The unrecognized king of the Rwenzururu, Charles Wesley Mumbere, has returned to Uganda permanently after almost 27 years in exile.
Mumbere returned to the seat of his kingdom in Kasese district on Monday. He said he decided to return to Uganda permanently after successful talks between the Government of Uganda and the Rwenzururu kingdom on possible facilitation of his cultural activities.
Although government does not recognize the Bakonzo Rwenzururu kingdom, Mumbere said he is optimistic that it will attain official acknowledgment soon.
Mumbere first went into exile in 1982 when the Rwenzururu separatist uprising that he led surrendered to government. His stay in the United States was partially sponsored by the National Resistance Movement in 1986, which offered him a scholarship for study. In the U.S., he worked on odd jobs, including being a nursing assistant in a home for the elderly.
The Rwenzururu Kingdom is one of Uganda's youngest cultural institutions. It was established in June 1962 when its leaders unilaterally declared independence from the Toro Kingdom and demanded to be granted the status of a separate district in Uganda. The Rwenzururu uprising was not successfully and in 1970 it was suppressed by the Government of Uganda and its leaders fled into exile.
