UGANDA

CONFLICT IN THE ANKOLE REGION
WESTERN CONFLICTS
In the western region, not only the Rwenzori sub-region has been plagued by
conflicts. The Ankole sub-region suffered similar conflicts related to dominance
of one group over another, though of lower intensity.
99. Bahima vs Bahiru ethnic communities in Ankole (1950s – present)
During the 1950s, the Ankole Kingdom (locally called Obugabe) was still prominent and
influential in the lives of people in Ankole region. The Obugabe, alongside other Kingdoms,
was abolished by Obote in 1967 and has not yet been restored. In the Kingdom, there
was a strict division between two social/ethnic groups: the minority cattle keepers who
were considered royalty (the Bahima) and the majority Bahiru, who worked mostly as
farmers. Participants described the Bahima as oppressors of the Bahiru.
Today, such discrimination and perceptions of ethnic superiority and inferiority between
the two groups remain. As a result, the Bahima’s struggle to reinstate the Obugabe
Kingdom remains controversial, as the memory of past oppression by the Omugabe (the
King of the Obugabe) is still fresh in Bahiru minds. 444 It is a latent conflict that continues
to manifest itself in various forms and remains unresolved to date.
The Kumanyana Movement
Just as the Bakonzo and Baamba would later organise themselves against
Batooro suppression under the banner of the Rwenzururu Movement,
the Bahiru rose against Bahima domination through formation of the
Kumanyana Movement in Mbarara in the 1940s.
Kumanyana means ‘to get to know each other’. The movement
contributed to some extent to Bahiru emancipation. In 1967, the Ankole
Kingdom, as all other kingdoms in Uganda, was abolished by Obote. This
effectively brought an end to the institutionalised dominance of the
Bahima over the Bahiru, and quelled the Kumanyana Movement. 8
100. People’s Redemption Army Insurgency (2001 – present)
This conflict surfaced only in discussions in Mbarara District and was shrouded
in controversy and a lack of information.
The People’s Redemption Army (PRA) is a Ugandan rebel group that was only mentioned
by NRTJ participants in Mbarara district, and even then with great reluctance. Shrouded
in controversy and a lack of information, the group is said to be based in the eastern
part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The group is suspected to have
been formed and led by former National Resistance Army (NRA) army officers, Col.
Samson Mande and Lt. Col. Kyakabale) who fell out with the Government of Uganda
in 2004. 445 The PRA, according to a key informant, primarily seeks to expose perceived
444 Research conducted in Mbarara District
445 Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. (2011) Uganda: non state
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