Dear Tingasiga,
When my father became a Mulokole [born again Christian] in the late
1950s, Christian ritual demanded that he disposes of all articles of sin
and forever renounce any interest in sinful things like the appreciation
of ungodly music.
His most prized material possession at the time was a black His
Master's Voice Gramophone, one of those talking boxes with a picture of a
dog called Nipper, on which shellac records were played using a nail-like
stylus that we called a "needle."
Though the gramophone was part of Satan's media for spreading immoral
music, my father could not bring himself to throw the sinful gadget that
had given him joy during his unsaved days.
Instead he gave the thing, together with his modest collection of
records, to Mr Bitariho, his brother-in-law who was married to my paternal
aunt Ms Juliana.
Mr Bitariho, who had owned a bar in Bugangari, Rujumbura, for many
years was, to put it very gently, a poor man. But his fortunes would
change within months of receiving that gramophone.
Customers began to flock into his bar and we began to hear that Mr
Bitariho was so rich that he was considering adding another wife to the
family.
Mr Bitariho's oldest son, Mr Bwesigye, who had just ended his academic
career at Kihanga Junior Secondary School in Mparo, joined his father in
running the bar.
He soon became a celebrity in Bugangari, his ability to flawlessly
operate the gramophone having earned him many admirers among the fairer
sex.
Tragically, Mr Bitariho died within a year or so and it did not take
long before the bar collapsed, leaving my widowed aunt and her children in
serious poverty once again.
Their only option was to migrate to Bunyoro in search of opportunities
and a new life.
That was over forty years ago.
I heard very little of cousin Bwesigye and his family in the ensuing
years, except for occasional reports that they, together with many other
Bakiga immigrant families, had turned Bunyoro's swamps and bushes into
farms with abundant yields.
It was not until 1980 that I met aunt Juliana in Kampala where she was
visiting my parents. She was a picture of health and happiness, spoke a
language that was a cross between Rukiga and Runyoro, and referred to
Kigezi as some foreign land.
Naturally, I was very eager to know how my childhood friend and hero
had faired in his adopted land.
"How is Mr Bwesigye doing in Bunyoro?" I asked.
"Bwesigye akakyira hati n'omukama. Aine abakazi babiri kandi naanywa na
Waragi!" [Bwesigye has done very well and is now a big man. He has two
wives and even drinks Waragi!]
Apparently he was a chief of some sort.
She shared news of how other Bakiga had prospered in Bunyoro, and how
they were living in harmony with Banyoro and Baganda.
She spoke of the abundant land in her county and invited me to join
them in Bunyoro.
I would not be surprised if she secretly believed that my only hope of
ever advancing to the rank of a polygamist and Waragi drinker lay in the
virgin lands of Bunyoro.
A generation has passed since that conversation, and two generations
have passed since Juliana and her children moved to Bunyoro.
They, and their descendants, have become Banyakitara, with little
connection to Kigezi.
Many have married Banyoro and Baganda, and have produced children and
grandchildren who probably do not identify with Kigezi.
That one of their own, Mr Fred Ruremeera, was able to win an election
as LC V Chairman of Kibaale District, was confirmation that they had
arrived.
Without the support of Banyoro and Baganda in Kibaale, it is unlikely
that Mr
Ruremeera would have won that election.
All of which makes one very suspicious of the feeble attempts by some,
including Uganda's rulers, to ascribe the evolving bloody inter-ethnic
tensions in Kibaale to a simple conflict over land.
While land is part of the problem, it is probably not the cause of the
current tensions.
Whereas our narrow ethnic loyalties instruct some of us to see some
second and third generation residents of an area as "others", hence the
reference to "Bakiga immigrants" in Kibaale, I do not buy the explanation
that the issue is a primarily ethnic one.
So we need to delve deeper and understand the genesis of the Kibaale
conflict.
While we must be tentative in our analysis, we should not discount
without examination the allegations and speculation that have been making
the rounds among observers of the situation.
So, Tingasiga, here are some questions that I have heard asked by men
and women of goodwill.
Could this conflict be another offspring of the 2001 presidential
election campaign? Is it true that the Bakiga citizens of Bunyoro
overwhelmingly supported presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye?
Is it true that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his royal
courtiers feared that Kibaale might provide opportunities for recruitment
and operations by the new rebel army that is allegedly led by two Bakiga
ex-UPDF officers?
What is the connection, if any, between the appointment of Mr Muganwa
Kajura of Bunyoro to the symbolic position of Third Deputy Prime Minister,
and the conflicts in Bunyoro?
Why is it that Mr Museveni was eager to subvert the democratic choice
of the people of Kibaale by "persuading" Mr Ruremeera to resign his post
in favour of one Mr George Namyaka, a Munyoro?
Why is it that after engineering Mr Ruremeera's resignation from his
democratically elected position, the president of Uganda has gone "missing
in action" while Kibaale teeters on the brink of ethnic cleansing?
Why is it that Mr Museveni, a tireless actor in the search for peace in
places like Burundi and the Congo Free State, has not found it necessary
to publicly, personally and decisively intervene in the escalating
inter-ethnic tensions in Kibaale, Uganda.
Why is it that, save for a few brave men like Rukiga MP Jack Sabiiti
and Ndorwa West MP Stephen Bamwanga, the country's leaders, including the
president, are essentially turning a deaf ear to the bigoted remarks
against the Bakiga citizens of Kibaale which have become routine in recent
days.
We have learnt that some FM radio stations have been airing statements
with the potential to incite violence, a chilling reminder of the role
radio played in the Rwanda genocide of 1994.
Is the Uganda government waiting for more deaths in Kibaale before
bringing the full weight of the law to bear on the bigots and such radio
stations?
Can we count on the government to act as swiftly against these
hate-mongering radio stations as it did in muzzling the Bimeeza political
programmes?
Reports that the government's reaction to the situation in Kibaale was
to appoint a seven-member committee and a commission of inquiry to "look
into the accusations between the Bakiga and Banyoro" were quite
depressing.
It seems to me that when people are already murdering each other, when
innocent children have been hacked to death, the situation demands
deployment of armed non-Banyoro, non-Bakiga, non-Baganda policemen in the
troubled area to protect the citizens.
Meanwhile, I believe that the Kibaale tensions should be of interest to
all Ugandans, and not just the Bakiga and Banyoro.
While it is natural that the Bakiga and Banyoro leaders should be in
the vanguard of efforts to diffuse the dangerous situation, the
consequences of an escalation of violence will affect the entire country.
We should not forget that though the main victims of the long war in
Acholi have been the Acholi people, the whole country has lost its soul,
its people, its economic opportunities and a chance to begin the healing
of old wounds.
To be sure, this is an issue that will be discussed by the Banyakigezi
and friends of Kigezi who will gather in Toronto from 3 July to 7 July for
a weekend of networking, serious dialogue and strategic planning.
For me personally, the memory of aunt Juliana's happiness in her
adopted homeland of Bunyoro propels me to contribute to the effort to find
a solution that will enable Bakiga, Banyoro, Baganda and any other
Africans who so choose to live in peace and harmony once
again
