Who is Asiimwe, the new Ankole king claiming divine appointment?

The November 20th 1993 Coronation of the late Prince John Barigye as the King of Ankole was annulled by the government before a presidential warning was issued against future similar attempts.

BThe current bloody brawl among the family members of the little-known and self-styled king of Ankole, Umar Asiimwe King Ntare V1 Rubambansi’, has, according to political and cultural pundits, been caused by economic rather than cultural interests.

It has also been reported that some secret external funding the disgraced king has been receiving could be one of the major reason that caused his ouster.

The fight which has been raging on after the recent ‘palace coup’ has not only left the self-appointed king banished, but also hiding after abandoning his hospital bed where he was admitted with life-threatening injuries sustained during the counter attack he staged to recapture his palace on December 31^st 2018.

His father, Edirisa Kaweesa-the coup plotter and executor is also nursing a broken arm and is yet to recover from the shock he got after the recent arson attack that left part of the now contested palace razed to the ground.

But, as the war rages on between with the two protagonists craving for territorial supremacy, the one-million-dollar question is: Who are these new claimants to the 600-year old ‘endangered’ Kingdom of Ankole? Could they be related in a way to the hitherto known rulers of the Bahinda dynasty, which produced the last king of Ankole, Godfrey Gatsyonga-Rutahaba? Gatsyonga is the father to the late prince Barigye and grandfather to the crown prince Charles Rwebishengye. 

So, who is Umar Asiimwe and who is his father Ediriisa Kaweesa, the kingmaker?

It is worthwhile to note that the emergence of the self-styled and now embattled claimants of throne is a result of a vacuum created by the current government’s refusal to restore one the world’s oldest cultural institution which was abolished in 1966 under the Obote one regime.

Cultural and Political analysts say the selective application of the 1995 Constitution provisions regarding the restoration of kingdoms abolished in 1966 has left the Banyankole cultural enthusiasts groping in darkness while a whole generation has lost its cultural identity.

Only recently, the government embarked on a multi-billion-shilling rehabilitation project of the hitherto dilapidated Mugaba Palace at Kamukuzi hill where the last king of Ankole, Omugabe Charles Gatsyonga-Rutahaba lived and administered his vast territory from.

Sadly, the Nkore Cultural Trust (NCT), the official entity charged with the protection and promotion of Banyankole culture, was seemingly left in cold and was never involved in the planning and implementation of the project which the government says will promote its Tourism industry as a lucrative tourist attraction.

The Nkokonjeru royal burial grounds in neighborhood which had been totally neglected only got an ‘emergency’ facelift after the death of prince John Barigye on October 14^th 2011. The royal drum (Bagyendanwa) has been hidden and other artifacts which were confiscated by the Obote 1 regime have since been rotting away at the Uganda museum in Kampala.

While other kingdoms were allowed (by the 1995 Constitution) and ‘new’ ones have since been created with silent support from the NRM government, the Ankole kingdom has been blocked due to the perceived resistance of Banyankole populace.

The November 20^th  1993 Coronation of the late Prince John Barigye as the King of Ankole was annulled by the government before a presidential warning was issued against future similar attempts.

At the time of his death, Barigye and his silent subjects had become ‘total orphans.’ His son Prince Rwebishengye was merely installed and has since looked on helplessly and silently prayed for divine intervention.

The paradox, however, is that the current Umar Asiimwe’s suddenly emerged from abyss to declared himself ‘King Ntare V1 Rubambasi’ on October 29 2016 has, apart from a brief stint of confrontation with the government, reportedly been attracting moral and financial support from the government.

Until his ouster (the palace coup of December 20^th 2018) Asiimwe had according to reports got funding from President Yoweri Museveni.

It is said that it is this money that sparked off the misunderstanding with the family members before his sacking by the father who claimed that he (Asiimwe) strayed from his instructions of preparing ground (and not declaring himself a king) for the restoration of the next king of Ankole.

“I sent him here and financially empowered him to recover our sacred land from the encroachers and thereafter prepare ground for the restoration of the kingdom and not to install himself a king” Edirisa Kaweesa recently told me during a phone interview.

Be as it may, the government’s current ‘non-interference’ stance into raging fight among Edirisa Kaweesa family members, fighting for the throne the crown of Ankole kingdom, and the uninterrupted establishment and development of Itaaba ‘Palace’ has according to analysts sparked off a silent debate as to whether the government does not have a hidden agenda in regard to the fate of last King of Ankole, Godfrey Gatsyonga’s successor.

This unanswered question is what political and cultural pundits call the ‘Unresolved Ankole Kingdom Question’ which can only have resolved by The Ssabagabe (president).

On the other hand, the main two protagonists, Asiimwe and his father Kaweesa alias Igumira Kitobobo, are yet to recover from serious injuries sustained during the bloody fight that took place during the counterattack commanded by the now deposed and banished ‘King’.

The so-called Itaaba palace (located in Nyakayojo, Rwampara, near Mbarara town) has since been attacked by arsonists who left two shrines burnt into ashes and property worth millions destroyed.   

While both Asiimwe and his father, Kaweesa individually claim to have spent a ‘fortune’ to secure, expand and develop their ancestral sacred land into a magnificent ‘palace’, unconfirmed reports say that it is actually some external funding. And that it is the sharing formula of ‘the spoils from Kampala’ that sparked of the war.

Unconfirmed reports say that the central government could be the now invisible hand that has either intentionally or unknowingly fueled the bloody ‘palace coup’ following a reported secret meeting he held with the embattled Asiimwe.

Asiimwe’s former press secretary, Max Muhumuza, told me that the meeting was reportedly organised and facilitated under the auspices of another controversial Buruuli Kingdom of Butamanya-Mwogezi.

Although Asiimwe could neither confirm nor deny meeting President Museveni for funding, he told me that he has established relations with another controversial king MwogezI Butamanya of Buruuli, who is ‘a sympathizer and a friend who has been very supportive’.

Asked about the source of the funds he has been using to develop what used to be regarded by locals as the so-called Bachwezi sacred enclave at Itaaba – Kyabarongo in Nyakayojo, the disgraced young man told me: “I am hardworking and a successful businessman but most importantly, I have friends and sympathizers like the Buruuli king (Ssebaruli Butamanya – Mwogezi) who has connected me to high places including King’s Forum (the umbrella body that unites and facilitates  all Ugandan cultural leaders)” That was during the first phone interview held on January 14^th 2019.

In another interview held two days later on Wednesday 17^th, he said that his father’s action was driven by greed and this could be explained by his recent move to illegally ‘desecrate his palace’.    

During the last 15-minute phone interview from an undislosed hideout, the disowned Asiimwe said he was on December 31^st 2018 beaten into coma by his father and brothers and was still nursing his left injured eye after reportedly being ‘evacuated’ from the Mayanja Memorial Hospital in Mbarara where he was admitted after the ill-fated attempt to drive out his father from his Itaaba ‘Palace’

Unmasking Umar Asiimwe
A few years ago when Asiimwe suddenly appeared on the scene and started making headlines, I took time to inquire from both the widow of the late prince John Barigye (locally known known as Omwigarire (Queen mother) and Chairman of Nkore Cultural Trust Arch. Dr. William Katatumba (the prime minister of endangered kingdom).

Both of them separately and emphatically said that they had never had about the young man. So, how could someone simply lay claim to a throne when he did not have any royal blood whatsoever?

I could not believe my eyes when I recognized the person being referred to as the father of ‘King’ Asiimwe not only my villagemate in my remote birthplace village of Buyanja, Kyeizooba Igara (Bushenyi District), but my contemporary as a teenager. We fondly called him Diriisa during our teenager days. How could a son of Twaha and Fulumena become a kingmaker?

I consulted one my villagemates and peer, Melchoir Byaruhanga, and Hajji Wahabu Rugasha, a prominent official at the current Old Kampala Muslim Supreme Council administration. They were equally at loss.

Asiimwe’s ancestors
Asiimwe’s father Ediriisa Kaweesa is my villagemate and contemporary (although he is slightly older by 3 years). His father, now deceased was a Muslim soft spoken man called Twaha Nkarusigarira who I grew up knowing to be a Rwandese national.  

Asiimwe is one of the 13 children of Kaweesa, who was born and grew up in Buyanja, Kyeizooba subcounty, Igara county Bushenyi District. This is the same village where the late Dr Adonia Tiberondwa, the late Maj. Gen Levi Karuhanga, and Col. Jackson Bell Tushabe among other sons of the soil hailed from.

 It should be known that for many years now, Kaweesa has been living in Muhokya, Kasese district where he migrated after a misunderstanding with his father, Nkarusigarira, who allegedly disowned him and sent him parking. The cause of the fallout could not be established although he (Kaweesa) has and continues using the home as the burial grounds for all his deceased family members.

By Justus Muhanguzi