with your picture to guestwriter@newvision.co.ug. We take 600 words only