Government orders kingdoms to reduce royal guards

Bundibugyo.

Following the recent attack on the Rwenzururu Kingdom palace in Kasese District in an operation that left more than 100 people dead and 139 arrested, government has ordered all cultural institutions to cut down their guard force to only nine.

The traditional royal guards are volunteers recruited to protect the king, his officials and cultural sites. Government also deploys UPDF soldiers to the various cultural institutions.

In the case of Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu, the guards, majority youth, were recruited to guard the king but both the UPDF and other security operatives have linked them to the unrest in the sub-region.

The Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Bundibugyo, Mr Geoffrey Mucunguzi, told Daily Monitor at the weekend that the government had instructed all cultural institutions countrywide to trim down their royal guards.

“After receiving the directive from the government, we have told the Obudhingiya bwa Bwamba to remain with only nine royal guards and disband the rest,” said Mr Mucunguzi.

“By Constitution, the only legal royal guards are within the UPDF unit,” Mr Mucunguzi said, adding that the Bwamba establishment had started recruiting army deserters as royal guards.

Government trained only 87 royal guards for the Rwenzururu Kingdom in Kasese after King Mumbere’s recognition in 2009 but along the way, the numbers swelled significantly and they have been linked by the security agencies to the clashes in the Rwenzori sub-region.

When contacted, the Bwamba deputy premier, Rev Tomas Kamuhanda, said: “Yes, we got a directive from the RDC of Bundibugyo that we remain with only nine royal guards but I want to go to the President’s Office to confirm this”.

When asked about the numbers of their royal guards, he said: “We have only 74 royal guards, for us as an institution, we can’t be involved in the clashes or fighting government like other cultural institutions.”

The Rev Kamuhanda said the Bwamba is a law abiding institution.
Since the July 5, 2014, attacks in Rwenzori that left more than 90 people dead, and this year’s post-elections violence in March, the Bwamba institution has increasingly felt insecure and has expanded its royal guard ranks.

The institution is headed by Lt Col (rtd) Martin Kamya, who was enthroned on May 30, 2014, and is reported to be undergoing more training at the Senior Command and Staff College at Kimaka in Jinja.
But other cultural institutions yesterday said they had not received any communication from the government on the reduction.

“I haven’t received any communication from government on behalf of the kingdom,” said Mr Noah Kiyimba, the Buganda Kingdom spokesperson, who referred this reporter to Mr Billy Matovu, the officer in charge of Buganda’s royal guards. But Mr Matovu too denied having received any communication.

Buganda has nearly 50 royal guards, according to Mr Kiyimba; some of whom are in charge of the kingdom’s security while others accompany the king’s entourage.

By press time yesterday, Bunyoro Kingdom Prime Minister, Mr Norman Lukumu, said they had not received the government communication but added that it would not affect them in anyway.

“In our case, we have no formal structure for royal guards because we have about four royal guards from the regalia and the rest are from the UPDF,” he said.

Royal guards
Directive. Government has instructed all cultural institutions countrywide to trim the number of their royal guards to nine.
Training. Government trained only 87 royal guards for the Rwenzururu Kingdom in Kasese after King Mumbere’s recognition in 2009.
Confirmed. Obudhingiya bwa Bwamba confirmed having received the directive.

Petition. Mr Noah Kiyimba, the Buganda Kingdom spokesperson, said Mengo has not yet received the directive.

Little impact. Bunyoro Kingdom Prime Minister, Mr Norman had not received the government communication but explained that it would not affect them in anyway.

Detained. At least 139 Rwenzururu royal guards have been arrested and detained in Nalufenya and other undisclosed locations since November 27 but have not been charged with any offence.