ANKOLE PRINCE SHOULD STOP WASHING HIS DIRTY LINEN IN PUBLIC
The media has been awash with news of Defunct Ankole Kingdom Prince Barigye’s impending divorce, and considering the profile of this case, it’s likely to hang around for a while. However, if I may ask a question; did this case have to get this far? Couldn’t the prince have explored other remedial measures than expose his hapless wife in the public arena.
As Christians, we tend to draw our lifeblood from the examples of our Lord Jesus’ experience during his time on earth. On one occasion when he was presented with an adulterous woman that ought to have been stoned as per the tradition of the time, he simply turned and said, “Let he who has not done it, cast the first stone”. All the people went away one by one, leaving the woman alone, and he said to her, “Repent, your sins have been forgiven”. In so doing, Jesus demonstrated that as human beings, we are bound to error, irrespective of the degree. What matters most though, is our ability to admit our sinfulness, seek forgiveness, and desist from committing similar offences again.
Thank God that Priests are not allowed to reveal the sins we tell them when in those penance boxes in church-sincerely many people including some of our heroes would collapse if the world got to know. Of course this is no justification for anyone to fornicate left and right simply because they may never be caught-truth is that not many people can hide their sinfulness forever. One day, you may get caught and the things you often do in secret are revealed in broad daylight-as is the case with Prince Barigye’s wife today, if media reports are anything to go by.
However, I think that Prince Barigye ought to have been a little more respectful of his wife in spite of the turmoil he’s currently undergoing. By exposing his wife, he’s displaying his level of intolerance and who knows, he could be taking advantage of a defenseless woman, who perhaps has little power to fire back or even possibly spill the beans that she’s could have been keeping over the years. To me, I think that next time someone lodges a case for divorce, the judge should give the accused a chance not only to prove their innocence, but also the accuser to prove their innocence too. It’s not fair for a man to end a relationship when he’s actually committed worse sins than the wife he’s divorcing.
I read a certain publication recently where it was said that we are 100% in control of our words before we say them, but after we’ve said them, they take control of us. I am sure Prince Barigye thought he would rise out of this whole saga as a superstar, but in truth, he’s the villain. The damage he has brought to himself by exposing his family secrets, may take him many years (if ever) to correct. He will sooner than later regret why he did not choose to use a council of family elders to resolve the matter other than going public. It’s at this point that his utterances are beginning to take control of him, but what a shame that such a revered man should wash his dirty linen in public!
By Tumusiime Kabwende Deo
+256-712-075721
ANKOLE KINGDOM SHOULD BE OFFICIALLY DECLARED ENDED
Sometimes I wonder who cursed the Kingdom of Ankole. Many people won’t stop linking every Munyankole to the powers that be, assuming that people from this Western Uganda tribe are eating big for the mere fact that one of their own, President Museveni is in charge of Government. Day dreamers, day dreamers; don’t you really know that a few years from now there will be nothing like Banyankole? Can’t you read the signs that sooner rather than later all weak tribes shall be fused into the more resounding ones? When that time comes, everyone should belong to the more dominant family and we shall become one people.
Before anyone says that my statements are too harsh on the Banyankole, I pray that we all appreciate the fact that no tribe can thrive without an institutional structure to sustain it. The Baganda have the Kabaka; the Basoga have the Kyabazinga; the Acholi have the Rwot; the Bakonzo have the Issebantu; the Batooro have the Omukama; name it. These heads have done so much in keeping their traditional values and ensuring that their cherished principles do not get diluted. Sadly for the people of Ankole, all their children that have been born in Kampala or nearby districts, speak more Luganda than they do their so-called mothers tongue, that is if they know it at all. These same children know nothing about totems or traditional regalia and indeed have nothing tangible to justify the tribe of their origin; they are like lost sheep.
That being the case, I think the only remaining option, is to clearly admit that the battle to redeem the fragile Ankole Kingdom powerhouse has been lost. If there’s a chance for the more established tribes to incorporate citizens who are willing to migrate, then I see many Banyankore making the switch and paying homage to the Kabaka of Buganda and others being distributed to Tooro Kingdom. Oh yes, there will be no need to learn how to sing the Buganda Anthem because even 2-year olds can recite it off head, and can more ably speak Luganda than Runyankole. Naked truth is that for as long as the Ankole Kingdom remains muted, it is as good as defunct and therefore, it should be written off. In all sincerity, today’s generation must have a sense of belonging; must have a source to draw their livelihood and values from considering that the entire status quo of the Ankole tradition has badly crumbled down to the roots.
For me, looking at how the Kingship in Buganda and elsewhere has managed to enhance the people’s sense of cohesion, I see the organized Kingdoms as having left Ankole by 1000 strides, a gap that will perhaps never be closed. This is very unfair to our generation and other generations to come and something must be done. Either the Ankole tribe is written off and be fused into the more stable ones or deliberate efforts be invested to revive its pomp. Otherwise, the current muted state of affairs could be a social time bomb for the country.
By: Tumusiime Kabwende Deo
+256-712-075721
