Mengo-Kooki impasse: Kamuswaga erects gigantic arch at border with Buganda

As Kooki cultural institution continues to position itself as an independent entity, its hereditary leader, Kamuswaga Apollo Sansa Kabumbuli II has erected an arch at the entry border point with Buganda Kingdom.

The metallic arch which is located after Kisoma Swamp, about one kilometre to Lwanda Township along the Kyotera-Rakai Road, has inscriptions in both Lukooki dialect and English welcoming people to the “Kingdom of Kooki”.

Alongside the arch, there will be a roadside market with vendors selling skewers of roasted meat, chicken thighs, liver, gizzards and gonja (sweet plantain).The market, according to  Mr Stanley Ndawula, the Kooki  Information Minister , will serve us a refreshment ground for  travelers from Kampala    connecting to Rakai and Mbarara .

 “Kooki’s history has been interpreted differently by various scholars who have misled the public and we are erecting such signposts to show that we are an independent cultural institution with clear boundaries,” he said.

Mr Ndawula said similar arches are going to be erected at all entry points into Kooki.

“We are going to put huge signposts at our borders with Kabula County, Ankole Kingdom and Tanzania to clearly mark our boundaries,” he added.

Mr Amos Dickson Ssebyala, the Kooki Minister for culture said there will also be a mini museum showcasing Kooki’s rich history at every entry point.

Kooki and Buganda have in the past decade been at loggerheads with the former insisting that it is an independent cultural institution.

Kooki officials have on several occasions blocked their counterparts from Buganda from entering their territory, claiming they have to first get clearance from the Kamuswaga, an arrangement Buganda, Uganda’s largest kingdom, vehemently rejects.

Kooki has previously raised a number of demands to Buganda, one of which is being accorded a special status, higher than that of other ssaza (county) chiefs, and to have Kamuswaga’s throne inside the Mengo Lukiiko hall. However, Buganda has refused to honour all the demands.

There have been negotiations between the two parties in the past five months to try and resolve the impasse but nothing tangible has been achieved yet.

Kooki Chiefdom officials insist they will only renew their cooperation with Buganda after Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II has held direct talks with the Kamuswaga.

In 2016, the Kooki council, which is an equivalent of the Buganda Lukiiko, banned the singing of Buganda anthem in all schools and at official functions under its jurisdiction. The council also resolved to use English during its council meetings with Luganda relegated to only those who can’t speak English. Currently, the chiefdom has adopted a new flag and anthem.

Kooki which constitutionally part of Buganda was once an independent kingdom until it was reduced to a semi-independent chiefdom under Buganda, to where they sought protection against external invasion.

In the 1896 agreement signed between the then Kamuswaga Hezekiah Ndawula and the late Kabaka Mwanga of Buganda, Kooki was infused into the territories of Buganda Kingdom, but with a special status above other 17 counties.