Banyoro and their Culture Part 4

All you need to know about Banyoro Political Set Up, Banyoro Traditional Wars, Bunyoro Kingdom, Imperialism and colonialism in bunyoro kingdom in Uganda.

The Banyoro had a centralized system of Government.

At the top of the political leadership was the King (Omukama). His position was hereditary. He was the most important person in the kingdom.

H e was assisted I n administrative matters by the provincial chiefs and a council of notables.

The King was the commander –in chief of the armed forces and each provincial chief was the commander of a military detachment stationed in his province.

The King was assisted by a council of advisors known as the Bajwara Nkondo (wearers of crowns made from monkey skins).

There was a kind of political school in Mwenge; all the chiefs had to pass through it.

Each chief had to send his favourite son to the King’s court as a sign of allegiance. Leadership was not confined to men; the Kogire and Nyakauma rulers of Busongora were women.

Other persons of Political importance in the Kingdom were the Bamuroga (Prime minister) and Nyakoba (a physician of the Basuli clan), Kasoira Nyamumara of the Batwaire clan and a leading Mubitto.

Banyoro as a Kingdom was initially bigger than the present district of Hoima, Masindi and Kibale.The legendary Kingdom of Bunyoro-kitara from which the Kingdom of Bunyoro emerged is said to have been a very big empire comprising the whole of present Western Uganda, eastern Zaire, western Kenya and parts of northern Tanzania.

This Bunyoro –Kitara was founded by the Bachwezi.It is supposed to have collapsed at the advent of the Luo.The Biito Luo are said to have established the Babiito dynasty over some of the remains of the Bachwezi state.

The Babiito Kingdom of Bunyoro –Kitara is said to have include present Hoima, Masindi, Mubende, Toro, Busigira, Bwera, Buddu, Buhweju, Kitagwenda ad was sovereign over some parts of Busoga.

However, over time, the Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara stated to shrink. Due to frequent succession disputes, it became weak and it fell prey to the expanding Kingdoms of Buganda and Nkore.

Bunyoro-Kitara was the biggest and strongest kingdom in the interlaucstine region by the beginning of the Century. However, by the end of the 18th century, Bunyoro –Kitara had become weak and started to loose some of her territory.

The provinces of Butambala, Gomba, Buddu, and Busoga were lost to Buganda. Some of her parts like Chope, Toro, and Buhweju had earlier broken away and declared their own independence.

In 1869, Kabalega succeeded his father Kamurasi as the King of Bunyoro –Kitara and he tried to reorganize and reconquer the lost glory of Bunyoro-Kitara.

He trained and equipped his new standing army (the Abarusula). He embarked on wars of recapture.

He started with Toro and then Chope. As he was beginning to move against Buganda, the British colonialists arrived.

They supported Toro and Buganda against Kabalega and defeated and exiled him to Seychelles in 1899.

Some of Bunyoro’s provinces of Bugangaizi were given to Buganda. This left Bunyoro with only the present districts of Hoima and Masindi. The two counties were returned d to Bunyoro after a referendum in 1964.

The Kingdom of Bunyoro was among the others abolished in 1967. With the restoration of traditional cultural institutions in 1993, Prince Solomon Iguru, a descendant of Kabarega, was installed as heir to the throne of Bunyoro.

Unlike his ancestors, however, he is a cultural leader with no political and administrative power. Under his patronage, the Banyoro are striving to salvage and maintain what they can of their age-old cultures.

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