Prince Nyabongo of Tooro, dead lions and tourism police

On November 22, 2016, I spent a night in Jinja at a hotel recommended by journalist Michael Muwanguzi. My body guard decided to ‘guard’ our vehicle by sleeping in it. His intention was clear: save part of his per diem.
At about 11:30pm, I was called downstairs by the receptionist to explain something. And what was that something? The tourism police officer guarding the hotel facility had arrested my bodyguard for ‘sleeping in a car’.
The tourism police officer could not listen to my humble explanations. When I told him to do what a professional police officer would do in the circumstances, he accused me of being arrogant. My boy spent a night in detention at Jinja Central Police Station.

At 11am, I went to Jinja Central Police Station accompanied by Michael Muwanguzi. When I was asked to pay some money (bribe) to get my boy released, I cut wires and almost brought the police station down. I told the two police officers purporting to be handling the case that I would not pay a single coin as bribery. Michael Muwanguzi cajoled me to pay to no avail. When I swore on the sanctity of my mother’s grave that I would NEVER pay a bribe, my friend Michael Muwanguzi just knew I was a mad man: he fled; leaving me with these ‘hyena’ police officers.
Left alone, I threw down my magic wand. In five minutes, a call from police headquarters in Naguru ‘advised’ the OC CID Jinja Central Police Station to immediately call a certain Asuman Bisiika.
When he called me, the poor OC CID said he didn’t even know about this particular case. And as at 1pm, there was no case file. And the boy had not even processed in the Charge Room. Did someone say tourism police!

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Now, a pride of 11 lions in Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area is said to have been killed by residents of Hamukungu Fishing Village in Kasese District.
But that’s not the story; the real story is how Prof Ephraim Kamuntu, the Minister of Tourism responded to the incident. No official statement. The response from Uganda Wildlife authorities was even funny. Mbu they pay money to the district… What I saw was a cast of masquerades far removed from the industry (in passion and distanced).
But I can help minister Kamuntu. Boss, we need a policy compelling communities surrounded by conservation areas not to keep domestic animals. We have learnt that since January, the community has lost about 13 cows to the canines of the lions.
Clearly, the lions were no longer hunting because they had easy prey in the cattle owned by the community at Hamukungu Village. And one way or the other, the community was going to revenge on the unfortunate family of lions.

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Have you ever heard of Prince Hosea Nyabongo of Tooro. The findings of my unfinished research reveal that he may be the first Ugandan to acquire a PhD. My mother told me Prince Nyabongo of Tooro had studied all the bazungu education and was allowed by the Queen of England to teach Bazungu (their own magezi).
And in spite of what you may know about the Bakonzo and Batooro, Prince Nyabongo is credited for the modest opening up of what is now Kasese District. Kattwamake Primary School in Bukiira Village (my father’s childhood village) was Nyabongo Primary School.
Prince Nyabongo is also credited for the establishment of fishing villages in Queen Elizabeth National Park (thereby introducing the Bakonzo to the rich fish proteins). These fishing villages are Kayanzi, Katwe, Katunguru, Kasenyi, Hamukungu and Kahendero.