Royalty of Uganda: Ankole, Buganda, Bunyoro, Busoga, Rwenzururu, Toro

[ortiz]

King Oyo of Toro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsWJ9TdFaTA

[Bunyoro-Kitara]

The Kingdom Bunyoro Kitara was a very extensive, prestigious and famous at the height of its power.
Socially, people were organised in strong clans with the royal clan of the Kings, princes and princesses. The King held executive, judiciary and legislative powers. His word was highly respected and almost equated to the word from God. The King’s subjects ensured that their King lacked nothing economically. Clans would bring food stuffs (Ebihotole) in turn and each clan had a specific duty to perform for the King. For example, Abaliisa clan were the shepherds of the Kings cattle (Enkorogi), the Abahamba clan were the hunters and body guards (Abakumirizi) for the King, the Abasiita clan being the artisans and craftsmen and the Bayaga clan were the chief entertainers of the King.
Politically, the King had absolute authority over his subjects. He appointed the county chiefs (Abamasaza) to administer each county. Bellow them were sub county chiefs (Abagomborozi) who were sub-county administrators. These received reports from parish chiefs (Abemiruka) and Sub-parish chiefs (Abatongole). At the very grass root were the village chiefs (Bakuru b’emigongo). With this hierarchical arrangement the king’s messages used to reach at the grass root very fast. Later on the office of the Prime Minister (Omuhikirwa/Katiikiro) was established to head the civil service of the entire Kingdom. All county chiefs report to him and he in turn reports to the King.
Economically, the Kingdom of Bunyoro was the supplier of food stuffs to other neighbouring kingdoms. The fertile soils of the kingdom enabled people to grow plenty of food for home consumption and the surplus was sold to the neighbouring communities. People’s economy thus was greatly hinged on Agriculture carried on using traditionally made hoes. Barter trade was also common.
The people along Lake Mwitanzige (Albert) known as the Bagungu were fishermen. Some communities were hunters using nets, knives and spears as their locally made tools for killing small animals while the big ones were killed using well dug deep pits (Obuhya). People thus exchanged fish or dried meat (Omukaro) with food stuffs. The coming of the Bachwezi introduced the culture of cattle keeping on a larger scale with their long-horned cattle which yielded more milk.
Salt processing in Kibiro is still going on up to today. The Abanyakibiro got their living through the exchange of this salt and fish. The Banyoro also produced a number of wooden items, hides and skins items, palm and sisal items, iron and stone items, pottery and mud items, and many others on economic basis. These were either sold or exchanged for other items that they needed.

[Kasumi]

New Vision Online : Prince Barigye gets new kidney
Prince John Barigye of Ankole underwent a successful kidney transplant in an Indian hospital on April 25th 2011, a close family source has disclosed.

[Next Star]

The King of Toro is very young he is only 18 and already king.His late father died when he was just 3 yrs.old and he had to have a regent represent he became of age wow he has broke the King of Swaziland's
record.

[Kasumi]

Uganda Heritage News: Toro Kingdom has set a resolution committee to end conflicts within the Kingdom
Toro Kingdom supreme council has established a conflict resolution committee with the mandate to mediate between the conflicting groups in Toro Kingdom.
Toro kingdom since November 2010 has been involved in conflicts that have left the kingdom divided into two factions.
It is from one of the groups that went ahead and sued the King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru IV and other kingdom officials to court and secured a court injunction halting the operations of the kingdom and blocking the Kingdom bank accounts.

Daily Monitor: *- National*|Court summons Tooro Queen Mother over land
The Chief Magistrates Court in Fort Portal has summoned Tooro Queen Mother Best Kemigisa to file her defence in a suit over a land dispute. The Queen Mother was sued by tenants of Kitumba, a suburb in Fort Portal Municipality, and Kyogya B in Busoro Sub-county.

[Kasumi]

Koforidua--The Question Of Rightful Ruling Lineage | Feature Article 2011-07-21

[Kasumi]

New Vision Online : Buganda throne threatened - Mengo
[...]
The statement also noted that the members were relentlessly trying to usurp the powers of the Kabaka and to grab a chain of his properties, including the 350-mile banana plantation in Lubiri.

“Those who are threatening the throne are being used by the enemies of the kingdom who want to see it collapse. They are doing it openly during meetings.”

[Kasumi]

Daily Monitor: *- National*|Kabaka Muwenda Mutebi tells off Buganda traitors
Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi on Thursday warned the Baganda against kingdom traitors describing them as agents of doom whose target is to bring down his kingdom.
[...]
On Tuesday, seven people claiming to be members of the royal family stormed the Mengo palace [Lubiri] saying they wanted to meet the Kabaka. Although the Kabaka doesn’t reside there, the group claimed that they have on several occasions been denied audience with the Kabaka whom they call their brother.
The group also accuses kingdom officials of misleading the Kabaka and illegally parceling out kingdom land. They were later engaged in a scuffle with kingdom supporters who accused them of trying to bring confusion in the kingdom. In the melee that ensued, the disgruntled royals were injured but this didn’t stop police from arresting them.

[Kasumi]

Rebuilding Kasubi tombs amidst controversy
The reconstruction of the Kasubi tombs was marred with controversy when a section of Buganda royals who claim to be descendants of Kabaka Daudi Chwa, Kiweewa, and Muteesa ordered the Prime Minister (Katikkiro) and Mengo to leave the construction of the tombs to the royal family in February.

[Kasumi]

New Vision Online : Oyo meets council over conflicts
King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru, has met members of the Toro clan council and agreed to address their demands.
The move is aimed at resolving the conflicts in the kingdom. Oyo met 10 members of the council at his palace in Fort Portal town, Kabarole district on Monday.
Oyo noted that the demands of the clan council were genuine, saying he would address them as soon as possible.
The clan council demanded the appointment of another cabinet and election of new members to the supreme council.
They also want the appointment of the Queen Mother, Best Kemigisa, as a regent nullified.

[Kasumi]

Ankole crown prince, wife seek to settle divorce case out of court
Ankole Crown Prince John Patrick Barigye, who sought to divorce his wife is now negotiating for an out-of-court settlement of the case, court heard on Friday. Prince Barigye and Ms Denise Tusiime Kwezi, who he married 21 years ago, told the chief magistrates court at Nakawa that they agreed to have an out-of-court settlement.
[...]
71-year-old prince accused his wife of adultery had petitioned court seeking to divorce Ms Kwezi with whom he has four children.
The Ankole prince alleges in court documents that the couple signed a separation agreement in 2008 after Ms Kwezi allegedly abdicated her marital responsibility which compromised their union.

[Kasumi]

Obituary to John Patrick Barigye of Nkore, King Omugabe Ntare VI Rutashijuuka, who died October 14th, 2011 aged 71.
Survived by wife Princess Rosemary Kirungyi.

[Kasumi]

Ugandan royal traces family tree to Poland - Telegraph
The ruler of the western Ugandan kingdom of Bunyoro, King Solomon Iguru I, has asked local officials in the sleepy southern Polish town of Nysa to help him trace his family tree which is rooted there.
The Ugandan royal is the grandson of 19th century explorer Emin Pasha, born Eduard Schnitzer into a Germano-Jewish family in 1840 in what is now the southern Polish city of Opole, but at the time was Oppeln, part of the German-speaking region of Silesia.

[Kasumi]

allAfrica.com: Uganda: National Housing, Royals Fight Over Estate
The National Housing and Construction Company has sought the intervention of the central government in its protracted, three-way battle with members of the Buganda Kingdom for the ownership of a 150-acre piece of land in the Kampala suburb of Namungoona.
[...]
Documents obtained by Daily Monitor indicate that NHCC acquired the 150 acres of land by lease from the Buganda Land Board for 99 years starting October 1, 1996 and approved plans to develop an estate of 1,500 units.
However, their plans were nipped in the bud on December 7, 2010 when members of the Buganda royal family, saying they are the surviving children of the late Kabaka Daudi Chwa, claimed ownership of the land and signed a provisional certificate granting the land to Ms Sesam Energetics Ltd. On February 14, 2011, Ms Sesam reportedly launched a waste-to-energy plant on the land "under heavy police deployment."

[Kasumi]

Uganda Heritage News: Buganda King Mutebi gets son Prince Semakokiro
Buganda kingdom has announced that it has been blessed with a Prince named Semakokiro.
In a statement issued by the office of the Katikkiro this afternoon, it stated that the prince was born in July last year and belongs to the grasshopper clan, locally known as Enseneene.
The statement did not however name the mother of the child or state the position of the new prince in possible ascendence to the throne, a major issue of discussion in Buganda kingdom.
The Kabaka's official wife is Nnabagereka Nnaginda Sylvia, Luswatta and she has given birth to only one child with the Kabaka, Princess Ssangalyambogo Katrina.

Buganda Kingdom gets new Prince
The Katikkiro of Buganda has announced the birth of a second son of the Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi.
The boy’s name, according to a statement issued by the office of the Kabaka on Tuesday, is Richard Ssemakookiro. Kabaka’s first born is Prince Jjunju Ssuuna Kiweewa.
Ssemakookiro is the fifth child of the Kabaka after Prince Jjunju and Princesses Joan Nassolo, Victoria Nkinzi and Sarah Katrina Sangalyambogo.

[Kasumi]

Local leaders react to Buganda Prince's birth
The introduction of Buganda’s Prince Richard Ssemakookiro to the public has stirred a sea-full of reactions from the public, among them influential people in society.
[...]The retired Mitayana Diocese Bishop, Wilson Mutebi said the birth of the prince is good news. He urged the Baganda to receive the news of the prince’s birth in a way just like the Katikkiro announced the news.
Prince David Mawanda Namugala said that: “The Kabaka has matured. He has born a baby with a totemic clan. We royals don’t have a royal totem. We are affiliated to those of our mother’s clans. This time the Kabaka has a son with a totemic clan.”
Totemic clans cut across the Great Lakes region but are most prominent in Ugandan kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro, Toro and Busoga.
[...]
A prince close to the Kabaka, but requested for anonymity, was so delighted with the birth of the prince, saying that it has given Buganda a second option in line of succession.
[...]
The NRM Buganda Regional chief Al Haji Abdu Nadduli said that the kingdom was now assured of a successor.
“In case there are no sons in line from the incumbent Kabaka, it is very risky and the kingdom may end up in a crisis like the case of Busoga,” he said. [...]

[Kasumi]

Looking back at polygamy among Buganda royals*- Life*|monitor.co.ug
Early this week, a six month old prince born in the Buganda Kindom to Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II was unveiled.
This may have caused quite a stir in the country as Baganda and non Baganda alike reacted. However, polygamy has always faired in the kingdom, as Life traces back through the years.

[Kasumi]

allAfrica.com: Uganda: Busoga Prince Asks to Be Named King
Embattled Busoga prince Edward Columbus Wambuzi, has written to President Museveni seeking permission to be officially crowned and recognised as the Kyabazinga (king) of Busoga. Prince Wambuzi who, since his election as Busoga king on October 31, 2008, has failed to assume office as a rival group fronted another person, Prince William Nadiope Gabula IV, as their king.

*****

Mother of Kabaka's baby son unveiled

Ssemakookiro - A potential crown prince

[Kasumi]

Toro princess defies culture
The talk in the western town of Fort Portal is centred on the planned July wedding of their stunning princess Ruth Komuntale to her African American boyfriend, Christopher Thomas.
However the conversations on the streets and in the palace are not entirely joyful.
Many Batooro are unhappy with their princess’ decision to get married to a foreign man.
[...]The Batooro have always criticised Komuntale’s dress code, saying that it is a shame to the entire kingdom and that it is unfortunate that the young generation copies her attire.
“We were trying to come to terms with her dress code and character, and now she says she is wedding a Muzungu man. In my opinion, this wedding should not take place,” one source said.
Another source said that Komuntale must find a Mutoro man to be married to otherwise the elders will not bless her marriage. Known to jump from one relationship to another, Komuntale is not about to give up her love for Thomas for the sake of her culture and status.

[Kasumi]

We should not be judgemental over the Kabaka
Ever since Katikkiro John Baptist Walusimbi announced the birth of Prince Richard Ssemakookiro, we have witnessed varied forms of reactions. Fortunately, the majority of the people I have interfaced with have expressed happiness and have wished the prince, his father and the entire kingdom well. Indeed, the people of Buganda are very joyful over the new addition to the royal family.
However, we have also had to contend with the condescending attitudes of the self-righteous, people like the Rev. Sam L. Ruteikara. He wrote, under the heading “Kabaka’s action cannot be justified under Christianity”, Daily Monitor, February 2, that the Kabaka is “wrong”; he talked about “...the risk from multiple...sexual relationships...”; and he wondered why the Kabaka isn’t advised that the “...diseases of the brave have become very fatal....”! I don’t know who this reverend is, but I expect a trained priest to be less judgemental and a little constrained in his utterances.