Busoga chiefs confirm parallel Kyabazinga
Some of the royal chiefs (left) hand over the letter confirming Prince Edward Columbus Wambuzi as a substantive king to the Prime Minister of Bulamogi Chiefdom Samuel Mutono at his palace in Kaliro District at the weekend. PHOTO/TAUSI NAKATO.
What you need to know:
- The chiefs allege that Kyabazinga William Gabula Nadiope failed to unite the people of the kingdom.
A section of Busoga royal chiefs, who are opposed to the leadership of Kyabazinga William Gabula Nadiope, have reconfirmed Prince Edward Columbus Wambuzi of Bulamogi chiefdom as the parallel monarch.
The six chiefs, led by the chief of Bunha, Robert Yokanna Mukajjanga Luba, at the weekend proceeded to Prince Wambuzi’s Palace in Kaliro Town Council, Kaliro District, where they handed over a letter confirming him as the substantive Kyabazinga of Busoga Kingdom.
The chiefs cited Prince Gabula’s alleged failure to unite them, refusal to stay in the kingdom’s official palace at Igenge Hill and his alleged reluctance to relinquish the throne after the elapse of five years as agreed during his election in 2014.
Other allegations include personalising Kingdom property, refusal to give the chiefdoms their loyalties and illegally unseating them from their chiefdoms and forming “unbalanced committees” to negotiate with the government the return of kingdom property.
“As you may recall during our (earlier) meeting in Iganga, we announced that Prince Wambuzi was appointed to replace Prince Nadiope and today, we have just come to give him a letter reconfirming his Kyabazingaship because we had already confirmed him on October 21, 2008,’’ Mr Mukajjanga said while handing over the letter to Prince Wambuzi’s Katikkiro, Mr Samuel Mutono.
Mr Andrew Ntange, the Busoga Kingdom spokesperson, described the actions of the chiefs as “illegal”, saying the constitution of Busoga Kingdom stipulates that a new Kyabazinga is elected upon the death of a sitting Kyabazinga.
“The constitution of Busoga Kingdom is clear; you can’t elect a parallel Kyabazinga to a sitting one. We have a Kyabazinga in place. He has not died and under no circumstances can we have another,” he said.
He added that the Prime Minister of Busoga Kingdom, Dr Joseph Muvawala, directed that for anything to be done, it must be in line with the constitution of the Kingdom.
Background
Prince Wambuzi was first elected and confirmed as Kyabazinga on October 31, 2008, following the death of his father, Henry Wako Muloki Zibondo.
However, his election was protested by supporters loyal to Prince Gabula, who said Prince Wambuzi did not get the required number of votes (eight out of 11), while others argued that the Kyabazingaship was not hereditary.
In 2014, the chiefs agreed to have a fresh election for the Kyabazinga, which Prince Gabula won with an understanding that he only serves for five years, after which fresh elections will be conducted.
However, that same year, Prince Wambuzi filed a petition at the High Court in Jinja, challenging Prince Gabula’s election on grounds that the constitution of Busoga was flouted, a petition which has dragged on to-date.
