FROM: Kampala/ @FileFactsUg
Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, was once a fervent enthusiast of the Kabaka (King) of Buganda to the extent that he nicknamed himself “Omubanda wa Kabaka” (King’s gangster) and composed a ‘Nyimbira Kabaka Wange’ song dedicated to the King.
The Kingdom embraced him for his showbiz lifestyle he was, having been a common entertainer of Kabaka’s subjects during his public appearances. However, Bobi repeatedly arrived late, knowing everyone was already focused, but no one bothered about it.
Dog Turns Against Owner
Bobi Dared Kabaka!
Fast forward to March 2017, King’s gangster sought to grab Kabaka’s land, revealing his true colors. He encroached on 2 acres of land outside the 6.25 acres leased to him for his Busabaala-based One Love Beach.
The Kingdom through Enkuluze which protects Kabaka’s personal land, advised Bobi to concentrate on the leased land, but he occupied the additional land illegally, with impunity.
In his typical grandstanding approach to things, Bobi took his battle to the media, prompting an official response from the Kingdom.
“…it is therefore, surprising that Bobi Wine is now using the media to put the good name of the Kingdom in disrepute when it is him who occupied the land illegally and forcefully,” former Information Minister for Kingdom said, “some members of Bobi Wine’s family have made phone calls threatening Kingdom employees regarding this issue.”
He then said, “we advise Bobi Wine to restrain his family members from making such threats.”
The battle raged on until the King through his managers asserted himself, and Bobi said he would not pursue the matter further. “It is an injustice by my own to their own,” Bobi said, “I will not pursue it any longer.
The story of Prodigal son Recalled
In a typical famous parable, the prodigal son, the sinner in this case Bobi, Buganda Kingdom buried its hatchet with him. By the time Uganda went to 2021 polls, it was clearly written on the wall, the institution did not have any pending issue with the first-timer presidential candidate.
At the end of the elections, Bobi who had just launched a new National Unity Platform (NUP) had swept the Buganda region both at the presidential and parliamentary levels.
To emerge the largest opposition party, NUP got 57 MPs of which, 55 hail from Buganda.
The electoral results were not good news for the ruling NRM party, which enjoyed a majority in Buganda region, was counting its survivors of the new NUP on just one hand.
It also affected Buganda as a region to the extent that it lost bigger slots, which were known to be theirs, especially the position of the vice presidency and Ministerial posts. Of the few ministers Buganda was given in this ongoing term, two are directly elected, the rest are all ex-officials.
A strategic new leader of opposition in Kyagulanyi, onlookers had expected, would be making all efforts to ally with the Buganda Kingdom. Luckily, he had two influential former Ministers in the Buganda Kingdom, Mathias Mpuuga and Medard Lubega Sseggona, and other former servants of the Kingdom, Betty Nambooze and Allan Mayanja, in his camp who made Buganda people believe him more at party’s onset.
Different Times, Strange Actor
It’s an open secret, the Kingdom runs a government with a cabinet headed by the Prime Minister (Katikkiro), and lower-level administration chiefs who all, work under the overall leadership of the King who takes final decisions.
It’s also known that all politicians especially from Buganda are welcomed regardless of party affiliations, to foster unity among the King’s subjects. However, Bobi wants to be the only one welcomed by the Kingdom, not any other.
In Buganda, the King wields deeply rooted influence, and his words are treated as commands to all his subjects. It is this fact that politicians across the divide have in the past many years, avoided attacks on cultural institutions like the powerful Buganda kingdom.
In their minds, they knew, Buganda had lived centuries, and the reigning King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II had been around for quite some time.
Further, in their minds, the politicians who have both lived longer or consumed Uganda’s history recount the 1966 crisis where Milton Obote, the former president of Uganda attacked Kabaka MutesaII’s palace, which pushed Kabaka into exile from where he died. To this date, Buganda and Kabaka enthusiasts still curse Obote even after his death, 19 years on.
On July 31, 2024, Buganda will hold Kabaka’s 31st coronation anniversary. The Kingdom, the King, and the Government have coexisted in a hate-love relationship since its restoration by the sitting President Yoweri Museveni in 1993 after 25 years of abolishment by Obote over a conflict he had with Ssekabaka Muteesa II.
No Power, But Confused By Popularity Impression
As time went by, the opposition leader Bobi who considers himself so popular and influential, started to behave strangely towards the Kingdom.
Unlike former opposition leaders who were steadfastly silent on non-partisan cultural matters, the current Kyagulanyi’s habits stand in marked contrast to his predecessors.
After four years in the political fray with attacks on almost every political actor including those he found in the arena like Dr. Kizza Besigye, Bobi has done many odd things, departing from traditional political norms.
Applying a showbiz lifestyle, which seems unfit into traditional categories of strategies, he has been vocal, not sparing even cultural leaders from his own Buganda Kingdom.
Keen Buganda’s subjects say Bobi has over time, incited his supporters against the Kingdom, its officials, and media stations, leading to a propaganda campaign that has embarrassed the largest Kingdom in East Africa.
Oftentimes, Bobi has personally accused Kingdom Broadcaster of lacking impartiality saying that they denied him space on political talk shows. Therefore, he branded them his enemies yet people from other regions of the country supported him to upstage the incumbent dictator.
“Have you ever asked yourselves why I Kyagulanyi Ssentamu Mitembo Ssebagulanyi not being heard on our [CBS] radio? I asked the same question my brother Medie Nsereko, what was your response?” Bobi asked on May 19, 2024, at businessperson Pasikaali Ssekasamba’s burial in Lwengo district.
This came barely 3 weeks after Bobi’s agents had attacked CBS talk show host Nsereko while attending Ssekasamba’s vigil in London also joined Bobi who had traveled there for his musical show.
“…don’t call him while you don’t host him on CBS,” angry agents ordered a visibly timid Nsereko.
Outraged Bobi supporters on social media, were incited by the principal’s outburst to reload their trolling campaign against Buganda media stations and the premier Mayiga.
Tragedy As Bobi Accused Buganda, The Institution Of Failing His Struggle
In a shocking turn of events, Bobi heightened his rebuke against the Buganda Kingdom’s institution and its officials and the anti-kingdom stance could be much about tone, style, reflexive body language, and the hard-hitting rhetoric whilst in public. He has consistently told his supporters that it is Buganda, which is responsible for his failure to cause regime change, claiming that all other regions support him.
“Putting the 60-year-old history behind us, let us talk about this, today the whole country supports us [me] change, but Buganda is still the problem” because of Abebitiibwa.” A tough-talking Bobi pounded Buganda in March 2024 during Omutaka Lwomwa’s burial.
He added, “whenever I go [other regions], they tell me it is the Baganda who brought the whites here…we had a chance to lead Uganda, but it was the Baganda who conspired against Ben Kiwanuka and took Obote him in King’s palace at Bamunanika leaving Ben who started a Buganda party and the rest is history.”
He had made similar statements while in Luweero district in September 2023 during his heavily worded speech, which he used to blatantly attack leaders in Buganda Kingdom and religious institutions across all sects.
Using Kabaka’s Situation To Belittle Him
When the King was being treated inland, there was sustained social media hullabaloo, clamoring for ‘proper’ medical care abroad and this caused much rebuke for Premier Mayiga.
When the time became proper, the King was flown abroad for medical tourism only to make Bobi’s sinister campaign aimed at belittling the Kabaka gain momentum.
Regular rumors started making rounds that “Kabaka had been poisoned” and that “Kabaka had been kidnapped.” Usual characters and renowned Bobi and NUP supporters both locally and internationally were propagating these falsehoods and abusing Premier Mayiga was the common key ingredient.
Despite periodical updates by Premier Mayiga and the royal family about the King’s health with justifications that he was on a steady path to recovery while resting in Namibia under a medic’s guidance, Bobi’s army intensified demanding Kabaka’s whereabouts.
Shockingly, Bobi used a burial ceremony in Lwego district to reveal his full support to the people who were demanding Kabaka’s whereabouts, saying, “you [people] all have the freedom to demand the whereabouts of Kabaka because I am also in pain.”
When demands increased, Premier Mayiga gave another update to Kabaka’s subjects while addressing Buganda’s great Lukiiko. He said he had spoken to the King on the phone and urged the people to calm down amid praying for their King.
The next time Bobi was receiving NUP supporters from Mukono on May 13, 2024, did not want to lose a chance to respond to Mayiga, charging that nobody ought to silence them.
“Let us pray for our Kabaka. I know that this issue is sensitive because some people are trying to own it stopping others from speaking about issues concerning Kabaka. No, Kabaka belongs to us all, the Baganda, and I want to encourage you never to stop demanding Kabaka.” Bobi asserted, “never allow anyone to silence you.”
MP Nambooze cheered him up, saying, “Mr. Kyagulanyi our president be firm we are all behind you and nobody will shift us from you.”
She had earlier said, “…a person stands up to ask about Kabaka’s whereabouts and they misinterpret that as abusing Kabaka, but this time around Kyagulanyi, don’t accept. There is nobody who loves Kabaka like us here. If it were not us, the current Katikkiro would have been an elected one,” she said on May 13, 2024.
Nambooze added, “but with trends of stealing elections, you see nowadays’ do you think the current Katikkiro would be able to win an election? Maybe, he wouldn’t have contested, but we fought it and today, he is the Katikkiro.”
This recharged demands of Kabaka’s whereabouts to maintain their false narratives.
Perhaps to salvage the situation, the King addressed his subjects in a televised speech, reassuring them of his health and calling for calm and unity.
Despite the speech in which he appeared stable and audible, Bobi’s supporters maintained that it was an “AI-generated video” to confuse Kabaka’s subjects, by Premier Mayiga.
The situation remained tense, with Bobi’s supporters continuing to demand the King’s whereabouts. Riding on misinformation, supporters of Bobi who has behaved strangely towards the Kingdom, unlike former opposition leaders, staged demanding protests at some of the Namibian Missions abroad.
Holding placards with inscriptions like #NamibiaFreeOurKabakaNow, #BringHimHome, etc, protestors insisted that the King needed to be freed from what they called “captivity.”
Blown by Bobi’s populist stance, the protestors were joined by five rebellious clan leaders who said they wanted to “confirm first-hand whether the Kabaka was alright,” and traveled to Namibia to meet Kabaka without required permissions.
Both active NUP supporters who protested at Namibian missions abroad and the clan leaders; Elias Lwasi Buzaabo (Ndiga), Deus Kyeyune (Ngaali), Sheba Kakande (Ngeye), Godfrey Natiigo (Lugave) and Kasirye Mbugeeramula (Nvuma) caused mayhem Namibia.
This altogether, prompted a decline of a request for King’s visa extension to continue receiving medication from their medical facility for fear of exacerbating what they said has already damaged their country’s image.
Afterwards, the Kabaka flew back to Uganda, in a very lively manner revealing that he was indeed, recapitulating well.
However, ever since the King’s return, Bobi has never found time to either use his social media platforms or mainstream media to welcome back his King from Namibia. In inspiring them to demand Kabaka’s whereabouts, he used the said platforms, which he has been actively using to encourage people to partake in ongoing anti-corruption protests.
Not even combative emissaries who exaggerated his barrage demands including Betty Nambooze, Lutamaguzi Ssemakula, Zaake Francis, Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro (NUP deputy spokesperson), Fred Lumbuye, Ayekolera, and notable leaders like LoP Joel Ssennyonyi, MPs, party leaders and social media army have congratulated Kabaka on returning home safely and sound.
Anyway, Bobi’s behaviors and actions may not be farfetched with his May 2, 2024 utterance, which implies that he is more powerful than Buganda Kingdom.
“Ssematimba Bwegiire has told me that he has heard people in Buganda wondering about Kabaka’s whereabouts,” Bobi said, “as you know our scope of work does not stop in Buganda but cuts across Uganda. I am also concerned, but there are leaders in Mengo who are directly responsible for that particular issue, therefore, I will borrow Medie Nsereko’s words to tell you that ask Mayiga.
It is the first time an opposition leader, pretending to be a royalist from the Kingdom, is engaged in flexing the Kingdom’s powers through an intensified campaign to tarnish the Kingdom and its officials as if they are in a political competition.
Bobi is on record for saying that “anybody who attacks the people with whom you are serving, targets to isolate and weaken you,” but it is also widely known that Bobi and his emissaries have sustainably, made continuous attacks against the King’s Government officials especially Katikkiro Mayiga.
Bobi Wine And His Chief Spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi
The LoP Ssenyonyi also the NUP spokesperson and his deputy Mufumbiro have relentlessly attacked the Kingdom by belittling its titles especially “Owekitiibwa) which is just preserved for Kabaka’s ministers and members of the great Lukiiko. They deliberately and occasionally liken these titles to “thieves.”
As the saying goes a “lie told often becomes the truth,” Bobi and his cronies seem to be reaping their fruits following a veiled attack on Buganda Kingdom by MP Jonathan Odur from Obote’s northern region and UPC party which wronged Buganda Kingdom in the 1960s.
MPs were shocked to hear their colleague claim that he was not a Luganda speaker, but he had been told, “Owekitiibwa means a thief!” on the floor of Parliament, and Ssenyonyi who was present in the house, just smiled.
Copying Kabaka
As if Bobi and his cronies’ anti-kingdom stance, which has generated an appetite for an intensified rebuke of the Kingdom, was not enough, the King’s gangster took it a notch higher when he started mimicking the Kabaka.
There are certain norms only preserved for being performed by Kabaka’s subjects to show his supremacy over all others within his kingdom.
Although unwritten, it is known that it is only the Kabaka who is beyond criticism, who is supposed to get offerings from his subjects, whose portrait is supposed to be included in the bride price during Ganda traditional introduction ceremonies.
It is also known that in Buganda, it is only the Kabaka whose loyalists take ‘Busuulu and Nvujjo’ on a periodical basis.
However, in a show of his supremacy in the Kingdom, Bobi who seems to be on a mission to build a “cult” has violated all those norms.
In May, Nambooze took her ‘Busuulu and Nvujjo) to Bobi in the form of raw foods and goats, saying, “this is part of our makula [offerings] off what we do in our area Mr. President.”
Still in May, certain events where various Bobi supporters who were welcoming him to Masaka performed eye-catching things similar to those that the King’s subjects often do specifically to exhibit the King’s supremacy.
A peak to unacceptable performance of norms preserved for the King in Buganda came towards mid-July 2024 when it was established that some supporters were made to include Bobi’s portrait in a list of things to be taken to families of their in-laws at traditional introductions. The proposal had been marketed by Nakase South’s Luttamaguzi, using various radio stations.
For example, during the introduction ceremony of Nalunkuuma Mable and Yahaya Jjagwe within Wakiso district, Bobi’s portrait not that of the King’s, was received by LoP Ssenyonyi on behalf of the party president. People danced to Bobi’s “Nyimbira Kabaka wange’ tunes.
Above all, he believes as his supporters, that he is beyond reproach and that whatever he utters is a decree not only to party supporters but also to all, an issue that is synonymous with Buganda Monarch. Those who attempt to challenge his decisions find it difficult to coexist both within and outside the party for they would have to endure verbal and online attacks.
Eyebrows Raised
Both the King’s subjects and some Kingdom officials have interpreted the unusual actions by Bobi, the leader of the largest opposition party as a “premeditated plan” aimed to undermine the powers of the King and Kingdom
“It was very shameful to the extent that Kabaka through his son Prince Junju, apologized to the Namibian Government for the despicable behaviors by pockets of opportunists. What should be done to a person [Kyagulanyi] who has prompted Kabaka’s apology? It was very unfortunate, but it should give us a lesson that we should stop excitement while making people our leaders based on face values,” said one person who spoke, anonymously.
But what is the real Motive of Bobi-Led Group?
Speaking to the press shortly after Kabaka returned to Uganda, Premier Mayiga said, “we are fully aware of a few individuals who are intent on destroying desecrating our heritage possibly with a view to destroying the Kingdom who have persistently uttered falsehoods about the Kabaka’s condition, his officials and members of his family.”
“There are also others who are intent on weakening the institutions by which the Kingdom is upheld,” the premier said, “some of these come as friends with wide smiles while their intention is to cause cracks within the different segments of the Kingdom.”
He revealed, “we know these people and you know them and we shall do all that is necessary to thwart their plans. I urge people of the Kingdom to firmly deal with these detractors and disrupters.”
The Premier emphasized that “these detractors and disrupters instigated a handful of people to denigrate the Republic of Namibia at some of their missions abroad purporting to be motivated by the “love” they have for the Kabaka.” He said that the Kingdom endured the embarrassment even inside Namibia itself.
On behalf of the Kingdom, he then extended “sincere apologies to the Government of and people of Namibia for all the discomfort that the actions of these disruptors caused to some of the missions abroad and the people of Namibia.”
He appreciated the Namibian Government for “providing adequate security to our King while he was in that Country” he also thanked Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and High Commission responsible for Namibia for doing all they could to ensure that the King’s stay in Namibia was as comfortable as possible.”
He joined the royal family in appreciating the staff that the King traveled with, saying that they went through a challenging period.
“I thank the medical personnel in Namibia, Germany, and elsewhere and in Uganda for working professionally and dedicatedly as they continue to mind Kabaka’s health.”
He thanked the People of the Kingdom for “retaining hope for and trusting us during this time when the Kabaka was out of the country.”
He urged all “of you to remain united and to continue working together. Unity is the remedy against detractors and disrupters,” he said, praying to God to “continue protecting our King and his Kingdom
Seeking to isolate and weaken the King, the question remains whether Bobi will continue to race against the powerful and influential Kingdom.
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