UGANDA

fought by the Bakonzo and
Baamba ethnic groups, and
later became characterized
by mobilisation around the
Rwenzururu Kingdom (the
Obusinga wa Rwenzururu),
propagated by the
Rwenzururu Movement. 430
The Rwenzururu Kingdom
unilaterally declared its
autonomy from Tooro
Kingdom in June 1962.
In 1967, the first Obote
Government abolished
all Kingdoms with the
overthrow of the 1962
Ugandan Constitution.
The Rwenzururu Kingdom
opposed the Government’s
decision and, despite
Obote’s policy, maintained
some semblance of
governance.
WESTERN CONFLICTS
The declaration of the
Rwenzururu Kingdom was,
according to participants,
partly a reaction to
increased Batooro
‘arrogance’. In 1962, the
ethnic division among
the Batooro, Baamba,
Bakonzo, Batuku and
Batwa deepened with the emergence of the name ‘Batooro Nyakabara’, meaning ‘real
Batooro’, denoting ethnic superiority. The Batooro used this term to refer to themselves,
while referring to the Bakonzo and Baamba instead as ‘baboons’. Around this time, the
Batooro practice of subjecting the Bakonzo and Baamba to forced labour on Batooro
plantations intensified as well. 431
In 1963 these increasingly hostile ethnic dynamics gave way to full-blown conflict when,
in a bid for autonomy, Mukiranyi, Mupalya and Kawamara declared war on the Tooro
Kingdom, effectively launching the Rwenzururu Movement conflict. Today, the Bakonzo
and Baamba communities continue to demand that the Government officially recognise
these three leaders as national heroes.
430 Ibid; Lindemann, S. (2011) Just another change of guard? Broad-based politics and civil war in Museveni’s
Uganda. African Affairs, 110(440) pp. 387-416
431 Research conducted in Kasese District
195