Mumbere denounces Yira State, ICC petition

Rwenzururu King Charles Wesley Mumbere has for the first time since the 2016 attacks that left more than 100 people dead during a joint army and police force raid on his palace in Kasese District, disowned people pushing for an independent nation of the Bakonzo commonly referred to as “the Yira State.”

In a special message through Queen Agnes Ithungu Asiimawe, the King who is currently out on stringent bail conditions made it clear that the people seeking secede from Uganda to create a new State – the Yiira Republic. “ are the worst enemies of the Obusinga and they are the reason we [the kingdom] are crying.”

“The Omusinga (king) is sending a message that he is not looking for the Yira State. The Omusinga is not in for the Yira State and whoever preaches that the Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu has an interest in Yira State is lying” Ms Ithungu said.

Concerning the quest for a separate State which the security agencies used to indict Mr Mumbere of waging war against government, the Queen revealed that the king acknowledges the historical background about the issue, but insists he is a “victim of a circumstance.”

“The Omusinga says it is true, the founders of the Obusinga (kingdom), after a lot of suppression, fought for a State but for him, he was just a toddler. Therefore, he was a victim of circumstance because he spent little time with his father.”

“He says that when he became a man, he surrendered to the government then. So, those preaching Yira State are the worst enemies of the Obusinga and they are the reason we are crying. You are causing death and we are in pain as mothers and children. The king is dying with pain in his heart. Please we are tired” She added.

King Mumbere, the queen says, sent a message of dialogue and development to his subjects in the Rwenzori Sub-region, reiterating that dialogue was the only way he ended his fight with Milton Obote II government that lead to his surrender in 1982. Mumbere surrendered to the Obote II regime in 1982 before he was sent on scholarship to the US where he lived until recognition of his kingdom in 2009.

The Queen, who arrived in Kasese on Wednesday in a UPDF chopper, is currently touring the various parts of the kingdom. Yesterday, addressing subjects at Bwesumbu SDA Primary School in Bwesumbu Sub-County in Kasese District. The Queen received a heroine’s welcome to the kingdom as he delivered the King’s message.

The State status was declared by Mumbere’s father, the late Isaya Mukirania, at the start of the Rwenzoruru Kingdom Movement in 1962. There has been claims that some of the people behind the mobilization of royal guards were pushing for the State. The envisaged State would secede from Uganda and the (Eastern) Democratic Republic of Congo serving nearly 10 million Bakonzo and Nande (Bakonzo in DRC) who dwell on the slopes of Rwenzori Mountains.

However, the Queen reiterated that anybody vending the State idea would be telling lies. The Queen is crisscrossing Rwenzori sub-region on the first official visit since the November 2016 clashes.

The clashes during a raid by the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) led to death of several people, including security personnel. The raid culminated in the arrest of King Mumbere and more than 200 others, including the royal guards.

She had earlier met the widows of the royal guards who were killed in the November 26, and 27, 2016 clashes both at the palace and at Bwesubmbu Police Post. The meeting was also attended by the wives and husbands of some of the 200 people currently on remand at Kirinya Government Prison in Jinja.

ICC petition
According to the Queen, the king has also denounced the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) petition, seeking to drag President Museveni and key government officials to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity.

He denied having any knowledge and giving a blessing to the decision by five Members of Parliament and one concerned citizen who in December 2016 vowed to petition the ICC asking The Hague based judges to indict President Museveni.

Reported by Misairi Thembo Kahungu, Enid Ninsiima, Muhindo Joel & Moris Mumberereconciliation initiatives.

He however said that, the visit of the Queen is a “clear sign of what I have been telling the people always that the government loves the Obusinga”

Reported by; Misairi Thembo Kahungu, Enid Ninsiima, Muhindo Joel & Moris Mumbere

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