The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Mbale, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & URN | A section of elders from the three tsinda (descendant groups) of Mwambu, Mubuya and Wanale that constitute the Bamasaaba cultural institution in Uganda have signed a petition against suspected moves to unilaterally amend the institution’s name from Inzu ya Masaaba (IYM) to the Institution of the Umukuuka uwe Bamasaaba.
Bamasaaba believe that they are descendants of Masaaba, the original man said to have erupted out of the volcano on Mt Elgon which towers astride the Uganda-Kenya border. The Bamasaaba in Uganda are alternatively called Bagisu by virtue of the lands falling in Bugisu, one of the eighteen districts that formed Uganda at Independence in 1962. Although the name Babukusu mainly applies to the Bamasaaba in the ancestral lands on the Kenya side, there are also Babukusu in Uganda. The IYM Constitution provides for structures built from the clans in both Uganda and Kenya upwards to the tsinda named after the three report sons of Masaaba to the Council of Elders, the supreme body to whom the Umukuuka is answerable.
But Alfred Geresom Musamali, the Information, Media and Communications minister under Uwelukoosi the Umukuuka III Jude Mike Mudoma dismissed the suspecions. Instead, said Musamali, Uwelukoosi Mudoma’s attorney general Richard Masereje has advised that the Bamasaaba conform to the Institution of Traditional and Cultural Leaders (ITCL) Act, 2011 because sticking to IYM breaks the law as it stands at the moment.
“Counsel Masereje has advised Uwelukoosi Mudoma to conform to the requirements of the ITCL Act, 2011 (Section 1 of CAP 242 under the Laws of Uganda),” said Musamali in a statement sent to The Independent Online.
The petitioners are Samuel Mutete from the Mubutu clan, Wafula Wamuziri from the Halasi clan, James Masette from the Wabwala clan, Sam Sakwa Napokoli from the Sui clan, George Tongoyi Mabonga from the Ngokho clan, Kitsembe Wamukota from the Shiende clan, Paulo Walyamboga from the Lago clan, David Wekoye from the Lutsekhe clan, Perezi Napokoli Mulakha from the Kobelo clan and Moses Kutosi from the Musila clan, among others.
The elders have addressed their concerns to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Parliament Speaker Annet Annita Among, Prime Minister Robinna Nabbanja and Betty Amongi, the Gender, Labour and Social Development minister. They say that as Bamasaba they do not support the plan to change the name of the Bamasaaba cultural institution to the Institution of the Umukuka of Bugisu. Musamali quotes Masereje as saying he unushamedly does not believe in the Masaaba myth of creation, adding that Uwelukoosi Mudoma’s most senior legal advisor also points out that there is no mention of Bamasaaba in the 1995 Constitution of Uganda but that there are, instead mentions of Bagisu and Babukusu.
During a consultative meeting of clan leaders attended by a total of 24 clan leaders at Bunampongo village in Bungokho sub-county on September 8th, 2024, the leaders criticised Uwelukoosi Mudoma and his Cabinet for attempting to disrespect the very cultural structures through which he ascended to the chair. They argue that Uwelukoosi Mudoma and a small group of self-seeking individuals around him have no authority to amend the name of the institution without the involvement of all Higher Local Governments (HLGs), which originally passed the resolutions establishing the Umukuuka. The HLGs bulkanised under the old Bugisu district are bududa, Manafwa, Namisindwa, Mbale, Sironko and Bulambuli. Mbale City has since been curved out of Mbale district but remains a stakeholder in the Umukuuka.
The elders claimed that those pushing for the name change may possibly be doing so to enable them secure loans from banks, which could jeopardize the Bamasaba’s cultural heritage. They have indicated their willingness to take legal action if the name amendment proceeds without proper consultation with the Bamasaba community.
Stephen Masiga, the spokesperson for the IYM, dismissed these allegations during an interview on Monday at the IYM head offices. He stated that none of the leaders at the institution has the intention of amending the name and emphasized that the law requires calling all delegates and clan leaders for consultation, a process that has not yet taken place.
The ITCL requires the Umukuuka to be institutionalised as the Traditional or Cultural Leader of Bugisu, a particular geographical area in Uganda. It also requires that the Umukuuka is corporation sole.
“That is the Mirambo Empire type of situation where Mirambo was the Empire and the Empire was Mirambo. However, the Umukuuka was conceptualised under IYM in 2010, before the ITCL was enacted into law,” said Musamali.
“IYM also aspired to bring together Bamasaaba outside those ancestral lands, such as those in Uganda’s Kayunga and Buikwe districts and the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area as well as in Uganda’s Diaspora,” he added.
“Counsel Masereje has advised that the ITCL Act of 2011, unfortunately, does not cater for the Kenyans. He said including them may require negotiations through a special East African Community (EAC) protocol which could even take ten years to develop. According to Counsel Masereje, the law also does not cater for a structure from grassroots to the Umukuuka through a Council of Elders as envisaged by IYM,” said Musamali.
“So, the Uwelukoosi Mudoma is faced with a situation of retrospective legislation and is trying to find a way round this but is meeting resistance from a few people even in his own Cabinet. They are writing petitions to the Government of Uganda, filing cases in Courts of Law and making outrageous comments in the media,” he added.
“One of the repercutions of this resistance is failure to consistently brand the instution. If the Umukuuka follows the law as advised by Masereje, then he is himself the Institution of the Umukuuka of Bugisu. But if he follows the history through which he rose to office, he is only a leader of the IYM. As his appointed Cabinet, therefore, we have reached an extent where if we use the IYM name and logo we, in the opinion of Masereje, break the law and when we try to change them we are accused of kicking away the ladder that enabled us to ascend to leadership,” said Musamali. He said Masereje has advised that the IYM is an illegal organisation whose existance should be ignored but Eng Darlington Sakwa, one of the founders of IYM, says Masereje is confused and should not be listened to.
“But the Umukuuka has written to the Attorney General of Uganda requesting for interpretation of the law and provision of guidance on how to proceed. I wish to assure all Bamasaaba that the Uwelukoosi Mudoma has the best interests of his people at heart and that he is seeking a win-win solution to the dilemma. Therefore, I also appeal to every Umumasaaba to remain calm as the situation is sorted out,” Musamali concluded his statement.
