Tag Archives: and

Ethnic relations in the Great Lakes region are antagonistic

Let me begin with two statements.

First, when my article on “How Rujumbura’s Bairu got impoverished” appeared in (Uganda) Observer, some Uganda readers were convinced that I was sectarian and hated Bahororo (another name for Batutsi who sought refuge in Rujumbura when the short-lived Mpororo kingdom disintegrated and Rwanda and Nkore troops moved in). Since 1986, Uganda government has been led by Bahororo many of them from Rujumbura or with roots in Rujumbura. With Uganda currently experiencing un-preceded poverty, hunger, unemployment, marginalization and functional illiteracy, many Ugandans have revisited the above article and drawn parallels with how the whole country of Uganda has been impoverished.

Second until the 1960s, the history of the Great Lakes Region was dominated by followers of J. H. Speke, C. G. Seligman – British explorer and academic, respectively – and African scholars mostly from aristocratic families who shared the two British biased opinions led by Alexis Kagame, a Catholic priest and historian associated with Rwanda royal court. The writings of these people were extremely biased in favor of Batutsi (Bahima, Bahororo and Banyamulenge are clans of Batutsi) who were described as white or black Caucasian, intelligent, well built, civilized, wealthy through invasion and plunder of Negroes and born to rule. On the other hand they portrayed Bantu-speaking people (dubbed Bairu and Bahutu {slaves or servants} by Bahima) as reported by J. H. Speke (1863, 2006) as black Negroes, without a civilization, poorly built or ugly and short, unintelligent and born to serve the rulers. They used these racist and psychological instruments to rob Bantu-speaking people of their true identity, civilizations and wealth and reduced them to servants or serfs as in Rwanda.

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Uganda’s 47th anniversary was overshadowed by famine and riots

Uganda marked the 47th birthday as an independent nation under thick clouds of famine, riots in the nation’s capital, demonstrations in the United States during the president’s visit there and government’s formal admission that the development model implemented since 1987 had failed to produce the desired results – all happening in September, a few days before the anniversary on October 9, 2009.

Although the theme of the celebrations was unity, the president chose to address the nation on economic developments whose scope and format resembled a budget speech. The president talked about peace and political stability and prudent macroeconomic management. He omitted the term “security” because the country still suffers from food, employment, health, political, ecological and income distribution insecurity. Unity was mentioned as a condition in the protection of Uganda’s destiny and independence rather than in terms of what NRM government had accomplished in building, consolidating and sustaining unity. Notwithstanding heavy investment in international relations, the president mentioned it in one sentence in the last paragraph of his address.

The president’s address left out important information of vital interest to most Ugandans. We shall focus on major omissions.

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