Mr Charles Onyango-Obbo is a journalist, writer and curator of the “Wall of Great Africans”.
Last week, we remarked in the first part of this series that over the past three years, from the lofty heights of
Uganda's ruling elite, there's been no shortage of chatter about the "Bachwezi",the "Bachwezi Dynasty", and the "Bachwezi Empire". Some of this discourse has been laced with rather narrow supremacist undertones, asserting privilege for a chosen few. We tackled some questions about why this Chwezi issue has found currency again, pondering its relevance – or lack thereof – to contemporary times. We also endeavoured to disentangle the myriad myths from the kernels of reality.
While narrating the story of a kingdom that spanned anything from 150 to 200 years would require volumes, we’ve crafted a very short version for the wananchi, covering several chapters. Here, we conclude with the final three:
Chapter 3: How did Ndahura become the great Chwezi king, and what aspects of his rise to power are inconvenient in today’s context?
According to historical narratives and legend, Chwezi warrior Ndahura,son of ostracized “princess” Nyinamwiru, killed King Bukuku. Bukuku was Ndahura's grandfather, who had attempted to kill Ndahura because of a prophecy that foretold his overthrow by one of his descendants. Ndahura managed to evade these attempts and eventually killed Bukuku, leading to him becoming the king and establishing the Chwezi dynasty.
What is inconvenient here is that the Chwezi Empire was born partly out of parricide, even though admittedly Bukuku was a paranoid and dictatorial ruler. The awkwardness of Chwezi revanchism today is that if one is a historical purist, one must ask if modern-day Ndahuras would also have to commit parricide against old Bukukus clinging to the throne and blocking their way. Is there a Freudian element or double entendre to Chwezi big-upping?
Chapter 4: Exactly which present-day areas of Africa did the Chwezi Empire cover? And was it a broad, not narrow, uni-tribal kingdom?
The popular record claims that at its height, the Bachwezi Empire covered areas that are now part of the following present-day countries in Africa's Great Lakes region: Uganda (mostly the western and southern/central parts),Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania (specifically northern Tanzania),the Democratic Republic of the Congo (eastern parts),Kenya (western parts),Zambia (northern parts),and Malawi. Some of this is contested, and other claims, particularly those involving broader territories like parts of Kenya,Sudan,or even stretching to the Indian Ocean,are obviously exaggerated or part of nationalist or pseudo-historical narratives. The point, though, is that it was big.
If we take the popular view of the size of the empire,then it covered roughly 1,962,432 km²,approximately 6.46 percent of Africa.
This vast area,therefore,had diverse peoples, especially considering that it covered areas settled by folks who had come to East Africa through movements like the Luo migration, which started earlier from about 1000 AD/CE.
Take northern Tanzania; it is home to several ethnic groups,with some of the most notable ones including the Maasai (a Nilotic group),the Hadzabe (Hadza),the Iraqw (a Cushitic people),the Chagga,the Sandawe, the Luo (in the Mara region of northern Tanzania),the Datoga (a Nilotic people).These formed important parts of the Chwezi Empire,which is why limited clan and tribal invocations of its history for narrow politics are necessarily asinine.The historically accurate narrative has to be broad and pay homage to the empire’s diversity.
Chapter 5: How and why did the Chwezi Empire collapse?
The last Chwezi king,Wamara,was reportedly a weak ruler, unable to fend off external threats effectively. His reign was marred by internal strife, including assassination attempts within the royal family, which sapped the empire's strength. There were widespread internal rebellions, particularly from the Bantu groups. The final blow to the Chwezi Empire came from the Luo (as noted in Part 1),led by Isingoma Rukiidi Mpuga (formerly Chief Labongo).The Chwezi were already weakened by disease,famine,and perhaps the loss of their divine status in the eyes of their subjects, making them vulnerable to such an incursion.
Chapter 6: The epilogue
One cannot stress enough that the historical narrative of the Chwezi Empire's collapse is steeped in myth and legend, making it a Herculean task to distinguish fact from fiction.
The Chwezi were viewed as demigods, blending the divine with the human. Their supposed retreat to the underworld post-invasion is a core part of their lore, suggesting some might have vanished rather than been vanquished. After their empire's fall, the region now known as Uganda, saw the rise of smaller chiefdoms and kingdoms like Bunyoro, Buganda (which eventually became the most powerful),and Ankole, as various groups seized the opportunity to establish their own rule.
The author is a journalist, writer, and curator of the “Wall of Great Africans”.
X (Twitter): @cobbo3.
