Anti-Mumbere group vows to sue
Dec 04, 2007
A group of Bakonzo elders contesting the authenticity of Charles Wesley Mumbere’s claim to the Rwenzururu throne say they are prepared to take their case to court if the Government reinstates the kingdom without their consent.
By Colombus Tusiime
A group of Bakonzo elders contesting the authenticity of Charles Wesley Mumbere’s claim to the Rwenzururu throne say they are prepared to take their case to court if the Government reinstates the kingdom without their consent.
The elders from the Baswanga clan made the declaration on Saturday during a ceremony in memory of three leaders killed during the 1921 uprising to resist colonial rule.
The leaders, who included Tibamwenda Byaruhanga, the clan chief, Nyamutwa Baluka, a medicine-man and Kapolyo Bwambale, the clan trumpeter, were killed on April 14, 1921.
Speaking at the commemoration ceremony, Sirilo Makoma, the leader of the Baswanga, said his son, Ibrahim Makoma, is the real heir to the Rwenzururu throne.
He warned President Yoweri Museveni against giving in to the demands by Mumbere and his supporters to reinstate the Rwenzururu kingdom just to gain support in Kasese district. Makoma said the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu, a pressure group seeking to reinstate the kingdom, is not a cultural institution, but a political movement.
The Basangwa launched a scholarship welfare scheme to help young bright clan members attain education. Makoma, the claimant of the crown, said he was ready to take Mumbere to court.
When contacted, the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu spokesperson, Godfrey Kabyanga, said the group was free to go ahead with its claims but added that the Banyarwenzururu know Mumbere as their king.
A group of Bakonzo elders contesting the authenticity of Charles Wesley Mumbere’s claim to the Rwenzururu throne say they are prepared to take their case to court if the Government reinstates the kingdom without their consent.
The elders from the Baswanga clan made the declaration on Saturday during a ceremony in memory of three leaders killed during the 1921 uprising to resist colonial rule.
The leaders, who included Tibamwenda Byaruhanga, the clan chief, Nyamutwa Baluka, a medicine-man and Kapolyo Bwambale, the clan trumpeter, were killed on April 14, 1921.
Speaking at the commemoration ceremony, Sirilo Makoma, the leader of the Baswanga, said his son, Ibrahim Makoma, is the real heir to the Rwenzururu throne.
He warned President Yoweri Museveni against giving in to the demands by Mumbere and his supporters to reinstate the Rwenzururu kingdom just to gain support in Kasese district. Makoma said the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu, a pressure group seeking to reinstate the kingdom, is not a cultural institution, but a political movement.
The Basangwa launched a scholarship welfare scheme to help young bright clan members attain education. Makoma, the claimant of the crown, said he was ready to take Mumbere to court.
When contacted, the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu spokesperson, Godfrey Kabyanga, said the group was free to go ahead with its claims but added that the Banyarwenzururu know Mumbere as their king.