Bugisu tips Sebei, Chope cultural claimants on government gazettement process
According to the Chope, official recognition would help preserve their culture, which they say is increasingly being assimilated into the broader Banyoro culture.
Mbale:Leaders seeking official recognition of the Bachope and Sebei cultural institutions have turned to the Bugisu Cultural Institution for guidance on how to secure government gazettement, according to the institution’s spokesperson, Steven Masiga.
Masiga confirmed that representatives of both cultural groups recently approached the Bugisu Cultural Institution for advice on the legal and constitutional procedures required to have their cultural leaders officially recognized by the Government of Uganda.
He said the institution offers guidance to communities seeking gazettement in accordance with the Constitution of Uganda and the Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, 2011, but does not campaign for or oppose any claimant.
“As a cultural institution, we neither incite nor turn away those who approach us for guidance on how to get gazetted. We guide them to follow the appropriate protocols laid down in the Constitution, the Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act and their community procedures,” Masiga said.
Masiga, who described himself as a cultural and legal historian, said the Bachope trace their historical origins to events that followed the departure of the Bachwezi from Bunyoro.
According to his account, after the Bachwezi left, Bunyoro elders sought Prince Rukidi Mpuga, who was living among Luo relatives across the River Nile. Masiga said the delegation that escorted the prince back to assume the throne later settled permanently in what are now Kiryandongo and Masindi districts.
He said members of that delegation are regarded by the Bachope as their ancestors.
The Chope maintain that despite years of coexistence and intermarriage with the Banyoro, they are a distinct cultural community deserving separate recognition.
Their cultural leader, His Highness David Odongo Dayamu (Dabanda), is currently awaiting gazettement by the government.
According to the Chope, official recognition would help preserve their culture, which they say is increasingly being assimilated into the broader Banyoro culture.
Sebei king appeals for gazettement
Masiga also said His Highness Peter Swilke, who identifies himself as the King of Sebei, is seeking government gazettement.
Swilke noted that although Sebei had a cultural leader in the 1960s, no leader has been officially recognized since the restoration of cultural institutions in the 1990s because of competing claims to the throne.
He argued that he is the legitimate cultural leader because he was elected by clan chairpersons, saying cultural leadership should be determined by community structures rather than spiritual claimants.
“I appeal to the government to gazette me because the Sabinyi culture is rapidly eroding. Today we even import traditional surgeons from Bugisu to circumcise our people, yet circumcision originated here,” Swilke said.
Call to follow legal procedures
Masiga explained that among the Sabinyi, who occupy Kapchorwa, Kween and Bukwo districts, cultural leaders were traditionally selected through a gerontocratic system in which councils of elders identified and supported a community leader.
He emphasized that Article 246 of the Constitution of Uganda and the Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, 2011 provide a clear legal framework for communities seeking recognition of their cultural institutions.
“Bugisu Cultural Institution followed the same legal procedures. We encourage all claimants to follow the path provided by the law,” Masiga said.
He added that he is willing to offer guidance to communities seeking recognition at no cost.
“I am available, in my personal capacity, to support cultural claimants in attaining recognition. It is better to guide communities through the proper process than leave them wondering where to begin,” he said.
The comments come amid continued efforts by several communities across Uganda to secure official recognition of their traditional institutions through the government’s gazettement process.
Do you have an advertisement or article you want to publish? Mail us at theugreports@gmail.com or WhatsApp +256757022363.
