Mbale, Uganda — The spokesperson of the Bugisu cultural institution has announced that His Highness the Umukuka, as a peacebuilder, has extended an olive branch to those opposed to his leadership.
According to the spokesperson, Masiga, many of those who had opposed the cultural institution were receiving funding from certain political groups and politicians, who allegedly gave them daily cash. “It is this silver coin that has been used as a basis to fight our leadership,” Masiga said.
He urged the dissenting groups to take advantage of the cultural amnesty provided by His Highness and his leadership, allowing them to renounce their belligerent behavior and reconcile with the institution.
“Our prime responsibility as a cultural institution is the unity of our people,” Masiga explained. “Even God forgave terrible sinners like Satan. If God had wanted to destroy Satan, it wouldn’t have taken even a second, but He chose to forgive him. Therefore, forgiveness as a cultural and moral principle should not be overlooked or seen as a sign of weakness.”
Masiga further emphasized that those who had been misled should apologize so that the community can move forward. He also used the Ankole Times media platform to warn politicians against dividing the people by providing financial incentives to fight the cultural institution.
The cultural institution operates under the Cultural Leaders Act and the Constitution of Uganda, which legitimized the current leadership.
Meanwhile, Masiga warned those illegally operating secretive groups under Inzu ya Masaaba to also utilize the ongoing amnesty, which will expire this week, by surrendering and laying down their purported royal garments. “Attempts to ignore the five-day oral amnesty, which ends on Friday, will result in severe consequences,” he said.
He added that some of the misled individuals were openly fighting government projects in the region, allegedly soliciting money from unauthorized diaspora groups using illegal structures linked to Mbale Public University.
“The Mbale Public University is a government project promised by the President. Nobody should interfere with it. We shall not hesitate to bring violators to order, as it was our leadership that lobbied for this project when His Highness met the President in November,” Masiga said.
He also condemned the illegal collection of two billion Ugandan shillings (UGX 2b), calling it a violation of several municipal laws, including the Public Collections Act and the Anti-Money Laundering Act. He urged the Inspector General of Government (IGG) and other authorities to investigate the funders of these illegal collections.
“We do not want any unlawful or inappropriate groups, including homosexual organizations, funding our education projects here,” Masiga said during a phone interview from Mbale.
