Eraire BaSoga banange?
Munsonighe okubaghandiikira mu lufuutefuute, kuba tibwenandyenze.
The question facing BuSoga today is not who will emerge the 'legitimate' Kyabazinga on October 31, 2008. Even as a bewildering number of (ridculous sounding) 'cultural' rules are being called into play in the disqualification of candidates.
We need to ask ourselves and answer key questions such as:
What is Kyabazingaship all about?
In pre- colonial times there never was such a kingdom as BuSoga. Okuba omuSoga was an identity that was embraced by people living in present day BuSoga and its eastern neighbourhood.
The myth that the late Kyabazinga Muloki disunited BaSoga is a cruel irony, noting that BaSoga have never been united as a people, nor have they ever aspired to be.
The British found our ancestors fighting amongst themselves: most ruefully aBagabula vs aBalamogi, the latter of who employed Itesot mercenaries in their ultimately fruitless venture to conquer more fertile land.
Our progenitors failed to see sense in unification to resist the marauding armies of Buganda and Bunyoro. They were not able to mount any organised resistance to slave traders who traversed our homeland from east to west at will.
Our royal families, purportedly of KiNyoro ancestry are as much a testimony of the consistent denial of our true origins as they are of our innate propensity to disunity.
Historians pieced together a coherent account of our roots from folklore, a collage of oral histories, collating this with well- researched etymology of LuSoga words and the undeniably powerful record of archaeology.
These all point to five distinct primeval settlements, namely: Ikanda, Kakolo, Kisiro, Budoola and Banda. Ikanda included Bunyala and Buruli. These were never kingdoms, or stable communities, as they freely absorbed migrants and lost disgruntled citizens.
The historical account is convincing that itinerant Luo traders, particularly the amicable but shrewd Jok- Owiny, gained control of land and established the ruling (bushbuck) dynasties of that day, namely the Ngambani and Ba Ise Ngobi. The Jok- Omolo gave rise to the Ba Ise Wakooli. The Ba Ise Igaga (millet chaff) dynasty arose as a composite of multiple origins including Baganda, Jok- Omolo and Jok- Owiny. Royalty was not only born, as the name aba Ise… connotes. I shall let historicists debate that further.
What interests me is the blindly tenacious allegiance to KiNyoro traditions, which have been fallaciously smuggled into the colonial British artefact of Kyabazingaship under the guise of cultural propriety.
Since when were BaSoga Banyoro? At what point in history did Banyoro cease their slave trade of BaSoga, or of their colonial expansion eastwards into our land to embrace our ancestors as their own kinfolk?
I really wonder where the mythical Namutukula really came from. Recorded historical accounts of Bunyoro- Kitara do not mention that name prominently. There was a Tooro prince named Nyamutukura, who actually reined in recent history. It sounds preposterous that having lived in BuSoga (with his wife, Nawudo) for at least twenty five years muzei Namutukula actually returned to Bunyoro, evidently to rein there. That fable might have sat well with Yekonia and his readers, but it will not rest easy with this generation.
Suppose that we were indeed a kingdom of Bunyoro. Should we not have loyally followed Kinyoro traditions? In Tooro, and in Bunyoro, as in their daughter kingdoms reigning monarchs were not allowed to die of natural causes. A successor was secretly named, and the queens either poisoned or strangled the ailing king. It is obvious why princes were not 'allowed' to see the corpse of the late king.
Kyabazingaship, a colonial monstrosity was revived at the insistence of own fathers upon their realisation that as a people, and as a region we had been left behind. Even back then it was evident that in socio- economic development, we were well behind Buganda during the early colonial period. Our disunity carved out a pathway of failure through the slated colonial politics and the obscurity of post- independence nationhood. Amin's robust arrival on the scene, with his imposition of Captain Nyangabyaki as our long- term governor only helped shift us a few gears into the decline mode. Obote's subsequent appointee, Okot Chono, merely steeped that slope. It was after the dashed hopes of the short- lived 'Twagala Lule' regime, with the unapproachable district commissioner, Ezekeri Kate that I first heard the bold declarations of aging BaSoga gentry to the effect that we needed a Kyabazinga. Recent history has brought us a slew of special district
administrators, appointed in Rwakitura and commissioned in Kampala, but the KiSoga slope of socio-economic decadence has only got steeper.
In the last twenty years our people have faithfully lined up in the rain and endured unwarranted floggings as they tried to vote their way back to the lit end of the tunnel, but we have little to show in real achievement.
With the accession of Muloki it was hoped that a non- political way of pulling together would be derived. That our capsized boat would lie on its back, once again, and that we would sail the waters of modernisation. As it were Muloki died too soon. I saw his throne in Bugembe, evidently crafted by the unskilled carpenters who were left behind in ghost- town Jinja, because they could not find work in Kamyokya or Bwaise.
Without an endowment or a job description what could elderly Muloki with the severe limitations of his office have done for BuSoga, besides court foreign aid agencies and solicit for investment? His words of comfort to the afflicted masses as his Pajero coursed through the dusty roads of the countyside have long been forgotten.
The incoming Kyabazinga's job ought to be cut out for him. The BaSoga need a non- political leader, a firm pillar to look up to and lean upon, a guiding light to stake their hopes on. Today's BaSoga need a warrior to fight the scourge of poverty, to rescue them from the ravages AIDS and of the myriad of curable diseases, to take them back to school. Our natural resources cry out for a true patriotic investor.
As our 'cultural' leaders ponder the credibility and merits of the prospective candidates, I would have hoped that they take a few steps back and earnestly ask themselves these questions. Having done that to selflessly adopt new 'cultural' rules that ensure that BuSoga gets a true visionary Isebantu, who will galvanise our people and their hopes in this turbulent economic climate, and put us on a road to real development.
What we have read in the press so far merely emphasizes that the slope is tipping further, and dangerously so. Some writers find it amusing to name the hands that are fumbling the scales. If there was a time for BaSoga to stand up, it would be now. Enough is enough. Enfunza n'amalole bikome! What we need today is not the pronouncement of a new Kyabazinga, but a correct and realistic definition of who we are and where we want to go. Only after that step is satisfactorily completed would we want a leader, 'royal' or not to get us there. Twelve dubious sages in rustic garb mumbling gibberish in LuNyoro cannot possibly deliver that on October 31.
Ni Dhiwotamulala Kaleebi
A cipher royal.
Munsonighe okubaghandiikira mu lufuutefuute, kuba tibwenandyenze.
The question facing BuSoga today is not who will emerge the 'legitimate' Kyabazinga on October 31, 2008. Even as a bewildering number of (ridculous sounding) 'cultural' rules are being called into play in the disqualification of candidates.
We need to ask ourselves and answer key questions such as:
What is Kyabazingaship all about?
In pre- colonial times there never was such a kingdom as BuSoga. Okuba omuSoga was an identity that was embraced by people living in present day BuSoga and its eastern neighbourhood.
The myth that the late Kyabazinga Muloki disunited BaSoga is a cruel irony, noting that BaSoga have never been united as a people, nor have they ever aspired to be.
The British found our ancestors fighting amongst themselves: most ruefully aBagabula vs aBalamogi, the latter of who employed Itesot mercenaries in their ultimately fruitless venture to conquer more fertile land.
Our progenitors failed to see sense in unification to resist the marauding armies of Buganda and Bunyoro. They were not able to mount any organised resistance to slave traders who traversed our homeland from east to west at will.
Our royal families, purportedly of KiNyoro ancestry are as much a testimony of the consistent denial of our true origins as they are of our innate propensity to disunity.
Historians pieced together a coherent account of our roots from folklore, a collage of oral histories, collating this with well- researched etymology of LuSoga words and the undeniably powerful record of archaeology.
These all point to five distinct primeval settlements, namely: Ikanda, Kakolo, Kisiro, Budoola and Banda. Ikanda included Bunyala and Buruli. These were never kingdoms, or stable communities, as they freely absorbed migrants and lost disgruntled citizens.
The historical account is convincing that itinerant Luo traders, particularly the amicable but shrewd Jok- Owiny, gained control of land and established the ruling (bushbuck) dynasties of that day, namely the Ngambani and Ba Ise Ngobi. The Jok- Omolo gave rise to the Ba Ise Wakooli. The Ba Ise Igaga (millet chaff) dynasty arose as a composite of multiple origins including Baganda, Jok- Omolo and Jok- Owiny. Royalty was not only born, as the name aba Ise… connotes. I shall let historicists debate that further.
What interests me is the blindly tenacious allegiance to KiNyoro traditions, which have been fallaciously smuggled into the colonial British artefact of Kyabazingaship under the guise of cultural propriety.
Since when were BaSoga Banyoro? At what point in history did Banyoro cease their slave trade of BaSoga, or of their colonial expansion eastwards into our land to embrace our ancestors as their own kinfolk?
I really wonder where the mythical Namutukula really came from. Recorded historical accounts of Bunyoro- Kitara do not mention that name prominently. There was a Tooro prince named Nyamutukura, who actually reined in recent history. It sounds preposterous that having lived in BuSoga (with his wife, Nawudo) for at least twenty five years muzei Namutukula actually returned to Bunyoro, evidently to rein there. That fable might have sat well with Yekonia and his readers, but it will not rest easy with this generation.
Suppose that we were indeed a kingdom of Bunyoro. Should we not have loyally followed Kinyoro traditions? In Tooro, and in Bunyoro, as in their daughter kingdoms reigning monarchs were not allowed to die of natural causes. A successor was secretly named, and the queens either poisoned or strangled the ailing king. It is obvious why princes were not 'allowed' to see the corpse of the late king.
Kyabazingaship, a colonial monstrosity was revived at the insistence of own fathers upon their realisation that as a people, and as a region we had been left behind. Even back then it was evident that in socio- economic development, we were well behind Buganda during the early colonial period. Our disunity carved out a pathway of failure through the slated colonial politics and the obscurity of post- independence nationhood. Amin's robust arrival on the scene, with his imposition of Captain Nyangabyaki as our long- term governor only helped shift us a few gears into the decline mode. Obote's subsequent appointee, Okot Chono, merely steeped that slope. It was after the dashed hopes of the short- lived 'Twagala Lule' regime, with the unapproachable district commissioner, Ezekeri Kate that I first heard the bold declarations of aging BaSoga gentry to the effect that we needed a Kyabazinga. Recent history has brought us a slew of special district
administrators, appointed in Rwakitura and commissioned in Kampala, but the KiSoga slope of socio-economic decadence has only got steeper.
In the last twenty years our people have faithfully lined up in the rain and endured unwarranted floggings as they tried to vote their way back to the lit end of the tunnel, but we have little to show in real achievement.
With the accession of Muloki it was hoped that a non- political way of pulling together would be derived. That our capsized boat would lie on its back, once again, and that we would sail the waters of modernisation. As it were Muloki died too soon. I saw his throne in Bugembe, evidently crafted by the unskilled carpenters who were left behind in ghost- town Jinja, because they could not find work in Kamyokya or Bwaise.
Without an endowment or a job description what could elderly Muloki with the severe limitations of his office have done for BuSoga, besides court foreign aid agencies and solicit for investment? His words of comfort to the afflicted masses as his Pajero coursed through the dusty roads of the countyside have long been forgotten.
The incoming Kyabazinga's job ought to be cut out for him. The BaSoga need a non- political leader, a firm pillar to look up to and lean upon, a guiding light to stake their hopes on. Today's BaSoga need a warrior to fight the scourge of poverty, to rescue them from the ravages AIDS and of the myriad of curable diseases, to take them back to school. Our natural resources cry out for a true patriotic investor.
As our 'cultural' leaders ponder the credibility and merits of the prospective candidates, I would have hoped that they take a few steps back and earnestly ask themselves these questions. Having done that to selflessly adopt new 'cultural' rules that ensure that BuSoga gets a true visionary Isebantu, who will galvanise our people and their hopes in this turbulent economic climate, and put us on a road to real development.
What we have read in the press so far merely emphasizes that the slope is tipping further, and dangerously so. Some writers find it amusing to name the hands that are fumbling the scales. If there was a time for BaSoga to stand up, it would be now. Enough is enough. Enfunza n'amalole bikome! What we need today is not the pronouncement of a new Kyabazinga, but a correct and realistic definition of who we are and where we want to go. Only after that step is satisfactorily completed would we want a leader, 'royal' or not to get us there. Twelve dubious sages in rustic garb mumbling gibberish in LuNyoro cannot possibly deliver that on October 31.
Ni Dhiwotamulala Kaleebi
A cipher royal.
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