ConflictBarometer_2016

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
previous years, most tensions between the kingdom and the
government derived from land issues, while land registration
processes also led to internal disagreements between locals
and the king.
On January 31, President Yoweri Museveni promised to introduce
an amendment to the land law to improve land tenure
security. The Buganda Land Board, a local land management
body, started to register all land titles on King Ronald
Mutebi's land on March 1. Subsequently, Bugandan citizen
Male Mabirizi Kiwanuka sued the king in July saying that the
land registration process of his land had been illegal. In October,
a group of youth occupied the kingdom's headquarters
in Kampala, Central Region, demanding for Buganda's
Prime Minister Charles Peter Maygia to act against the obligatory
land registration. In September, a disagreement between
the Banyala ethnic group and the Kingdom of Buganda
arose when the latter accused Banyala officials of taking over
Buganda's Bbaale sub-county headquarters in Bugerere, Central
Region. On November 21, Buganda officials blocked
Baganda youths from storming Bugerere to reclaim the headquarters.
A month earlier, Buganda leaders had called for
calm and asked the government to intervene to settle the disagreement.
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UGANDA (BAKONZO / RWENZURURU)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2014
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Kingdom of Rwenzururu vs. government
autonomy, resources
98
The conflict over political autonomy and resources between
the Kingdom of Rwenzururu, representing the region's ethnic
majority of the Bakonzo, and the government once more escalated
to a violent crisis. After clashes had erupted between
Bakonzo members and the government in 2014, following
the government's decision to grant recognition to the Bamba
Kingdom in Bundibugyo district, one of the three districts
that had previously been assigned to the Bakonzo kingdom in
2009, the latter used violence against police and Uganda People's
Defence Force (UPDF) members. The attacks had triggered
reprisal killings of Bakonzo.
Tensions between the Rwenzururu region's ethnic groups and
the government date back to 1962 when the Ugandan State
was formed. By 2009, the government had met the demands
of the Bakonzo for independence from the regionally dominant
kingdom of Toro, when officially recognizing the Kingdom
of Rwenzururu as a cultural institution. However, as
its territory was also inhabited by several minority groups,
such as the Bamba, Basongora, and Banyawindi, who did
not feel represented, rivalries emerged over political power,
the region's scarce land as well as government recognition
[→Uganda (inter-communal rivalry / Rwenzururu)]. In addition,
King Charles Mumbere had repeatedly called for political
representation and autonomy going beyond the current
status of cultural independence.
In the context of this year's renewed inter-communal violence
between Bakonzo and Bamba in the aftermath of local council
elections, the government deployed police forces and, in
an operation code-named ''Peace in Rwenzururu,'' troops of
the UPDF to both Bundibugyo and Kasese districts in March.
In Kasese, the police deployed a unit called ''Flying Squad'',
whose officers typically operate disguised as civilians in response
to alleged armed gangs. Security measures came
against the backdrop of partly contested national and presidential
elections. Moreover, the government accused the
Rwenzururu Kingdom of supporting a secessionist movement
and aiming at creating its own Yiira Republic in combining the
region with neighboring districts in eastern DR Congo. Furthermore,
they linked the king and his royal guards to an alleged
Bakonzo militia. However, King Mumbere consistently
claimed that the kingdom neither had secessionist intention
nor links to militant groups. Conversely, legislators from Kasese
blamed the governmental security agencies to fabricate
these accusations to target the kingdom and local opposition
politicians [→ Uganda (opposition)].
Following the post-election violence between Bamba and
Bakonzo starting end of February, 17 people were reportedly
killed by security forces. On March 10, in Hima town, in Kasese,
at least 60 alleged Bakonzo armed with spears, machetes
and guns attacked three UPDF soldiers and wounded them,
before the soldiers fired at their assailants and killed two of
them. On March 11, one police officer was wounded, and
another killed on March 24 in the same district, both by unknown
gunmen. Conversely, the police shot and injured a person
on March 23, after he had reportedly thrown stones at security
officers. On April 3, the official palace guards from the
UPDF and the traditional Rwenzururu royal guards exchanged
fire at the Rwenzururu Palace in Kasese town. Two soldiers, a
bypassing motorcycle driver and at least one royal guard were
killed.
Throughout the second half of the year, tensions rose in Kasese
and Bundibugyo districts between Bakonzo, particularly
the traditional royal guards of the Rwenzururu king, and government
forces. On June 4, a royal guard was shot dead by police
as he allegedly resisted arrest in Hima town, Kasese. On
November 26, there were attacks on several police stations
using grenades, guns, and spears that killed at least 14 police
officers. In reaction to this, on November 27, police and military
forces raided the Rwenzururu Kingdom's palace for suspected
militia members among the royal guards and arrested
king Mumbere. The operation destroyed several palace buildings
through fire and killed at least 46 royal guards, while
at least 139 more were arrested. Fighting continued for two
days, reportedly leaving up to 126 people dead in total. Museveni
stated he had called the king before the offensive, demanding
the extortion of all militant members from his guard,
but launched the operation, when Mumbere denied the allegations.
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