UGANDA: WHERE ARE THE BANYORO'S LOST COUNTIES OF BUYAGA AND BUGANGAIZI!!

 

NOTE from the Editor - This post likely has minor spelling and grammar errors. We shall correct them after the pandemic. We are short staffed due to the obvious reasons of not being able to pay our junior editors. The senior editor (Martha Leah Nangalama) is also in dispossessed.  It is a pandemic and we are all adjusting. MLN

By CHANGE OF GUARDS

Before the advent of colonialism, the powerful Bunyoro Kingdom had lost its counties of Buwekula (Mubende), Bulemezi (Nakaseke), Bunyara (Kayunga) and Ssingo (Kiboga) to Buganda during their 400 years war.  Bunyoro Kingdom under the able leadership of King Kabalega ably resisted colonialism.  That is why Bunyoro's site of Nyakahuma Tree is located in Mubende and renamed Nakayima Tree.  The colonialists used Buganda and Sudanese Nubian machineries to militarily fight and subdue Bunyoro on the promise that all of Bunyoro's land South of River Kafu would be given to Buganda.  The defeat of Bunyoro climaxed in the capture of  Kabalega by Kakungulu on April 9, 1889 before he was sent to exile in the Indian Ocean island. The transfer of the said land was recognized in the 1900 Buganda Agreement that was signed on March 13, 1900.  Consequently, Bunyoro's counties of Buyaga and Bugangaizi (current Kibaale, Kakumiro and Kagadi Districts) were transferred to Buganda and became part of Mubende which was one of Buganda's four colonial districts.  

The British gave large tracts of fertile land in the Lost Counties to Baganda elites - chiefs and royals.  These titled tracts of land came to be known as Mailo Land and the Banyoro peasants occupying the same became squatters liable to paying Busulu and Envujo taxes to the new landlords.  Another 3,000 Sq Miles of land was gazetted as forest and game reserves in Bunyoro Kingdom.  Buganda Chiefs were sent to govern counties in Bunyoro.  In an attempt at assimilation and erasing of the culture of the Banyoro,  use of Banyoro language and names in public and official avenues was heavily punishable.  Banyoro were compelled to adopt Baganda names so as to access social services such as scholarships to secondary or higher education.  That is how prominent Banyoro like Prof. Joseph Mukiibi, Prof. Gastus Ssenyonga, Justice Ssebugwawo, Dr. Kasirivu Atwooki, Hon. Ssekitoleko Sebastian, Kaata Musoke, LC 5 Chairman Kibuuka Amooti and many others came to adopt Kiganda names.  Missionaries refused to translate the Bible into Runyoro language.  

In 1907 the Banyoro organized a peaceful resistance dubbed Nyangire (I have refused) against British authority and their Baganda agents.  The low key affair involved the withdrawal of cooperation in protest against the arrogance, plunder, granting of free hold land ownership to Baganda and treatment of Banyoro as inferior people by the Baganda Chiefs.  Owing to it's sophisticated organization, the colonial authorities suspected that in their attempt to outmanouvre the Anglicans, the Catholic missionaries were behind the rebellion.  When the colonial administration refused to withdraw the Baganda Chiefs, the rebellion degenerated into burning of huts and destruction of crops forcing Baganda Chief to flee.  

The Banyoro proposal of having representatives of  the kingdoms of Tooro, Ankole, Buganda and Busoga discuss the Bunyoro question was outrightly rejected by the colonial administration.  Instead, it adopted a military approach where 54 Banyoro chiefs and opinion leaders suspected of connivance were arrested and exiled outside Bunyoro.  Out of these 54 arrested chiefs, 49 were Catholics and we're replaced by 51 Protestant chiefs.  Further, chiefs who were suspected to have supported the rebellion had their land confiscated and given to the puppet King Duhaga.  A Catholic Chief Byabachwezi who was suspected to have played a key role in the rebellion was fined €300.  The brutal military campaign sowed more seeds of resentment amongst the Banyoro such that the newly appointed chiefs would to be escorted by 50 soldiers.  Consequently, Bunyoro endured decades of deliberate economic underdevelopment and widespread social demographic problems throughout the colonial rule. 

For Bunyoro, these two counties came to be referred to as the Lost Counties and the owners of the huge tracts of land came to be known as Absentee Landlords.  Resentment continued throughout the colonial era and the Banyoro founded the Mubende Bunyoro Committee (BMC) in the 1950s to advocate for the return of the Lost Counties.  The issue became more contentious towards independence. The British government sent a Commission to inquire into the issue and it proposed a referendum.  Bunyoro favoured a referendum but Buganda was opposed to the same   During the August - September Constitutional Conference at Lancaster House in the London, the delegates from Bunyoro put up a strong case for the return of the Lost Counties.  The Buganda delegates responded with equally strong arguments against the return of the same.  At some stage both parties threatened a walkout and the conference ended without agreeing over the issue.  At the conference, Bunyoro's MBC played a key role in pushing for a return of the two counties. 

On October 15, 1961 the Bunyoro Kingdom Rukurato (Parliment) passed a resolution that was to treat the Lost Counties as though had been returned to Bunyoro with effect from October 18, 1961.  Another Commission by the British government in January - March 1962 and it proposed a referendum but Buganda Lukiko decried it findings.  The last Uganda Constitutional Conference of June 1962 at Mariborough House finally affirmed  a referendum.  Consequently, the British 

adopted the Uganda (Independence) Order ehich stipulated that a referendum over the Lost Counties would be held within two years after independence - before October 4, 1964.  During those two years, the territory of the lost counties would be administered by the central government.  At that time, the Lost Counties had a population of 60,000 while the population of the entire Uganda was 6,50,000 people.  

Uganda got it's independence in October 1962 with Milton Obote as Executive Prime Minister.  In 1963 the Kabaka of Buganda Sir. Edward Mutesa became the President of Uganda after being elected  by Parliament.  In an effort to boost it's numbers, throughout 1963, Buganda Kingdom had embarked on an expensive exercise of resettling fresh Baganda into the area in a scheme dubbed Ndaiga Scheme.  It is even alleged that Kabaka Muteesa personally shot dead 8 Banyoro at a market place in Karuguuza during a violent confrontation.  In August 1964, Parliment passed the Referendum (Buyaga and Bugangaizi) Bill  and set the date of November 4, 1964 when it would be conducted.  The pro Buganda MPs (KY) walked out in protest.  It went ahead to stipulate that only those who had been living in the Lost Counties at independence would qualify to vote.  President Mutesa who was also the Kabaka of Buganda refused to sigh the Bill into law and Obote but ahead and signed it.  Buganda unsuccessfully challenged the law in court and by the time the referendum took place, the appeal lay before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the UK. 

The Referendum did take place as scheduled and the results were in favour of return to Bunyoro by 86% and 70% in Buyaga and Bugangaizi respectively.  President Mutesa being the Kabaka of Buganda refused to sign the results.  The results further instigated violence in Buganda prompting the Katikiro (Prime Minister) Michael Kintu to resign on November 9 after he lost a vote of confidence in the Lukiko.  He was replaced by Joash Mayanja Nkangi.  The Constitution of Uganda (Third Amendment) Bill gibing effect to the results  of the referendum was pased by parliament.  President Mutesa once again refused to sign it but Prime Minister Obote signed it into law and the once Lost Countries reverted to Bunyoro.  

However, large chunks of land continued to be owned by the Absentee Landlords.  The government had resettled a small number of ethnic Bakiga around Kagadi in 1968.  In 1992 the government again resettled another batch of ethnic Bakiga who had been evicted from Mpokya Game Reserve in Kabarole District.  To counter the potential resistance from the Banyoro,  Museveni had to fist tactically split the lost counties from Hoima District by creating Kibaale District.  A total of 152 Sq Km of government land was given to them with each family being allotted 12 acres and some start-up cash donation. They were not to sell their land or acquire more land elsewhere.  At the time the Bakiga population in Kagadi was about 11% but shortly after it grew to 32%.  The legally resettled Bakiga invited big numbers of their kinsmen to Kagadi whom they sold part of their land before they illegally occupied forest reserves and land belonging to Absentee Landlords.  

Soon after, their numbers and influence grew tremendously.  In 1994, they spearhead an uprising against Absentee Landlords who held land titles for those chunks of land in the former Lost Counties.  In 2002 a Mukiga, Fred Ruremera won the LC 5 Chairmanship position of Kibaale District and the Banyoro through their pressure group MBC vehemently protested.  Museveni duped the Banyoro by ordering Ruremera to step down for an indigenous Munyoro to take up the position.  He further decreed the ring fencing of some elective positions for the Banyoro against the Bakiga.  This did not deter the growth of politcal and economic influence of the Bakiga.  In 2009, the Bunyoro Kingdom Rukurato (Parliment) passed a resolution urging government to halt Bakiga's illegal occupation of forest reserves and their continued influx into Bunyoro.  Instead, Museveni came up with a Land Fund meant to compensate Absentee Landlords so that the land could revert to the 'indigenous people.'  

A total of 3,638 Absentee Landlords were identified in the entire Bunyoro region (70%) being in the former Lost Counties (Kibaale District).  A whooping 964.8 Sq Miles of Mailo Land in Kibaale District was found to have been owned by individuals with majority being  Baganda.  Plot 1 Block 42 with 1,433 hectares in Buyaga belongs to Kabaka Muteesa II while the current Kabaka Mutebi owns Plot 3 Block 90 measuring 231 hectares in Bugangaizi.  Among the other landlords is former colonial Governor Sir. Walter Coutts and the families of former Buganda Regents Apollo Kagwa and Stanslus Mugwanya. The said Land Fund scheme of 2009 was designed to benefit the so-called bonafide occupants, resettlement of the landless and provision of loans to those seeking to acquire land.  While presiding over the inaguration of Kibaale District Lands Office In September 2013, Museveni reiterated his resolve to return land to the local people before handing over newly processed  250 Land Titles to individual residents.  Since then Bunyoro's former Lost Counties (Kibaale District) has been subdivided into three districts of Kibaale, Kakumiro and Kagadi.  Electoral constituencies in the area have been proliferated along ethnic considerations. 

In 2013 the Kingdom of Bunyoro Kitara gave 100 awards to descendants of Banyoro who actively participated in the Nyangire Rebellion for the return of the former Lost Counties.  However, what the Banyoro forget is that the said Lost Counties were recovered through the November 1964 Referendum but lost again in 1992 when it was awarded to the Bakiga.  If you didn't know why Hon. Barnabas Tinkasimire recently left People Power and reverted to Museveni, you now know.  It's treasonous for a Mukiga of Kibaale District to turn against Museveni who is their guarantor.  For Museveni, the influx and infiltration of the Bakiga into Bunyoro is a strategic scheme that will help neutralise the potential of the Banyoro over stakes in oil reserves.

INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM