In order to understand, resolve and prevent conflicts in the Great Lakes Region (Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi) we have to understand clearly their origins and key players. Those genuinely interested in peace, security and prosperity for the people of the region must research and write objectively including on topics that are taboo like this one.
The Great Lakes region is inhabited by two main ethnic groups of Bantu and Nilotic peoples. Bantu ethnic group arrived in the area 3000 years ago from West Africa and the Nilotic ethnic group 600 years ago from Southern Sudan. Since their interaction the region has experienced inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic conflicts.
Ethnicity carries a sense of collective identity in which a people perceives itself as sharing a common historical past. Many ethnic groups are divided into subgroups called clans (Peter J. Schraeder 2000).
Inter-ethnic conflicts in Rwanda
Many who have written and commented about conflicts in Rwanda from pre-colonial period to 1994 have with few exceptions confined themselves to inter-ethnic conflicts between Batutsi and Bahutu. It is true that during the pre-colonial and colonial periods to 1962 rivalries and conflicts were inter-ethnic.
Intra-ethnic conflicts in Rwanda
From 1962 to 1994 rivalries and conflicts were mostly intra-ethnic between Bahutu from south/central Rwanda and Bahutu/Bakiga from northern Rwanda. Bahutu from south/ central Rwanda and Bahutu/Bakiga from northern Rwanda formed a political party to defeat Batutsi during pre-independence elections.
Gregorie Kayibanda, the first president of Rwanda (1962-1973), came from the south/central region and favored Bahutu from that region at the expense of Bahutu/Bakiga from the northern region thereby starting intra-ethnic conflict within Bahutu.
Marginalized and unhappy northern Bahutu/Bakiga staged a bloodless coup in 1973 and ousted President Kayibanda. He was replaced by Juvenal Habyarimana (1973-1994) from the northern region (Gisenyi) who favored Bahutu/Bakiga from his region and marginalized Bahutu from south/central Rwanda thus continuing the intra-ethnic conflict. So from 1962 to 1994 the conflicts in Rwanda were largely between two groups of Bahutu.
In the end the marginalized and unhappy Bahutu mostly from south/central Rwanda (the moderates) joined with Batutsi in exile and waged a war against the Habyarimana government which fell in 1994.
Inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic conflicts in Uganda
Ethnically Uganda is divided into two regions: the northern Nilotic region and the southern Bantu region. Because the groups in the south are based on Bantu language, it obliterated ethnic differences in south west Uganda.
Contrary to popular belief that all people of southern Uganda are Bantu, there are actually two distinct ethnic groups of Bantu speaking people in south west Uganda (in former Ankole district and Rujumbura county of Rukungiri district). For easy reference, one ethnic group is the Bantu Bantu-speaking people (agriculturalists or Bairu) and the other group is the Nilotic Bantu-speaking group (pastoralists or Bahima and Bahororo).
In the rest of southern Uganda (Buganda, Bunyoro and Tooro) ethnic differences disappeared because comprehensive two-way intermarriages between Nilotic Luo-speaking and Bantu-speaking people resulted in new Bantu-speaking communities.
Inter-ethnic conflicts in Uganda
Since pre-colonial days Nilotic Bantu-speaking people have dominated and marginalized Bantu Bantu-speaking people in southwest Uganda leading to inter-ethnic conflicts until today in 2010. Thus, in southwest Uganda conflicts have been of an inter-ethnic nature between Nilotic Bantu-speaking Bahima and Bahororo; and Bantu Bantu-speaking Bairu. This has remained a prominent inter-ethnic problem is southwest Uganda.
Intra-ethnic conflicts in Uganda
Since Uganda’s independence in 1962, intra-ethnic conflicts have been between Nilotic groups and/or led by Nilotic individuals. For example in the 1960s there was a conflict between the late Grace Ibingira a Nilotic from southwest Uganda and his supporters, and the late Milton Obote a Nilotic from Northern Uganda and his supporters. In the early 1980s there was a conflict and even war between Yoweri Museveni a Nilotic from southwest Uganda and his supporters, and the late Milton Obote a Nilotic from Northern Uganda and his supporters. Since 1986 there has been a conflict and war between Joseph Kony a Nilotic and his people from Northern Uganda, and the Uganda army led by Yoweri Museveni a Nilotic from southwest Uganda and Commander-in-Chief.
Clearly in Uganda, both inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic conflicts have been led by Nilotic people. Hopefully the analysis above has shed some light on the nature of inter and intra-ethnic conflicts in the Great Lakes Region and will help in designing policies and strategies to end and prevent future conflicts.