Rwenzururu is a
subnational kingdom in western
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
, located in the
Rwenzori Mountains
The Ruwenzori, also spelled Rwenzori and Rwenjura, are a range of mountains in eastern equatorial Africa, located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The highest peak of the Ruwenzori reaches , and the range ...
on the border with the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
. The kingdom includes the districts of
Bundibugyo
Bundibugyo is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the 'chief town' of Bundibugyo District and the district headquarters are located there.
Location
Bundibugyo is located approximately , by road, west of Fort Portal, the nearest ...
,
Kasese
Kasese is a town north of Lake George in the Western Region of Uganda. It originally grew around the copper mine at Kilembe, while attention later turned to cobalt mining. It is the chief town of Kasese District, and the district headquarters ...
and
Ntoroko
Ntoroko is a town officially known as Kanara Town Council in Ntoroko District Western Uganda. It is one of the four town councils of Ntoroko District the others being Karugutu, Rwebisengo and Kibuku Town Council.
Ntoroko is the largest fishing ...
. Rwenzururu is also the name given to the region the kingdom is located in.
Background
![Rwenzori road to Semilki National Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Rwenzori_road_to_Semilki_National_Park.jpg)
The Rwenzururu region is inhabited by the
Konjo and
Amba people Amba (pl. Baamba and known by various other names) is a Bantu ethnic group located on the border area between the DRC and Uganda south of Lake Albert in the northern foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains. On the Uganda side, they are found in Bundi ...
s. In the early 20th century, these two tribes were integrated into the
Kingdom of Toro as a political maneuver by the British colonialists: the neighboring
Bunyoro
Bunyoro or Bunyoro-Kitara is a Bantu kingdom in Western Uganda. It was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Central and East Africa from the 13th century to the 19th century. It is ruled by the King ('' Omukama'') of Bunyoro-Kitara. The cur ...
monarchy was anti-colonialist and the British wished to strengthen the pro-British Toro. The Bakonjo and Baamba initially accepted being arbitrarily made subjects of the Toro monarch with resignation, but asked the
Uganda Protectorate
The Protectorate of Uganda was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1894 to 1962. In 1893 the Imperial British East Africa Company transferred its administration rights of territory consisting mainly of the Kingdom of Buganda to the Bri ...
to provide them their own
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
in the 1950s, separate from the Toro District.
[Prunier, 82] The movement declared that they were not part of the Toro Kingdom on 30 June 1962, three months before national independence.
["Our History"](_blank)
rwenzururu.or.ug (accessed 13 February 2017)
History
After their request was denied by the colonial authorities, the Bakonjo and Baamba launched a low-intensity
guerrilla war
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics ...
that continued through independence. The movement carrying out the armed struggle was named "
Rwenzururu".
[ While the movement began to achieve recognition as a separate district, it eventually became a movement to secede and form their own kingdom.][Rothchild, 90] The movement declared an independent Kingdom of Rwenzururu on 30 June 1962, three months before national independence, with Isaya Mukirania as king. The violence reached a height in 1963 and 1964, when Toro soldiers massacred many Konjo and Amba people as they sought to control the lower valleys. The Ugandan army intervened against the separatists, doing such significant damage to the Rwenzururu that the movement was suppressed for some time.[ The movement, however, achieved fame through a local folk epic.
The Rwenzururu gradually re-established itself in the collapse of the regime of ]Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...
in 1979. As government soldiers retreated in the Uganda-Tanzania War, the Rwenzururu looted the weapons and supplies left behind. Thus well-armed, the Rwenzururu was once again able to pose a serious threat to regional control from 1979 to 1982. In 1982, however, the administration of President Milton Obote
Apollo Milton Obote (28 December 1925 – 10 October 2005) was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda to independence from British colonial rule in 1962. Following the nation's independence, he served as prime minister of Uganda from 1962 to ...
negotiated a settlement with the Rwenzururu leaders in which they agreed to abandon the goal of secession
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...
in exchange for "a degree of local autonomy," the appointment of Bakonjo and Baamba to government administrative posts, and economic benefits such as vehicles and educational scholarships to be distributed by local elders. During the negotiations, the government preferred direct talks, as they believed third-party mediation would give legitimacy to the Rwenzururu claim.
Amon Bazira Amon Bazira (sometimes referred to as Amon Kabunga Bazira; 1944–1993) was a Pan-Africanist leader and organiser who created an extensive intelligence network that was a clandestine component of the struggle to end the regime of Ugandan military di ...
had been a key person in the negotiations between the Rwenzururu and Obote government. His insight was that the Rwenzururu was a largely middle class organization that could be placated with commercial prizes. He later approached President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire
Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
and President Daniel arap Moi
Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He was the country's longest-serving president. Moi previously served as the third vice ...
of Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
, who both had grounds for disliking the new Ugandan government led by Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...
, for support for new Bakonjo rebellion under an organization called the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU). Bazira was shot dead in the State House in Nakuru
Nakuru is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitants, making it the largest ...
, Kenya in 1993, a probable target of Ugandan agents. In 1995, Sudanese agents engineered the merging of the remnants of NALU with the Uganda Muslim Liberation Army and the Baganda monarchist Allied Democratic Movement in order to give these latter organizations a local constituency, creating the Allied Democratic Forces
The Allied Democratic Forces (french: Forces démocratiques alliées; abbreviated ADF) is an Islamist rebel group in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), considered a terrorist organisation by the Ugandan government. It was or ...
.
Government recognition
A survey carried out by Makerere University
Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of n ...
found that 87% of the local population in Rwenzururu favored the creation of a kingdom.["Uganda: Welcome Rwenzururu"]
editorial by the '' New Vision'', 31 March 2008 In 2005, President Museveni directed a ministerial committee headed by Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Public Service Henry Kajura to investigate the Rwenzururu claim to a kingdom and issue a report of his findings. The report stated that over 80% of the Bakonjo and Baamba favoured the creation of a kingdom with Charles Mumbere
Charles Wesley Mumbere, known by his royal title Irema-Ngoma I, is the king (known locally as the Omusinga) of the African kingdom of Rwenzururu, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Mumbere was arrested in December 2016 after the clashes in t ...
as the Omusinga (king).["Cabinet recognises Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu"]
, Ugee! Uganda Online, 31 March 2008 (accessed 6 June 2009) It further found that there is no historical claim for a Rwenzururu kingdom or a group of people called Banyarwenzururu, but recommended that the government bow to the wishes of the people. Pursuant to these recommendations, on 17 March 2008 the Ugandan cabinet endorsed the Kingdom of Rwenzururu as a cultural institution and crowned Mumbere as Omusinga Irema-Ngoma I.[ Three contenders for the throne criticized the government's recognition of Mumbere as Omusinga."Bakonzo contestants attack govt over Mumbere’s kingship"]
by Ephraim Kasozi & Joseph Miti, '' The Monitor'', 7 April 2008 (accessed 6 June 2009)
See also
* 2016 Kasese clashes
Violence erupted on 26 November 2016 in the town of Kasese, the capital of the Ugandan Kingdom of Rwenzururu, when Ugandan police raided the government offices of the Rwenzururu kingdom, killing eight Rwenzururian royal guards and arresting two ...
References
*
*
*
Further reading
* Arthur Syahuku-Muhindo, "The Rwenzururu Movement and the Democratic Struggle," in M. Mamdani and J. Oloka-Onyango, eds., ''Uganda: Studies in Living Conditions, Popular Movements and Constitutionalism'' (Vienna: JEP Books, 1994), p. 273-317.
*
* Stacey, Tom (2003). Tribe: ''The Hidden History of the Mountains of the Moon.'' Stacey International. .
{{Authority control
Kingdom of Rwenzururu
Rwenzori Mountains
Ugandan monarchies
History of Uganda
States and territories established in 1962
Non-sovereign monarchy