The Bamasaba community, living in both Kenya and Uganda, is advocating for free entry into the East African Community, aiming to trade and practice their culture unimpeded. Often, our people’s movement is hindered by the artificial borders created by colonialists.
Many of these communities residing in neighboring countries were once intertwined as a single community. For example, the Bamasaba of Uganda and the Babukusu of Kenya are one group who share numerous unique features, including circumcision, which they conduct during leap years, agricultural practices, use of the same names, and other cultural norms and practices like etiquette and dressing.
The Bamasaba of Uganda and Kenya, numbering over 10 million in population, could greatly benefit business-wise once many of these border restrictions are legally waived off. Listening to Bakiga folk songs, they recount their migration from Rwanda. There was a time when the Katuna and Gatuna border remained closed for two years, and anyone attempting to enter Rwanda faced the full force of Rwandan law.
There are thousands of scenarios demonstrating that the people of East Africa were once unified. For example, among the Bamasaba, there are the Bawogogo people in Masabaland and the Wagogo people in Tanzania. These are brothers, as are the Sabiny.
It is redundant to continually stress the Bantu and Nilotic groupings in the region; this fact has been reiterated extensively and now seems tedious to emphasize here. The Pokots of Uganda and Kenya are one people, as are the Kakwa and Lugbara communities in Arua and Zaire, and the Bafumbira and Rwandans.
The Inzuyamasaba leadership believes that cultural practices should freely permeate every corner of East Africa. The East African protocol has adequately amplified how communities can freely practice their cultures. The treaty recognizes and permits this once-unified people, now scattered in various countries, to enjoy their cultures and engage in business beyond their current borders.
Other benefits of the treaty include visa-free travel for East African nationals. Recently, the Inzuyamasaba cultural leader, His Royal Highness Jude Mike Mudoma, invited Bamasaba from Kenya for an inaugural cabinet meeting in Masabaland. This message was well amplified, appealing to governments in the region to allow our people to trade freely as they enjoy their cultures.
The writer is a researcher from Mbale and a Ph.D. student.
