#Uganda president #Museveni dismisses the Hima/Tutsi empire conspiracy

MUSEVENI DISMISSES THE HIMA/TUTSI EMPIRE CONSPIRACY

It is 8th April 2002 and Kampala is hosting a three-day regional symposium whose theme is "Reinforcing the region's solidarity by setting a regional agenda for a culture of peace, unity and people-centered development." In his address, Museveni dismisses concerns by some communities to create or revive a Hima/Tutsi empire in the region. This is reference to the conspiracy theory that outlines the so called 50 Years Hima/Tutsi Master Plan.

He goes ahead to dismiss talks of inherent conflict between Bahima and Bairu in Ankole and Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda and Burundi. He says the empire talk is a product of several years of deliberate manipulation of the region's culture and history by colonialists. He discloses that he first learnt of the alleged conspiracy sometime back when Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, the late former President of Tanzania, sent him a message about it.

He goes ahead to disclose that in the message, Mwalimu had asserted that the conspirators were some communities in Uganda and Rwanda. Of course, the communities being referred to are the Bahima and Tutsi. Since Mwalimu Nyerere ruled Tanzania until 1986 and died in 1999, it can therefore be inferred that he raised the concern while he was still President. Therefore, the conspiracy theory must be as old as the Museveni regime.

Museveni labours to explain that the idea is of a conspiracy or campaign to create or revive a Hima/Tutsi Empire is a lie. He says that it is if course true that there are communities in the region that go by those names or their variations and gives the example of the Hima in Uganda, the Hema/Huma in Congo and Tutsi in Rwanda. He must have deliberately omitted to mention the Tutsi of Burundi, Tanzania and the Hima caste of the Tutsi of Bururi region in Burundi.

As for the Hema/Hema of Congo's Ituri region, during the military expedition, his Hima/Tutsi dominated army obviously sided with the pastoralist Hema against the Lendu cultivators - an act that fueled the bloody ethnic clashes. He goes ahead to argue that the social structures and economic activities of these societies are similar. Here he was referring to among others the strict adherence to the practice of not marrying outside their castes and cattle keeping.

He goes ahead to rebuke the so-called experts whom he accuses of referring to what he terms as "occupational guilds or castes based on job description." Of course, here he was referring to cattle keepers and cultivators. He dismisses the notion of the existence of Baitu/Bahima and Hutu/Tutsi as ethnic groups by arguing that the Banyankole as an ethnic group is comprised of three castes i.e. the Bahima as cattle keepers, Baitu as cultivators and the Baganda as rulers. He asserts that if a Muhima lost cattle he would become a Murasi and eventually a Mwiru.

He goes ahead to assert that if a Mwiru got cattle he would become a Mwambari and eventually a Muhima. He concludes by arguing that neither of the two would naturally become a Muhinda whom he describes as "parasites whose lineage does extend too far into our (Banyankole) history." From this paragraph, it can be concluded that he deliberately blocked the restoration of the Ankole Kingdom so as to suffocate the ruling "parasites" (Bahinda).

Extracted from The New Vision: NO PLOT FOR HIMA, TUTSI EMPIRE - MUSEVENI - 9th April 2002.

From the foregoing, the big questions are; why has the so-called Tutsi/Hima conspiracy theory thrived and grown much stronger if Museveni was opposed to it since three decades ago???? The answer lies in the fact that it’s the likes of Museveni and company who have been propagating it for selfish ends. Otherwise, when Otafiire pulled out a pistol against Kuteesa's wife after the later called him a Mwiru he was made to resign his cabinet position but Kuteesa's wife was not reprimanded. What about the effectiveness of the Anti Sectarian Law that only penalizes those who point out sectarian practices while shielding those who practice it??? Should we assume that the ongoing bad blood between Museveni and Kagame is a minor internal bickering over modalities of empire formulation???

INFORMATION IS POWER AND DEFIANTLY "HITTING ON THE HEAD" IS THE WAY TO GO.