Rwenzururu Kingdom seeks Shs9b for King Mumbere return

Preparations are in high gear for the Rwenzururu Kingdom subjects to welcome back their King (Omusinga) Charles Wesley Mumbere who is expected to step foot in Kasese district for the first time in 5 years and about 10 months.

The Omusinga Mumbere and over 200 others, most of whom were his traditional guards, were arrested on November 27, 2016 following a joint raid by the Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces (UPDF) on his Buhikira Royal Palace in Kasese town.

The conflict that left over 100 people including security personnel dead reached a boiling point on Sunday November 27, 2016 when the joint operation commanded by then 2^nd Division Commander Lt Gen Peter Elweru stormed the palace and arrested the Omusinga who was immediately airlifted to Kampala.

After over 5 years of back and forth legal process that did not culminate into trial, the State on June 4, 2023 decided to withdraw all the charges against the Omusinga and his co-accused. By the time of the withdraw of charges, 11 of the accused persons had died in detention at Kirinya prison in Jinja District.

The Omusinga on bail since February 2017 was battling capital offense charges of treason, terrorism, murder, attempted murder, aggravated robbery and being in possession of illegal firearms at the International Crimes Division of the High Court.

The homecoming

A month after he was set free, the Omusinga who remains at his private residence in Muyenga an upscale suburb of Kampala, set up a 40-man committee to steer the different activities ahead of his proposed return to the Kingdom on October 4.  This return will be three weeks’ shy of his 57^th Coronation Anniversary which falls on October 19.

The committee which has split itself into sub-committees is chaired by former Prime Minister, Constantine Bwambale. The sub-committees include the homecoming preparation committee, coronation anniversary committee and the property purchase committee.

Clarence Bwambale, the general secretary to the Organizing executive committee recently revealed that the Kingdom requires Shs9b to facilitate the three sub-committees to execute the mandate given to them by the Omusinga.

According to Bwambale, part of the money will be spent on purchasing Spring International Hotel with a plan of turning it into the new palace; organizing the royal return celebrations; and the coronation anniversary activities.

“The committee has confirmed the royal return of the Omusinga will be on Wednesday October 4 and the budget we are going to raise money for is Shs9b. We are going to do thorough mobilization to ensure that this money is realized ahead in time” said Bwambale.

The committee selected Dr Nathaniel Walemba and Rev Deacon Gabriel Fataki as the focal persons to mobilise and receive the cash contributions from the Kingdom subjects and well-wishers.

Gen Kazini’s hotel

Strategically located on the hill overlooking Kasese town along Kilembe road sits an incomplete Sprint International Hotel that was formally named Kepp Resort by its proprietor the late Maj Gen James Kazini, a former Chief of Defense Forces of the UPDF.

The hotel was offered to Rwenzururu Kingdom in a June 17, 2023 letter addressed to the Prime Minister Joseph Muranga by Ngamije Law Consultants & Advocates acting on behalf of the late Gen Kazini’s family.

In the letter, the lawyers quoted a tentative price of Shs4.6b for the property that sits on 10.6 acres of land and boasting of 34 rooms, 14 cottages, an entertainment centre, a swimming pool and a presidential suite.

“The purpose of this letter is to present Springs International Hotel (Kazin’s hotel), located in the neighbourhood the Kingdom premises, along Kasese-Kilembe road. The Management of the Hotel is offering to sale the Hotel to Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu so that it can be utilised as the Palace for our King upon return to his Kingdom” reads part of the letter.

This offer has excited many of the subjects of the Kingdom with promise to make contributions to ensure that the Omusinga gets a permanent and spacious home since the Buhikira royal palace is no more after the attacks. All the traditional hats including the Ekyaghanda (Parliament House) and royal regalia hats were burnt to ashes on the day of the UPDF and police raid while the permanent house the Omusinga resided in was set ablaze by unknown people in March 2021.

“I will make a contribution after selling my coffee because that hotel is indeed on a good view and is spacious enough to be a modern palace for our King. I call upon other Banyarwenzururu (subjects) to raise whatever they can to ensure that our King has a new and majestic home” said Sunday Bathebwa, a subject.

Some people have even gone beyond to suggest that much as the hotel can be purchased, it should be used as an income generating project for the Kingdom and then plans be intensified to build the palace at the royal hill as earlier planned.

Former Vice President Edward Ssekandi in 2011 officiated at the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the modern palace at the site on the royal premises neighbouring the Springs International Hotel. The Kingdom still has in custody the attractive artistic drawings and building plan for the palace.

Because of this, some of the subjects suggest that the Omusinga can for the meantime reside in his private home which was last year completed with through a fundraising effort championed by Kasese Municipality Member of Parliament, Ferigo Kambale. The private home is located in Nyangereka cell in Hima Town Council about 10kms from Kasese town.

Preparations

Jolly Kahyana, the Chairman of the Esyomango Sya Obusinga (the youth wing of the Kingdom) has been mobilizing the youths to do voluntary work to weed the trees that the subjects planted on the kingdom land on the royal hill. 

The youths ascend to the royal every Wednesday where they also share a mill and local brew together while deliberating on the future of the Kingdom.

“It is our responsibility as the youth to work hard for the future of this kingdom. These trees we planted last year and we have to take care of them to ensure that when the Omusinga returns the place is clean. This is the place where we will be spending our nights in the weeks of celebrations between October 4 the return date and October 19 the coronation anniversary day” said Kahyana.

After descending on the streets of Kasese to jubilate what they described as the “release” of the Omusinga when the charges were withdrawn on June 4, subjects continue preparations for traditional dances and merry making when he sets foot on the home soil two months from now.