By Emmanuel Eumu
The Bagisu community criticize the Gender Ministry for conniving with a few well placed individuals whose motives are to gain political interest and these they have branded as “cultural political gamblers”.
President Yoweri Museveni attending the Embalu ceremony in 2014.
Conserned members of Bugishu have petitioned president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni seeking his personal intervention in to their Cultural institution they say its at the verge of collapse due to confusion.
In a letter released to this website by Hon. Mathias Nabutele the deputy Prime Minister Royal and protocol duties of UMUKUUKA 11 says that Bugisu politics is their absorbing their cultural institutional framework.
He claims that the confusion is caused by the directive from ministry of Gender dated 14/July /2023, the letter triggered inzu Ya Masaaba Cultural institution Constitution abrogation on the 26/July 2023,The bamasaba community ate under uncertainty because the ministry directive was not in good faith.
“The new administrative structure was established and gazette by the said ministry without clear due process, incidentally the structure is curved under political boundaries of Uganda denying involvement of cultural king a cross the Kenya boarder like in the past two Cultural leaders election process”, reads the petition to the president.
it also indicates that the tragedy is a suspected futuristic national political scheme targeting Ugandan politics not cultural relations in the East Africa Community like it has been during the past two Cultural leaders.
The Bagishu community now criticize the Gender Ministry for allegedly being behind the sister motive and a few individuals with selfish interest in their region such as cultural political gamblers.
The critics now say that it will be very costly to manage the situation when it explodes.
Community elders say that even the spirits and the ancestors unhappy with what is going on lamenting that lightning struck and killed three cows recently during the swearing in ceremony of the current cultural Leader.
Members of Bugishu community performing at the Embalu ceremony.
Hon Mathias Nabutele further links to the president thus;
” Sir in written reply reference 9 August 2020 to His Highness Bob Mushikori UMUKUUKA 11 of inzu Ya Masaaba, You congratulated him for a successful term of office and advised him to ensure that the law is followed to elect his successor, upon your advice the late UMUKUUKA 11 implemented accordingly, later it was clearly tabled on the floor of Parliament during HH. BOB Mushikori ( RIP) eulogy on 10 Feb 2021 as per the parliamentary Hunsard records.
It was unfortunate that there was a global pandemic COVID-19 under which stringent measures could not permit gatherings to conducts the process coupled with restraint court order originating from an electoral procedure dispute, a court ruling was delivered on 10 /NOVEMBER/2023.
Later on, His Highness Bob Mushikori ( RIP) exercised his powers as a corporation sole (UMUKUUKA 11) and over saw a legally binding process which dully elected John Amaram elect among other competitors in full attendance of our delegates assembly including the Kenya representative for the same process was arrived at and forwarded to the ministry of Gender for gazettement as law established.
The petition indicates that itvery is un fortunate that while the whole country was under very tight restricted movement, a section of some people disobeyed the presidential directives and proceeded t assemble in October to elect another person without the supervision of the sitting cultural Leadership prescribed in Inzu Ya Masaaba Cultural institution Constitution. ( in other words it was a place coup aganinst a UMUKUUKA 11).
The bagishu in this point fingers at the gender ministry for failure to implement and seeking the advice from Attorney general about the gazettement process
The Attorney General’s response to the minister placed an opinion of legalities and later elder mike Jude Mudoma and others sued both Attorney general and gender ministry to instruct the minister to gazette the newly elected Chief.
The case was dismissed hence maintaining the Attorney general opinion, “it is a pity that some Bagisu political wing members have influence and arm, twisted the above events under the guise of political patronage, they went ahead and influence government officials resulting in contradicting actions by senior and junior Ministers respectively”, the petition reads.
Accordibg to the petition, the minister of Gender in April 2023 issued a directive to gazette Jude mike Mudoma as UMUKUUKA 111 of Inzu Ya Masaaba without considering the Attorney general’s opinion on 28 Nov/ 2021in July 14 2023, the state minister for gender cultural Affairs used the Mudoma Rulling as a guide and called for specific 26 clan heads of her choice to conduct and election in contrary to Inzu Ya Masaaba constitution which only, elects cultural Leaders through an assembly by clan delegates involving women and youth representative of ( 54 innus)
“It is very evident that all meetings were being conducted and organized at the Mbale district headquarters and attended by politicians whose outcome has caused tension within the Bamasaba community emergency tension may lead to mass protest as a video images shown 11 August 2023 by one Yaya Maslo another claimant to the same throne the meeting was resemblance of an Lc6 election or another authority above all the local Gov’t in Bugisu all the above activities are being conducted at the district headquarters not the gazetted IYM cultural offices in Mbale”, the petition highlighted.
The petitioners now want the sovereign hand of president Museveni to intervene into the matter before it gets out of hand.
