Your Excellency, the President of Uganda,
Please receive our warmest kilembe to you and your entire leadership. We further salute you for your overwhelming support to the cultural leadership of His Highness the Umukuka of Bugisu.
For the last three years, I have served as the spokesperson of Bukuka, explaining to our community the contributions made by Your Excellency to the people of Bugisu. You have supported our community in several ways and, with your permission, Sir, allow me to specifically relay what I have personally witnessed and noted regarding your contributions to Bukuka and the Bugisu community.
Community roads across the Bugisu region, including feeder roads in Bududa, such as the Bukalasi–Bukharela road where our people previously transported goods using donkeys, have greatly improved. Today, trucks and other motor vehicles can access these areas.
Your support of UGX 150 million towards the burial of His Highness the Umukuka Emeritus, Wilson Wamimbi, in April 2024 was well received. Likewise, your contribution of UGX 300 million towards the 2024 Imbalu launch was appreciated and utilized according to the Imbalu budget. You also supported our people at Bunambutye Resettlement Camp with over 26 cows during Christmas. In addition, you have supported His Highness the Umukuka with substantial contributions to facilitate meetings with Bugisu clan chairpersons on several national issues. Government support to the Umukuka has continued through the Ministries of Finance and Gender on a quarterly basis, and the pledged mobility support was also delivered. We sincerely appreciate all these efforts, Sir.
Several government projects benefiting our communities have been explained to the public through the Office of Public Relations of the Bugisu Cultural Institution under His Highness the Umukuka, using the airtime allocated to the institution. Our people appreciate this communication.
We take note that cultural leadership in Uganda was restored in 1995 as a political commitment by yourself and your government following its unfortunate abolition in 1967, when the government of the day lost interest in traditional and cultural leadership. Your Excellency, while still a young man in your thirties during the 1980s, you made several political promises regarding the restoration of cultural institutions as you fought to remove poor leadership from power. You faithfully fulfilled those promises, and the Bamasaba community cannot overlook this significant and benign gesture.
Whereas Article 246 of the Constitution restored traditional and cultural leadership and, in some cases, created room for communities that had never had such institutions to establish them, Bugisu had to wait for a proper legal framework. This framework came into force in 2011 through the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, which provides detailed guidance on how cultural leaders assume office and outlines their roles.
Genesis of Bugisu Cultural Concerns Since 2020
Following the election of the current Umukuka, disputes arose regarding who the rightful cultural leader was. For three years, Bugisu effectively lacked a recognized cultural leader, resulting in considerable tension across the region. The Ministry of Gender eventually invoked Section 16(1) of the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, 2011, in line with Article 246(2) of the Constitution. A neutral mediator was appointed, and Bugisu clan chairpersons engaged in mediation, culminating in the gazetting of His Highness Jude Mike Mudoma as the legitimate cultural leader in 2023.
His Highness Jude Mike Mudoma is the first Umukuka of Bugisu to assume office under the legal framework established by the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act. Previous cultural leaders in Bugisu were elected under customary arrangements rather than the current statutory framework, a situation that contributed to disputes. I am pleased to report that the courts of law have been petitioned to determine whether the Bagisu possess the authority to establish their own legal procedures for installing cultural leaders or whether they must strictly follow national legislation. In the interest of the sub judice rule, I shall not comment further on this matter.
On 9 July 2026, just two weeks before the Imbalu launch, Bugisu witnessed what I consider one of the most unfortunate meetings in its history, comparable only to the 1966 crisis that eventually led to the abolition of cultural institutions. Without legal authority, leaders of the Bugisu Parliamentary Caucus publicly declared that His Highness the Umukuka would never preside over Imbalu activities in the Bugisu region. There is videographic evidence supporting this claim.
Your Excellency, we are fully aware that what is granted by law can only be withdrawn by law, not by mere verbal declarations. For example, if executive powers were removed from the President without following legal procedures, would that person still rightfully hold the office? Likewise, if members of the Bugisu Parliamentary Caucus bypass the law and declare that His Highness the Umukuka cannot preside over cultural activities, are they acting within any lawful authority? If these MPs possess such powers, then perhaps they should also dissolve every cultural institution across Uganda and close them altogether.
No Member of Parliament, regardless of political affiliation, has the authority to undermine or campaign against a legally recognized cultural institution. As a community, we feel deeply offended and shall not allow anyone to interfere with our cultural affairs.
Efforts by the State Minister for Gender, Hon. Mary Kamuli Kutesa, to guide the MPs and remind them not to act contrary to the laws of Uganda were unfortunately ignored.
Your Excellency, following the 2026 General Elections, during your maiden speech, you commended your political mobilizers and also acknowledged that certain cultural institutions had mobilized their communities to support your government. The Mufti of Uganda, His Eminence Sheikh Shaban Mubajje, who attended that event, later informed His Highness the Umukuka of Bugisu that Your Excellency appreciated his contribution towards mobilizing the Bugisu community during the elections. Under Article 246 of the Constitution of Uganda and the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, it is a trite legal position that a cultural leader serves as a chief mobilizer of his or her community in support of lawful government programmes.
I recall that in November 2025, I was among the delegation led by His Highness the Umukuka that met Your Excellency at the Presidential State Lodge in Mbale. During that meeting, I explained my Ntungamo, particularly Kabagyenda, connections to you. Present were the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister of Bugisu, Dr. Paul Mwambu, and the Minister for Gender, Hon. Dorcas Okalany, who also serves as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development. Our commitment to Your Excellency was to promote unity among our people and strengthen Bukuka. His Highness the Umukuka requested the deployment of his teams to execute your programmes.
Unfortunately, we have a few troublemakers who thrive on conflict, and some MPs are creating an environment that undermines His Highness the Umukuka and his entire cabinet. Allow me to recall a quotation I read while studying at Makerere University about twenty years ago as an undergraduate student in a work titled The Making of a Modern Mercenary. A passer-by greets a mercenary, saying, “May God give you peace.” The mercenary rejects the greeting, replying, “You know I live by war, and peace will bring me hunger.” Likewise, there are groups that fear the prevailing peace in Bugisu brought about under your leadership and instead seek to thrive on chaos.
Some paid groups have launched verbal attacks against the security agencies in Bugisu. However, security has remained professional and neutral by protecting the gazetted cultural leader of the community. Several MPs appear determined to pressure security agencies into recognizing rival cultural leaders supported by influential individuals who finance these groups through fuel, cash, and hotel accommodation for subversive meetings.
While we acknowledge that a gazetted cultural leader receives government support, I respectfully bring to your attention that Bugisu has several rival cultural claimants who continue to receive financial support and fuel from individuals both within and outside Uganda. This matter deserves careful attention.
Your Excellency, in summary, the decision by some MPs to strip His Highness the Umukuka of his cultural and customary powers should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Their actions have no legal foundation, and we are likely to seek legal redress and damages arising from their conduct.
Meanwhile, the clan chairpersons are planning to demonstrate against this decision, which also disregards their constitutional and customary role. Cultural matters belong to the Umukuka and the Bugisu clan structures, yet none of them was consulted.
Recently, when President Museveni posted on his X account that the Bagisu are hardworking people but require stronger leadership, I believe some of our MPs misunderstood Your Excellency’s message. Fighting a cultural leader who has been lawfully gazetted by the Government is not a sign of good leadership; rather, it reflects poor leadership.
Finally, Your Excellency, as the spokesperson of Bukuka, I remain mindful of protocol. I know I should ordinarily not present these concerns through a public forum. Having met you several times alongside His Highness the Umukuka, I know you value privacy whenever matters concerning Bukuka arise. I also recall occasions when you requested security personnel to give us privacy during our engagements. However, the current circumstances are unique because some of our Bugisu lawmakers seek to undo the efforts your government has made in restoring and strengthening our cultural institution.
We therefore respectfully beseech Your Excellency to consider our concerns as a community through your usual revolutionary lens.
The writer is the Spokesperson of the Bugisu Cultural Institution. Tel: 0782231577.
