I was trained in and have practiced the art of diplomacy at the highest level in international relations. Simply put diplomacy includes the art of establishing contacts through which problems are solved in a subtle manner or behind-the-scenes if you will. When circumstances force me to speak or to write I have used language – body, spoken or literary – to convey messages without divulging sensitive details or naming names.
As mentioned elsewhere I have studied the history of the Great Lakes Region especially my home area of Rujumbura for over forty years. I have read extensively and listened carefully to oral stories. Because I did not get much information from using questionnaires, I decided to use other techniques including travelling by bus between Uganda’s capital city of Kampala and my home town of Rukungiri – a decision that frustrated many people particularly my relatives because as a senior United Nations staff member I was not expected to travel that way.
At that time roads were very bad and a distance of some four hundred kilometers (depending upon the route used) took a whole day. But travelling by road gave me an opportunity to hear original stories incognito. Secondly, when I am on vacation, I walk and that gives me a chance to listen to people I come into contact with. And once people trust you they tell you many things without reservation in the hope that you can help them solve their problems.
Because of the projects my family has developed at home, the modest benefits to the community and the manner I relate to people irrespective of age, gender and economic status some people have come to trust me as someone they can rely on.
Bantu enter Rujumbura
Bantu-speaking people entered Rujumbura some 3000 years ago with short-horn cattle, goats and sheep and iron technology. They grew food, herded livestock and manufactured a wide range of products using abundant raw materials especially iron ore to manufacture hand hoes, axes and different types of knives etc. They sold surplus food and manufactured products in local and regional markets and accumulated wealth.
They had their own religions and a governance system with chiefs or a council of elders that maintained law and order, solved disputes when they arose and protected themselves against external aggression. Because there were no serious disputes over resources, and different tribes lived in separate communities, chances for going to drawn-out wars were rare and so they did not develop sophisticated defensive mechanisms. They had efficient and effective governance systems. So they were not stateless. Economically and socially, they ate well, were healthy and wealthy.
Because of the diplomatic principles I cherish, I will desist from using names in the paragraphs below on selected themes in Rujumbura’s history. The examples are designed to demonstrate the fear should the abuses (some of them in use already) intensify or re-emerge in 21st century, disguised or not.
Bahororo enter Rujumbura
In 1800, Bahororo people who are Batutsi from Rwanda arrived in Rujumbura with long-horn cattle and a culture of Batutsi in Rwanda where a feudal system of lords and serfs had developed. Secondly, in their short-lived kingdom of Mpororo, Bahororo spent most of the time fighting over cattle. Apart from being seasoned fighters, they arrived in Rujumbura with a standing army (G. N. Uzoigwe (1982). Therefore they quickly defeated Bantu settles that had lived relatively peacefully over the centuries. With the assistance of Arab slave traders and modern European weapons Bahororo expanded their territory and Arabs got slaves from defeated societies (B. A. Ogot 1976).
With Rwanda land ownership experience (Batutsi took away land from Bahutu who had owned it for centuries and made Bahutu serfs on land that was theirs), Bahororo in Rujumbura took over all grazing land from the indigenous people for their long-horn cattle which meant that short-horn cattle belonging to Bantu had no grazing land and went out of existence. Cattle had provided Bantu households with meat, milk, skins used in various ways including clothing, a means of exchange and a store of value besides conferring status on the owner.
Since Bahororo do not do menial (cultivation) work (claiming that it is below their dignity and yet they enjoy food and drinks produced by others), they were not interested in land for crop cultivation. However, in order to obtain free food, drinks and labor from Bantu, Bahororo came up with an idea. They changed the title of Bantu to Bairu (slaves). As slaves they were expected to work for nothing. The bitter pill was, however, wrapped in a sweetener. Bahororo suggested that they would provide ‘protection’ to Bairu (without defining protection against what) in exchange for free food, drinks and labor. It was not determined how much of their food, drinks and labor Bairu would supply free and how often. This lack of clarity subjected Bairu to massive exploitation and abuse as outlined below.
After crop harvest, Bahororo (chief and his entourage) would come to a Mwiru homestead (where his sons and their families lived) where they would stay as long as necessary. They would be served with food and drinks prepared by Bairu (Bairu do not eat or drink with Bahororo because that would be an insult to Bahororo to eat with slaves, many still harbor that attitude), sleep in their houses and in their beds, have sex with Bairu women (married women and their daughters) if they wanted and Bairu men would sleep elsewhere including in the bush or banana plantation. Young girls would be told to hide to avoid being raped. A child produced through this contact would be disowned by a Muhororo father so the husband or father of the daughter would be responsible for raising a child that was not his.
I grew up during the time of church revival when people would come forward and confess their sins in public or in team meetings held at night. When these meetings took place at my church, I sneaked in at night and heard women married to Bairu confessing that they had slept with Muhororo so and so and even had a child together. The revelations involved some important Bahororo people that the matter became embarrassing and even risky. The confession was either subsequently done in private or stopped completely. I stopped attending these meetings when I left for high (senior secondary) school.
Bairu had to graze goats to provide meat for Bahororo chiefs who do not eat mutton. Those who wanted to avoid this exploitation either kept sheep only or no livestock at all. Consequently, Bairu, besides losing cattle for lack of pasture, lost a valuable source of income through selling livestock (cattle and/or goats) and a source of animal protein. That is why in part they had to eat insects such as protein-rich grasshoppers. Bahororo who deprived Bairu of their livestock then turned around and blamed Bairu for eating grasshoppers. They are still insulting Bairu for being so cheap as to eat grasshoppers.
Whenever Bahororo chiefs or their relatives travelled they would be carried by Bairu in litters. Each litter was carried by four men who would do so in turn. Punishment was severe for the weak ones including piercing their heels with metal objects or Bahororo would spit in the mouth of Bairu.
Bairu students were rounded up to carry the luggage of members of the royal family. There were stories (that need to be verified) that Bahororo ‘royal’ women do not urinate on the ground. They therefore carried their chamber pots in their luggage and whenever they wanted to ease themselves they would do so in their pots and the Bairu escorts would empty, dry them and return them to the luggage and continue with the journey. There was a lot of anguish and resentment but teachers would force them.
There is another disturbing story that I heard. A Mwiru had taken a pot of local beer from banana juice to the home of a Muhororo. He was then asked to serve the drink. As he was pouring in one of the calabashes, he discovered that a small rat had entered the pot. He figured that if Bahororo saw it he would probably be killed. He quickly picked it out of the pot and swallowed it whole. As the rat was going down the digestive system some Bahororo saw the guy struggling to swallow something. He smiled, was laughed at and the episode passed uneventfully. The man then related the sad story when he got back home with a tremendous sigh of relief!
Whenever a Muhororo wanted to occupy a Mwiru’s land for grazing his cattle, the former would just set his cattle free to graze on Mwiru’s gardens causing a food shortage. Since Muhororo was chief, judge and jury, Mwiru had no where to go for compensation. When he could not take it anymore, Mwiru and his family would migrate to another place leaving his land available for Muhororo’s use for free.
Then there was the case of caning or slapping Bairu for any reason. Bairu would be caned for being tired, or doing work that was considered sloppy. Caning a grown-up man was a terrible insult and there was a lot of resentment. There was a case when a police man (askari) was instructed to cane his father. If he had refused he would probably have lost his job and be caned for insubordination. The practice of caning has returned. There are cases of Bahororo caning Bairu workers at construction sites or for supporting political candidates not endorsed by Bahororo.
These are a few examples of abuses that ‘inferior’ Bairu went through until independence in 1962 which are reappearing in subtle ways or even publicly. I have referred to a story where one Muhororo recently boasted at a public rally that he is worth more than 1000 Bairu, demonstrating how inferior and cheap Bairu are regardless of the latter’s education and experience. Some of the Bahororo who are abusing Bairu do not even have a single degree or if they do for some it was obtained in questionable circumstances.
Bahororo used their power in pre and colonial times to exploit Bairu the way they wanted with impunity because as slaves Bairu had no rights. Under colonial rule they continued to be treated badly including being caned for minor offences.
Reprinting in 2006 of John Hanning Speke’s book of 1863 on the “Source of the Nile” in which chapter 9 is retained about how Bahima (cousins of Bahororo, Batutsi and Banyamulenge) dubbed Bantu speaking people Bairu (slaves) to provide food and clothing to Bahima is likely to generate a serious debate about the master-servant relationship between Bahororo and Bairu in south west Uganda.
Bahororo gain national political power
Since 1986, Bahororo led by Museveni have become very powerful politically, economically and militarily at national and local levels. Some are beginning to resurrect old abusive practices. As mentioned above the caning of Bairu has returned. Bairu are being reminded that they will continue to eat grasshoppers because absolute poverty will force them to do so and that Bairu shall be ruled for ever. Some of these abuses have been brought to my attention. Some the author has experienced. Using diplomatic skills I have discussed these re-emerging problems with the powers-that-be. I have even written to appropriate authorities appealing for intervention to no avail.
I have received threats directly or through other channels and warned to stop this line of communication. I do not intend to do that because I believe in what I am doing.
All I am doing is to find a peaceful solution to serious problems. Diplomatic means have been ignored and Bairu continue to suffer. Chapter three of my new book titled “For Present and Future Generations: Using the Power of Democracy to Defeat the Barrel of the Gun” published in 2010 and available at www.jonesharvest.com is an attempt to find solutions with Uganda authorities on this and many other issues.
Bairu are being terribly marginalized in Rujumbura. Men have sold their land to make ends meet, others have abandoned their families because they cannot take care of them, some are committing suicide because they cannot pay taxes and one Mwiru man committed suicide because the candidate he invested in did not win the election and his chances of making ends meet were dashed.
Ugandans and other peace loving citizens of the world should not allow a return of Bahororo abusive practices in Rujumbura or anywhere else.