Two principles are important for this article. First, prevention is better than cure. Nobody disagrees but in practice cure is more common than prevention. People wait until a catastrophe has hit and then react sometimes too little and too late. Second, former President Nelson Mandela is reported to have remarked that “If there is something bothering you, if you feel you have been treated unfairly [or someone else], you must say so” (Richard Stengel 2010).
To prevent a brewing catastrophe in Uganda politics, we need to address the issue of how Bahororo-led government has unfairly treated the majority of Ugandans in order for Bahororo to consolidate power in Uganda and beyond. The government distanced itself from the agreed agenda and promises made during the bush war and since then. The ten-point program later expanded to fifteen which was essentially based on human security concept: freedom from fear, freedom from want, and freedom to live in dignity was abandoned. The program had captured the main elements in the United Nations Charter and the Convention on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was a program based on consultations and compromise, on forgiving and moving forward to build a democratic, secure, peaceful, participatory and prosperous country in which all Ugandans would exercise all their rights without infringement whatsoever.
President Museveni announced he would retire as soon as security and democracy were in place in Uganda. We have them now but he is going for another term of five years having been president since 1986. This way there is a likelihood he may endanger the very fragile peace and democracy he has created. The 1995 Constitution made it clear that a president would serve only two terms of five years each. The term limit was subsequently changed allowing Museveni to run as many times as he wants. Parliament rubber stamped the president’s decision.
Deep in their hearts Bahororo had a different plan when they waged the guerrilla war – to dominate Uganda and the rest of the great lakes region in collaboration with Batutsi in Rwanda, Burundi and eastern DRC. After all Bahororo are Batutsi from Rwanda. Therefore for Bahororo project Musevceni is still needed. The so-called rigged parliamentary elections of 1980 in Uganda gave them a golden opportunity to marshal support for a military confrontation. But before examining what steps are being taken to consolidate domination, let us recap Bahororo history for easy reference.
Bahororo belong to the Nilotic Luo-speaking people who moved from Bahr el Ghazal in southern Sudan (not from Ethiopia as originally reported by John Hanning Speke) with their long horn cattle into the lakes region about the 15th century. Whenever they move to a new place, these Nilotic people adopt local languages and local names. That is why in former Ankole they are Bahima and speak Lunyankole Bantu (not Luo) language. In Rwanda and Burundi they are Batutsi and speak Kinyarwanda/Kirundi Bantu languages.
Around mid 17th century a group of Batutsi from Rwanda led by Kahaya Rutindangyenzi of Bashambo clan founded a kingdom called Mpororo in present-day northern Rwanda and most of present-day southwest Uganda (former Ankole district). The indigenous Bantu people found in the area and the new comer Batutsi people took on a new name of Bahororo (people of Mpororo kingdom). Within one hundred years the kingdom had disintegrated from internal family feuds. Around 1800 – 60 or 90 years after Mpororo kingdom had disintegrated – a group of Bahororo led by Rwebiraro of Bashambo clan fled to Nyakinengo in Nyakagyeme sub-county of Rujumbura county in Rukungiri district where they sought refuge as their former Mpororo kingdom had been occupied by Bahima under Bahinda clan their Nilotic cousins.
Another group of Batutsi from Rwanda moved into eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where they adopted the name of Banyamulenge. Therefore Bahima, Batutsi, Bahororo and Banyamulenge are cousins with a common Nilotic Luo ancestry. What are their distinguishing characteristics?
First, they are very few in number, less than ten percent, compared with 90 percent Bantu people in the great lakes region. Second, unfortunately they believe they are God’s chosen people to rule Uganda, the great lakes region and possibly beyond in collaboration with Batutsi in Rwanda, Burundi and DRC and other parts as well as Bahima in Mbarara and wherever else they live in Uganda. Third, Bahororo men and their cousins do not marry outside of their ethnic Nilotic group. They have retained their Nilotic ethnicity. Third, they are black and not white people as previously reported and they are not the descendants of Bachwezi because the latter were a Bantu aristocracy. Fourth, they did not bring civilization into the great lakes region. Instead they adopted Bantu civilizations including administration and king’s titles as in Rwanda. Fifth, to dominate others, they used military force, confiscated properties like land in Rwanda and Rujumbura and married off their girls to progressive Bahutu and Bairu men who would in turn become ‘tutsified’ and become a Muhororo or Muhima or Mututsi thereby depriving Bahutu and Bairu of leadership at political, military and economic levels. Fourth, they built standing armies and collaborated with foreigners to conquer and weaken the indigenous people they found in the region. Bahororo in Rujumbura collaborated with Arab slave hunters/traders who brought lethal European weapons. The defeated tribes were sold as slaves. So Bahororo in Rujumbura participated in enslaving indigenous Bantu people of Rujumbura and Kanungu
Although Bahororo kingdom disintegrated in the 18th century, Bahororo identity was maintained by continuing to marry women from their ethnic Nilotic group for fear outside women would discover Bahororo secret plans to dominate others. In Ankole Bahororo became Bahima to avoid being called commoners and therefore Bairu or slaves. However during negotiations for Uganda’s independence Bahororo in Ankole resurfaced and demanded a separate district without success. They determined to recapture their lost glory and possibly Mpororo kingdom at an appropriate time by building a military force to gain political control over others including Bahima their former rulers. This may explain why the kingdom in Ankole was the only one not restored.
The 1980 Uganda parliamentary elections which Bahororo claimed were rigged gave them the opportunity to mobilize and launch a guerrilla war against an elected government. They approached two angry groups for collaboration – Baganda and Catholics. Baganda were unhappy with the ruling Uganda Peoples’ Congress (UPC) government which had conducted a referendum that had been agreed upon before independence on two counties of Buyaga and Bugangaizi which Buganda lost to Bunyoro. Buganda also lost its kingdom when the UPC government abolished kingdoms in 1967. Baganda were therefore ready to join any group (the enemy’s enemy) that would topple the UPC government and restore Buganda kingdom. Bahororo with their small guerrilla force were also ready to lend support if Baganda provided space for guerrilla activities (Luwero Triangle) and community support and fighters against the UPC government. In return Baganda would have its kingdom and king restored in full.
Since Catholics lost the religious war in the early 1890s, the Protestant victors had dominated all aspects – political, economic and administrative sectors – of Uganda society. Catholics had hoped they would win the 1980 elections and right the historical wrongs but they did not win and believed they were robbed by UPC. In frustration, like Baganda, Catholics needed to support anyone that would topple the UPC government. Bahororo were again ready to provide leadership in return for Catholic support of the guerrilla activities against the government. Catholics responded in large numbers. In return, Catholics were promised a big role in Uganda politics and administration including the presidency itself at an appropriate time in the near future.
In spite of their numerical inferiority, the NRA was led by Bahororo and their Batutsi and Bahima cousins. Baganda and Catholics were given administrative, political and diplomatic roles but never allowed to get into the core of the top military command. Baganda and Catholics should have guessed what was cooking but that was not their priority at that time.
In 1986, Bahororo-led government came to power and as noted above promised freedom, democracy, dignity, the right to development and equally opportunity for all Ugandans. In hind sight this promise was designed to buy Bahororo time to organize militarily, economically, strategically in order to dominate other ethnic groups in Uganda and beyond in collaboration with Batutsi and foreign powers with geopolitical interests in east and central Africa.
As time passed, disturbing changes have developed. The constitution was changed making Museveni eligible to run for president as many times as he wished – essentially becoming president for life – putting off indefinitely an opportunity for a Catholic to occupy that office. Buganda’s kingdom was partially restored but limited to cultural matters far short of the powers the kingdom and the king had before it was abolished in 1967. Buganda has not been able to get its land back from the government and the recent land act has dealt wealthy Baganda a severe blow.
Bahororo-led government has steadily weakened other Uganda ethnic groups through wars, poor education, poor health and poor nutrition and lack of jobs. The approach is sadly more or less similar to what happened in apartheid South Africa where quality education and health care, food and nutrition security and housing and remunerative jobs – the pillars of human capital development and standard of living – were denied black people. Agriculture where the majority of Ugandans live has been neglected – less than 4 percent of government budget goes to agriculture.
Bahororo-led government has favored urban development especially the capital city of Kampala where Bahororo live and earn a decent living. Similarly in Rwanda where Batutsi are in power and concentrated in the capital city of Kigali, developments are taking place there at the expense of rural areas where Bahutu are being herded. While Batutsi were in power in Burundi a similar urban-biased development took place in Bujumbura capital city benefiting Batutsi. By weakening other Ugandans, Bahororo think they can make them dependent and be dominated forever.
The government has therefore refused to create jobs for the mass of unemployed with fifty percent of them university graduates through public works and other stimulus packages. The government has deliberately refused to provide school lunches that improve attendance and performance especially of girls so the dropout rate is high and rising and the quality of education declining. Government neglect has also occurred in the health sector with disastrous results especially for women and children. People are sick, others dying needlessly for lack of preventive and curative care. The gradual transfer of land from peasants to the rich people including through targeted municipality expansion is causing a lot of bitterness.
Democracy has been ruled out as a means of achieving fairness in Uganda. Bahororo and the NRM party they lead are ready to rig the 2011 elections like they did in 1996, 2001 and 2006 and got away with it in large part because most donors still support NRM and fund it lavishly especially during election time.
In South Africa, the black population finally realized that passive resistance was not going to remove the apartheid regime. They resorted to armed struggle and in 1994 power shifted from the minority whites to the majority blacks but at a huge cost in human lives and property. Similarly, many Ugandans are beginning to feel that the armed struggle may be the only way out. Bahororo have not and will not listen to voices of reason from Ugandans especially as long as they know they have foreign backing. Donor support of NRM is therefore part of the problem. Its withdrawal will be part of the solution. To avoid another blood bath the international community will need to bring pressure to bear on Bahororo people to abandon their costly domination ambition which will only bring hardship to everyone. History is full of failed examples in this regard.
This article has been written to examine the unfairness in the Bahororo-led government in Uganda and the impact on conditions of many Ugandans whose future is bleak and may spur non-democratic means to solve their problems that democracy has failed to do. The number of Ugandans going to vote has dwindled, sending a disturbing signal. Bahororo should therefore abandon their unwise ambition to dominate everyone in Uganda and the great lakes region through the proposed Tutsi empire. The idea is still very much alive. Talk about Africans learning to live together, changing colonial boundaries, Banyarwanda replacing Bakiga in Kabale, radical land reforms and East African federation embodies elements of Bahororo/Batutsi/Bahima/Banyamulenge domination of at least the great lakes region. It has been reported that Zimbabwe and possibly other states in the 1998/99 war in DRC was to prevent the creation of a Tutsi empire. Similar interventions should not be ruled out in the future especially as more people begin to understand the motives of Bahororo in Uganda, Batutsi in Rwanda and Burundi and Banyamulenge in DRC. Whoever abuses the rights of others should not be tolerated.