UGANDA

COMPENDIUM OF CONFLICTS IN UGANDA
PRE-INDEPENDENCE CONFLICTS IN THE RWENZORI REGION
More than in any other region visited, NRTJ participants in the Rwenzori region
of western Uganda were able to detail a string of conflicts that had affected the
region’s inhabitants even before Uganda became an independent state. Most of
these were related to the formation of new polities (organised into Kingdoms,
or ‘nations’), the dominance of one polity over another, and various levels of
collaboration, marginalisation and rebellion between these polities.
89. Bunyoro Kingdom attack on Bakonzo and Baamba (1852)
Tooro Kingdom emerged from the Bunyoro Kingdom in the beginning of the 19 th
century, 414 and was founded by Kaboyo Olimi I. 415 When Prince Kaboyo, the son of the
King of Bunyoro, visited the area now known as Tooro with the ostensible purpose of
strengthening his father’s Kingdom, he instead rebelled and initiated the break away of
Tooro from Bunyoro. During this process Prince Kaboyo was hosted by the Bakonzo and
Baamba, prompting an attack on both groups by the Prince’s father, King Kamurasi of the
Bunyoro Kingdom. 416
90. Bunyoro Kingdom war against the British, Batooro, Baamba and
Bakonzo (1870-1899)
After Prince Kaboyo’s initial rebellion against the Bunyoro Kingdom, the Tooro Kingdom
was reintegrated into the Bunyoro Kingdom, prompting the more determined Prince
Kasagama to begin a new uprising. When Prince Kasagama insisted that the prior
secession from Bunyoro Kingdom be recognised, his demand was rejected by
King Kabalega of Bunyoro. Like Kaboyo, Kasagama launched his rebellion with
support from the Batooro, Baamba, and Bakonzo. This provoked an attack
on Prince Kasagama and his hosts, the Batooro, Baamba and especially the
Bakonzo in the 1870s.
The British, under the command of Captain F.D. Lugard, intervened on the
side of Kasagama. They were motivated by an economic interest in the region’s
ivory trade as well as their desire to break the strength of the Bunyoro Kingdom,
following the Kingdom’s refusal to sign an agreement to collaborate with the
colonialists. For these reasons, the British rallied behind Kasagama and provided
414 Different sources quote different years for the birth of the Kingdom, e.g. 1922 and 1930
415 The website of the Tooro Kingdom (owned and managed by the Batebe of Tooro Foundation) states on
the birth of the Tooro Kingdom: “Toro Kingdom was part of the large empire of Kitara, under the reign of
the Bito dynasty, which dates back to the 16th century. Our oral History has it that Prince Olimi Kaboyo
Kasunsunkwanzi, son of the king of Bunyoro Kingdom, annexed the southern province of his father’s
kingdom and declared himself king of this land, known as Toro. He was warmly received and accepted by
the batooro, who accepted him as Rukirabasaija Omukama Kaboyo Olimi I. The new kingdom survived
the early, tumultuous years of its infancy, and grew to enjoy well over a century of goodwill, peace and
prosperity.” See: http://www.torokingdom.org/Toro.htm [Accessed on 25 April 2014]
416 Research conducted in Kasese District (key informant interview with senior official of the Rwenzururu
Kingdom). See the sub-section “Identity, Ownership and Belonging in Conflict” in the thematic overview
of issues in this Compendium for a history and analysis of polity making in the Rwenzori Region.
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