Two Ankole factions have accused one another of being impostors as they each claim to be the rightful leaders of the defunct kingdom.
This brings to life an age-old dispute over whether to have the controversial kingdom restored or not. George William Katatumba, the ‘recognised’ Enganzi (prime minister) of Ankole kingdom, which has all along held out Aryaija Charles Rwebishengye, son of the late Prince John Barigye, as heir to the throne, has written to Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura, accusing one Umar Asiimwe Ntare, who recently laid claim to the throne, of being an impostor.
He claimed Asiimwe has been soliciting money from the public to fund his illegal scheme. Asiimwe’s photos appeared on social media early this month amid claims that he had been crowned Omugabe (king) of Ankole.
Asiimwe purportedly named his cabinet, with former Makerere University vice chancellor Prof Venansius Baryamureeba as Enganzi (prime minister). Reacting to the development, Katatumba said Asiimwe and one Max Muhumuza, who was named as speaker in the cabinet, “have been impersonating the kingdom, obtaining money by false pretense, spreading harmful propaganda and, above all, dividing the people of Ankole.”
However, Muhumuza told The Observer that Prince Rwebishengye, who Katatumba holds out as the rightful future king, has never come out openly to claim the throne.
Muhumuza further claimed that Rwebishengye’s grandfather, Charles Godfrey Rutahaba Gasyonga II, who was Omugabe in 1967 when kingdoms were abolished, had stolen the throne.
“It was because he was educated at that time, that’s why he was favoured to be king,” Muhumuza said.
He accused Katutumba, who heads the Nkore Cultural Trust, of failure to unite the institution.
“Katutumba spent 20 years without calling any meeting at all, and he thinks that he is representing Banyankore,” Muhumuza said. “Our part is to see that Obugabe is there.”
He added: “There is no competition; Rwebishengye has never been our king.”
NO HEADWAY
As other monarchies were restored in the early 1990s, Ankole was left out because of disagreements about its raison d’etre. In 1993, after Prince John Patrick Barigye was secretly crowned king in Mbarara, President Museveni came out and dismissed the coronation as a sham.
In 1971, Ankole elders wrote to President Idi Amin advising that as he contemplated restoring monarchies, Ankole should be left out because it was divisive and not supported by the majority.
After the restoration of other kingdoms in 1993, two organisations were formed in support and against the Ankole institution – Nkore Cultural Trust (NCT) and Banyankore Cultural Foundation (BCF) respectively.
When The Observer published a series of articles on Ankole kingdom in 2011, Makerere University law don Prof Jean John Barya, a member of BCF, said: “Firstly, Ankole kingdom has no historical legitimacy; it is a colonial creation. At the time of colonization in 1901, Nkore kingdom comprised of the present Kashaari, part of Isingiro and Nyabushozi; there were also kingdoms like Mpororo, Igara, Buhweju, and Buzimba. The British annexed them to Nkore kingdom and called it Ankole.”
Therefore, Barya said, it would be very difficult for Rwebishengye or any other person claiming to be Ankole king to lay claim on the kingship.
QUIET PRINCE
Since he was declared his father’s heir in 2011, Rwebishengye has been quiet. The Observer understands that he has been studying at the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom. He last posted something on his Facebook page on November 7, 2015, sharing a link to luxury designer jewelry for men.
On the other hand, very little is known about Asiimwe and his claim to the Ankole throne. Muhumuza told us that he is a great grandson of Ntare V, who he says was the Ankole king up to 1888 when the whites started fighting local leaders. Ntare is not related to Gasyonga as the latter made a king through a court process presided over by whites.
He added that they are ready for a DNA test to prove Asiimwe’s royalty.
amwesigwa@observer.ug
