{UAH} WHY MUSEVENI ELIMINATED THE HISTORY OF BUNYORO KITARA FROM THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM

WHY MUSEVENI ELIMINATED THE HISTORY OF BUNYORO KITARA FROM THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM

CHANGE OF GUARDS - In line with the communist norm, Museveni has been struggling to destroy the education system and replace it with indoctrination under the guise of inculcating patriotism in the citizens. His recent politically motivated grand overhaul of the education curriculum witnessed the country's rich history becoming another casualty. The rich history of Bunyoro Kitara was deliberately knocked out of the school syllabus. Instead, the regime tactfully claimed that the history of Bunyoro Kitara would be taught under Political Education (read indoctrination). This deliberate omission raised some controversy prompting Parliament to order the Ministry of Education to reinstate the history of Bunyoro Kitara into the education carriculum.

The Bunyoro Kitara Empire is a strong part of the tradition in the area of the Great Lakes of Africa because it extended to areas of Congo, north-western Tanzania, and parts of present day Rwanda and Burundi. The empire that was ruled by the Cwezi demi-gods lasted until the 16th Century following the invasion of the Ho-Bito clan of the Luo who established the Kingdom of Bunyoro Kitara. With salt, metal works and deposits of other minerals, this African oldest kingdom became the most militarily and economically powerful in the Great Lakes region.

With the advent of colonialism, the Kingdom of Bunyoro and in particular its great King, Kabalega vehemently resisted colonialism and paid in blood. When the kingdom was eventually subdued, the colonial administration embarked on the systematic punishment of Bunyoro region that lies along Lake Albert in western Uganda. Two of its counties, Buyaga and Bugangaizi (Lost Counties) in the present day Kibaale district were given to Buganda as a reward for Buganda's alliance in the war against Kabalega. Further, 54% of land in Bunyoro was gazetted as forest reserves. Throughout the colonial administration, Bunyoro was deliberately marginalized in terms of development. In 1923, the colonial administration discovered oil in that region but owing to World Wars One and Two, no serious exploration could be carried out.

In 1967, Kingdoms, where the King was the titular head, were abolished but in the early 1990s, Museveni opportunistically reinstated the Kingdoms but with the King as a mere cultural leader.  However, the Omukama (King) of Bunyoro has effectively provided priority in the cultural leadership, overall welfare, cultural and economic well being of his subjects. In that regard, the Banyoro proudly uphold the ancient traditions of their ancestors. Through the Kabalega Foundation, Kitara Cultural Trust, Bunyoro Kitara Education Fund and others NGOs, the Banyoro have made efforts to revive their cultural traditions and document them for prosperity. Schools are encouraged to include in their curriculum the traditional the traditional Bunyoro culture.

Since 2006, Museveni has been engaging foreign oil companies in the exploration, drilling and eventual production of oil in Bunyoro. The oil development activities have displaced locals and their resources and had serious negative environmental impacts. The oil exploration and revenue sharing agreements have remained a top secret. Despite Bunyoro Kingdom's repeated appeal for the government to include it in such agreements, the latter has adamantly claimed that oil is a national resource. The 1955 Agreement between the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom and the U.K Protectorate government provides that;
"........ Bunyoro is entitled to substantial amounts of revenue from.mineral exploration in its Kingdom......in the event of mineral development taking place in Bunyoro, a substantial part of the mineral royalties and revenues from mining leases would be paid to the native government of Bunyoro Kitara."

The 2013 Petroleum Act created the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) whose only shareholders are the Ministries of Finance and that of Energy. Bunyoro Kingdom's appeal to review the petroleum laws so that the former can also have shares in UNOC have been ignored.

Museveni has repeatedly and publicly claimed to own the oil in Bunyoro. In October 2006, he claimed to have discovered oil where the colonialists had and that he would not relinquish power to people like Dr. Besigye but to stay on and use his oil to transform the country. Around July 2015, while attending Iddi prayers in Masaka, he told the congregation;
     ".......we just discovered the oil in western Uganda which we believe will help us a great deal, and now that is why you see those people coming up to contest against me like they are just targeting my oil."

Around January 2016, during his campaign rally in western Uganda, Museveni said;
      ".........you hear people saying 'Museveni should go', but go and leave my oil money?"

In 1956, Nigeria discovered oil in its Niger Delta and in 1958, Shell commenced oil drilling it. The oil development activities caused serious negative environmental and ecological impact on the local Ogoni people. Alongside Friends of the Earth, in 1990, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People opened a case against Shell in the international court. In 1994, the Nigerian military regime arrested nine people including the renown environmentalist, Ken Saro Wiwa. The nine were summarily tried by a military court and executed. The development catalysed the demand by the Ogoni People for greater control over oil and gas resources on their land, economic development and autonomy over their affairs. Then ensued unrest that targeted Shell staff and facilities, Shell had to close its operations and left the Niger Delta.

Drawing from the experience of the Ogoni People in the Niger Delta, Museveni has been mindful of the nationalism of the indigenous Banyoro people. He is particularly mindful of the fact that even in the face of the colonialism, their ancestors never renounced their rights, never abdicated the kingdom, never ceded sovereignty, suffered exile rather than capitulate and concede anything, maintained their original royal status and sovereign rights under colonial rule. The infamous King Kabalega who led the resistance against colonialism is a national hero in Uganda, in the Great Lakes Region and Africa in general. All the Banyoro swear by Kabalega's motto of "Conquer or Die." Museveni's security machinery have curtailed the nationalist activism of Banyoro of like Bunyoro Kitara Separation Agency and the youths Empagi Za Bunyoro. In 2012, their King stormed Parliament to demand for the inclusion of 12.5% share of the oil review into the 2013 Petroleum Act.

To neutralize the influence and inherent resolve of the Banyoro, Museveni embarked on a systematic resettlement of non-Banyoro into Bunyoro land and in particular, the so-called Bafuruki (Bakiga). The 1964 Referendum had returned Bunyoro counties of Buyaga and Bugangaizi to Buganda.  However, the big chunks of Mailo land held by the absentee Baganda landlords were not returned. In 1992, Museveni resettled 5,000 Bakiga families in Kisiita, Kibaale District. These Bakiga had been evicted from the Mpokya Forest Reserve in Kabarole district. Earlier, in 1968, another group of Bakiga had been resettled in the neighboring Ruteete, Kibaale district under the depopulation of Kabale. Since then, the Bakiga have been migrating from all corners of the country and settling into Bunyoro. They invaded and occupied the forest reserves and other government land with impunity.  That is why, during the recent debate over the elimination of the History of Bunyoro Kitara on the floor of Parliment, Hon. Thomas Tayebwa laboured to suffocate the matter;
    "..........you are here discussing about Kingdoms, no way, even us Bakiga had Kingdoms but they are no more."

Consequently, their settlements have expanded from the original two sub-counties to almost the entire Bunyoro region. In 2002, Museveni set up a multi-billion Land Fund for buying land, compensation of absentee landlords for redistribution to and resettlement of the so-called landless and bonafide occupants of land in Buyaga and Bugangaizi. Yet, the Constitution provides for  the payoff of landlords and giving back land to bonafide occupants who had settled on the land in question by 1983 (twelve years before coming into force of the 1995 Constitution). The so-called Bafuruki in Bunyoro, whose illegal occupancy is being systematically legalized, had not occupied the said lands by 1983.

Consequently, the highly politically and economically connected so-called Bafuruki (Bakiga, Banyarwanda and Bafumbira) demographically dominated the indigenous Banyoro, marginalizing and dispossessing the indigenous Banyoro, secured their own district of Kibaale and have been spreading out to other parts of Bunyoro. They are renaming the villages and parishes and having a block vote for their own into elective positions. When the Banyoro rose up against their systematic dominance Museveni tactfully duped them by ordering the Bafuruki to speak Runyoro and ring fencing some of the elective positions to the indigenous Banyoro. It's only in the northern side of Bunyoro that the Banyoro subgroup, the Bagungu, took a strong stand against the Balalo and Museveni ordered for their forceful eviction but they have since been returning with guns.

Therefore, the elimination of the history of Bunyoro Kitara from the syllabus of schools is designed to suffocate the historical contribution of Bunyoro Kitara and to contain the influence of Bunyoro and the Banyoro in particular in the midst of the oil extraction.  It is a scheme designed to avert a situation similar to the Ogoni People in Nigeria's Niger Delta.

--

Rehema
Patriot in Kampala,East Africa:Assalamu Alaikum

--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ugandans at Heart (UAH) Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ugandans-at-heart/CAAvJuBVHDaRE%2BoHooDLHQm32FfBO5UQ78sBA_hxHhpM%3DeTUQaA%40mail.gmail.com.