KAYUNGA – Clan leaders in the Obukama bwa Bunyala have rejected attempts by a section of the family of Ssabanyala, Rt. Maj. Baker Kimeze, to remove him from office and install a new cultural leader, insisting that only recognised clan heads have the authority to choose a Ssabanyala.
The dispute follows a meeting held on Sunday at Kyerima Village in Kitimbwa Sub-county, where some members of Maj. Kimeze’s family announced that they had “dethroned” him over what they described as unresolved family disagreements. The group also declared plans to install another cultural leader.
The family faction, led by family chairman Fred Sseruzi, has for more than three years been embroiled in a land dispute with Maj. Kimeze. They accuse the cultural leader of illegally selling family land in Bbaale Sub-county, Kayunga District.
Maj. Kimeze has consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that the disputed land was never family property.
According to the Ssabanyala, the land had been entrusted to his late father, Nathan Mpagi, by a friend for farming and cattle grazing, but ownership remained with the original proprietor.
Available land documents indicate that the property was legally owned and later sold by Sarah Nanyonga, whose name appears on the ownership records.
In a press statement issued on July 13, the Kingdom’s Minister for Information, Samuel Bukenya, dismissed the family’s actions and reaffirmed that the Obukama bwa Bunyala is governed by established customs and traditions.
“The institution of the Obukama bwa Bunyala belongs to all the people and subjects of Bunyala in accordance with the customs and traditions of the kingdom,” Bukenya said.
He explained that the responsibility of identifying and electing a cultural leader only arises when the throne becomes vacant and rests exclusively with the recognised clan leaders of Bunyala.
“We therefore caution any individuals involved in organising or promoting the purported exercise to desist from actions that are likely to mislead the public and create confusion among the subjects,” the statement reads.
Martin Ssenkatuuka, the head of the Abaguba Clan, described the move by the family members as a “hoax” with no legal or cultural basis.
“The authority to identify and install a Ssabanyala does not lie with members of one family. It is a responsibility vested in the recognised clan leaders under the kingdom’s customs,” he said.
The Kingdom Prime Minister, Rev. Wilson Galimaka, said the kingdom leadership would address journalists on the matter at a later date.
However, one of the leaders of the family faction, Livingstone Miya, insisted that they would proceed with plans to elect a new Ssabanyala despite the kingdom’s position that only clan leaders have the mandate to choose a cultural leader.
The latest developments are expected to deepen divisions within the Bunyala cultural institution as the disagreement over the kingdom’s leadership and the disputed land remains unresolved.
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