Mumbere dismisses calls for Kasese split

Kasese.

Rwenzururu King Charles Mumbere has equated those who agitate for the split of Kasese District into three as idlers who do not want peace in the area. The monarch said he will not look on while his kingdom is desecrated.

“I am sorry to call them bayaye (idlers) but they are because you cannot advocate for the split that is going to directly affect Rwenzururu Kingdom and her subjects,” the king said.

He was on Thursday speaking at Peas Secondary School in Buhuhira Sub-county, where his royal guards were allegedly shot dead in March.

“Let us all fight the split of the district. I hear those advocating want to put kings in every district but I will not give them a chance to put me down,” Omusinga Mumbere vowed.

King Mumbere said his subjects are calm, law abiding and respectful people but they cannot allow anybody to take away what belongs to them.

“We are tired of conflicts in the region and I want to assure those calling for the split to revise their plans and think twice,” he warned.

Earlier, the Kasese District chairperson, Mr Geoffrey Bigogo Sibendire, informed the Omusinga that some elders in the district had been holding meetings to support the split of the district into Kasese, Hima and Kikorongo districts. He requested the king to use his powers to stop them.
Busongora North MP William Nzoghu vowed to resist the proposal of splitting the district. “We managed to fail the split of Kasese in the 9th Parliament when we were only three MPs, so what happens now when we are six?” Mr Nzoghu asked.

The split
The proposal. The proposal to have Kasese District split into three districts was made by the district council in October 2010. However, the idea has always faced resistance from the king and his loyalists.
King’s view. Rwenzururu Kingdom claims the split of the district is intended to weaken the kingdom. However, the minority groups are reportedly agitating for the split.