The untold story of Rubenda, the fallen Omukama’s chief bodyguard
He also trained and recruited the youth to become Omukama's bodyguards.
Buliisa: Kassim Rubenda was born in 1934 in Bugungu, along the banks of the Nile. He went to Duhanga Boys Primary School in Hoima but dropped out and started with Junior Two Education.
He later got a catering certificate from Uganda Hotels.
Ruhenda moved from Masindi to Hoima town on the eve of the restoration of Bunyoro Kingdom and was deeply involved in the preparation to install the new Omukama.
When Solomon Iguru Gafabusa was installed as Omukama of Bunyoro Kingdom, Ruhenda became his traditional chief bodyguard, known as Omubogora.
However, Rubenda inherited the job from his grandfather, who was also Sir Tito Winyi’s chief guard.
Rubenda could be clad in traditional bark cloth worn over purple nylon and armed with a big club called Kibogora, curved out of a Mukoma tree.
Apart from guarding Omukama, Rubenda had other duties to perform in the palace. He would never be far from the Omukama, especially during public functions.
He was also in charge of the Omutajemera, which was a set of six royal drums that sounded to announce a royal tour or some other cultural functions to be attended by the Omukama.
Before cultural institutions were abolished in 1967, each clan in the Bunyoro Kingdom had responsibilities to carry out in the Omukama’s Palace.
According to research carried out by this publication, the Bacuwa clan, to which Ruhenda belonged, was entrusted with the duty of guarding the Omukama’s crown and other royal regalia.
The clan system, however, collapsed following the banning of the kingdoms in 1967; today, only a few elderly Banyoro can still trace their clans, and even fewer know the cultural functions of those clans.
He also trained and recruited the youth to become Omukama’s bodyguards, commonly known as Abarusura, the then-cultural equivalent of the Presidential Protection Unit (PPU).
According to the Bugungu Heritage and Information Centre, an organization that documents Bagungu culture and history, Kassim Rubenda was also the son of the first bicycle repairer in Bunyoro.
Rubenda Kassim was a Mugungu Muchwa by clan and a son of Isaya Bintu.
His dad was the first bicycle repairer in the whole of Bunyoro Kingdom. He made bicycle spokes out of fence wires.
Rubenda became the speaker of Orukurato (the Bunyoro kingdom parliament) during the reign of Sir. Tito Winyi. After the fall of Obote 1, he ran into exile in Zaire, where he learned the skills of repairing typewriters and duplicating machines, which he practiced when he came back from exile.
He was also the first general secretary of the Uganda People’s Congress. After the restoration of the kingdoms in 1993, he went back to the kingdom and worked as the head of Omukama’s guard, known as Omubogora.
He was also a football referee.
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