Bunyoro: What would you do if you were president?

Aug 06, 2009

President Museveni’s internal correspondence to guide the Minister for Presidency on the socio-political dynamics in Bunyoro region has generated heated debate.

By Asuman Bisiika

President Museveni’s internal correspondence to guide the Minister for Presidency on the socio-political dynamics in Bunyoro region has generated heated debate.

The purpose of the letter is a simple and direct proposal for a political solution to resolve what can be described as the ‘Bunyoro question.’

President Museveni’s guidance is, therefore, welcome in that it represents recognition that there exists a national problem called ‘The Bunyoro Question’ and that a solution ought to be sought. It is in the solution that the bone of contention seemingly arises.

But the problem with critics of the now famous letter is that they seemingly have not read it in full. Focus has been limited to the ‘ring-fence’ idea with little attention to other suggestions the President forwarded. No one seems to appreciate the ideas on land expropriation to the native residents while paying off landlords, absentee or otherwise.

Plus my understanding of the letter is that these are ‘proposal of principles’ the details of how to functionalise them would remain the duty of the responsible committees of Ugandan citizens.

It should be noted that all the regimes have tried to proffer a solution to this historical distortion. The 1902 Nyangire Rebellion, which demanded the removal of Baganda chiefs from Bunyoro, was resolved by the colonial administration in favour of Bunyoro. As early as 1913, the Colonial Administration ‘allowed’ (or tolerated) the activities of Mubende Bunyoro committee; arguably the first political movement in Uganda.

During the Lancaster Conference that paved the path for Uganda’s independence, the issue of the lost counties was one of the contentious items on the agenda. The conference resolved that after two years of independence, a referendum be held to determine whether the counties would be administered by Buganda or Bunyoro.

In the 1964 referendum, two of these counties Buyaga and Bugagayizi (now Kibaale district), hitherto part of Buganda, voted to revert to Bunyoro. Although the natives of Buyaga and Bungagayizi chose to revert to Bunyoro, the title ownership of land in the counties remained in the hands of absentee landlords.

This means that all natives in Kibaale live as squatters on what other Ugandans would otherwise call ancestral lands. To resolve the problem, President Amin made the famous Land Decree of 1975 declaring all land in Uganda as belonging to the government.

President Museveni’s recent letter to resolve the ‘Bunyoro Question’ is not the first attempt by his Government to sort the problem. It should be remembered that Kibaale district, was curved from Hoima in 1992, as one of the first districts to be created by the NRM Government.

The Bafuruki
It was during the first three years of its existence that a community of Bakiga encroachers on Kibaale National Park was thrown out. The district leadership of the young Kibaale district then allowed this Bakiga community to settle in Kibaale. This batch of immigrants should not be confused with the earlier one allowed by the omukaama Sir Tito Winyi in the 1950s.

Now, whereas the Banyoro natives were squatting on land titles of absentee landlords, the Bakiga were appropriated part of what was government land in Kibaale.

The migrant communities also started encroaching on forest reserves while others were acquiring land from the natives on a willing-buyer-willing-seller basis.

With unencumbered settlement and now the numbers to match, the immigrant communities are slowly becoming the dominant community in Kibaale. In fact if the Bakonzo and Bakiga in Kibaale voted as a block, the native Banyoro would never have any political leadership in a place they call their ancestral land. Given this background, President Museveni raised very pertinent issues which need to be discussed, without pandering to moral pedestals with the objective of gaining political capital. The rhetorical questions raised on the political issue should not be taken lightly.

- If the Bafuruki dominate political space in the area to which they migrated, where do the indigenous people of the area find another political space?

- Suppose we were to infuse 100,000 Bafuruki into Acholi or Karamoja, what would be the reaction? If the Acholi and Karimojong were to react violently, would it mean that they are not Ugandan enough or would it be that the policy was wrong?

The point to be taken from these is that political disenfranchisement is a serious reality in Bunyoro and cannot simply be talked away under accusations of tribalism and unnationalistic rhetoric.

The President’s proposals are well thought out guidelines to possible solutions. Nonetheless, the onus still falls on Ugandans to seek an equitable solution. The critics need to give proposals to a solution.

Otherwise my humble suggestion is keep quiet and let us look for ways to operationalise what is on the table.

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