Tension is mounting in Kasese district following the installation of the King of the Basongora.
Ivan Bwebale Rwigi IV Rutakirwa Agutamba Kabumba was crowned as the Basongora cultural leader on Sunday by elders in Busongora South Constituency at Muhokya along the Kasese-Kikorongo Road. This comes after 49 years of waiting since the death of his grandmother, Queen Kogyere II Ikamiro, in 1963.
The installation of 72-year-old Rutakirwa sees the creation of two kingdoms—the Rwenzururu Kingdom and Busongora Kingdom—in one district.
Rutakirwa’s installation has been criticized by the Rwenzururu Kingdom officials, who accuse him of forcefully imposing himself on the people of Kasese.
A press statement issued by Loice Bwambale, the Prime Minister of Rwenzururu, says the kingdom does not recognize the King of the Basongora and declares his coronation as null and void.
Bwambale also warns all ethnic groups in the Rwenzururu Kingdom against disrespecting the Omusinga Charles Wesley Mumbere, kingdom structures and symbols. The major ethnic groups in the district are the Bakonzo, Basongora and Banyabindi.
At the Rwenzururu Kingdom offices on Alexander Street, security has been beefed up unlike in the past. Everyone who enters is subjected to thorough body checks by the royal guards.
In an interview with Uganda Radio Network at his palace in Muhokya, Rutakirwa insisted that he is the King of the Basongora and that he will continue to play his role as King although there exists another Kingdom.
Rutakirwa also denied that he wants to take over the Rwenzururu Kingdom. He said that he is the cultural leader in Busongora and that Mumbere should remain the cultural leader of the Bakonzo.
He also said there will be no conflicts in the district resulting from his installment.
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Rutakirwa says he doesn’t mind if he is not recognized by the government since the Basongora have accepted him as their King. He says he has written several letters to President Yoweri Museveni requesting to be recognized, but there hasn’t been any response.
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In a move that is likely to cause confusion among the two tribes, Rutakirwa has banned the singing of the Rwenzururu Kingdom Anthem in all schools in Busongora constituency. The Blue, red and cream Busongora flag has also been distributed in all the schools in the constituency.
But Aminadab Muhindo, the Kasese deputy resident district commissioner, says that the district doesn’t recognize Rutakirwa because there was no district and government representative at the crowning ceremony. Muhindo says the Basongora elders were told to postpone the function until they seek advice from the government, but they went ahead.
He states that the district will continue protecting Omusinga Charles Mumbere, because he is the only recognized King in the district.
David Mwesige, a resident of Kasese town, says there is no problem with both Kingdoms existing in the district. He says that the two cultural leaders should work together for the development of the district.
The Basongora are a pastoralist community who were part of the ancient empire of the Bacwezi in the greater Bunyoro Kitara Empire.
