Imbalu VIP siege: The inside story

Circumcision candidates perform Isonja, a preparatory dance, at Mutoto Cultural Site last week. PHOTO / MICHEAL WONIALA

What you need to know:

  • The tent had been erected on a spiritual pathway meant for imbalu candidates to use while returning from a ritual known as Khuakha Litosi  (mudding) from a nearby swamp.

At about 3pm on August 13, celebrations at Mutoto Cultural Ground in Mbale City turned ugly after a group of traditional circumcision dancers escorting candidates to face the knife tore through a VIP section.

The tent had been erected on a spiritual pathway meant for imbalu candidates to use while returning from a ritual known as Khuakha Litosi  (mudding) from a nearby swamp.

The Khuakha Litosi ritual involves smearing imbalu (circumcision) candidates with mud before the cutting off of the foreskin. It is a symbolic rite that connects the candidates with their ancestral powers.

Elders said the organising committee blundered on the entire process.

Mr Davis Wakane, the former minister of lands in the Bamasaba Cultural Institution, said they knew things would go wrong when the committee sidelined the elderly.

“They [organisers] unknowingly planted the tent on the cultural path meant for imbalu candidates, risking people’s lives. The cultural matters should be left to elders,” he said.

The imbalu committee led by a youthful Godwin Mubuya was instituted by the government in July.  This was after the factions within the institution failed to agree on who should organise this year’s imbalu session in the absence of a legitimate Umukhuka of Bamasaba Cultural Institution.

Mr Wakane said when the candidates undergo a mudding ritual, they become possessed by spirits and cannot be controlled.

“This is the reason they had extra courage to break through the VIP tent, something which could have been avoided if the elders were involved,” he said.

The mud swamp, where the candidates go for the ritual is situated a kilometre away from the site. It is the home of the reputed Kumusambwa kwe Imbalu, loosely translated as ancestral power of imbalu for Bamutoto clan.

Bamutoto is one of the 26 clans among the Bamasaba and it launches the circumcision ceremony, which is performed every even year, before it spreads to other clans.

A Monitor investigation found out that on the fateful day, imbalu candidates danced all the way from the swamp. But when they reached the cultural site, the path referred to as Kumwanda Kwe Malu in Lugisu had a VIP tent.

The candidates charged and overran the VIP section, forcing the guest of honour, Dr Mary Goretti Kitutu, the Minister for Karamoja Affairs, MPs and other dignitaries to scamper for safety.

While narrating the incident during her aftermath visit to the site last Thursday, Dr Kitutu said she managed to take off because she had acquired some Mchaka-Mchaka skills in Kyankwanzi.

“I am also a daughter of Masaba land and know that when candidates are possessed by the spirits, you don’t confront them,” she said while addressing members of the Bamutoto clan.

This newspaper, however, learnt that Dr Kitutu and other dignitaries were whisked away by security personnel, who acted fast when the situation went out of hand.

The first cultural leader of Bamasaba Cultural Institution, Mr Wilson Wamimbi, who was brought to preside over the function, was rescued by good Samaritans.

According to Mr Wakane, Ms Kitutu tried on several occasions to unite the youth leadership with elders to manage the function, but it didn’t yield much fruits.

Imbalu is a revered traditional rite that is practised among the Bamasaba who live in Mbale, Namisindwa, Manafwa, Sironko, and Bududa, and the Bukusu of Western Kenya.

Mr Samuel Watulatsu, a development consultant, who served as a member of the Bugisu Cultural Board, said he left the site as soon as he sensed danger.

“There was poor time management, the function began after midday, which was a huge setback,” Mr Watulatsu said.

One of the leaders, who preferred anonymity, told Daily Monitor that apart from sustaining injuries, he lost Shs3m from him.

The Resident City Commissioner, Mr Ahamad Washaki, however, denied allegations that some dignitaries were beaten and injured.

Mr Yusuf Wamono, another elder, said such a stampede had never happened at the venue since 1998.   “We had never witnessed this since the imbalu launch started taking place,’’ he said.

Mr Kenneth Namusoso, the executive director of Namu Foundation Uganda, an NGO, said the ceremony was politicised and it lost its track.

Ms Kitutu revealed that they will come up with a physical plan to develop the cultural site for tourist attraction.

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“There was a lot of politics. You cannot invite someone who is not circumcised according to our norms to preside over imbalu. It breeds bad omen and these are small things that we should have avoided,” Mr Kenneth Namusoso, the executive director of Namu Foundation Uganda