History in the making as Kyabazinga ties the knot

This is also only the second time in Busoga’s long and rich history that a sitting Kyabazinga holds a royal wedding. 

The first sitting Kyabazinga to wed was Henry Wako Muloki who took Lady Alice Kintu Muloki’s hand in marriage during February of 1956. 

Sir Fredrick Muteesa, the Kabaka of Buganda, who had earlier struck a friendship with Muloki when the two attended Budo Junior School and later King’s College Budo in the 1940s, was the best man at the colourful ceremony.

Muloki and Lady Alice took their vows at St James Church in Jinja town. The newlyweds hosted their guests at the Kyabazinga’s Palace in Bugembe. At the time the palace was the structure that was initially the official residence of the bishop. It has since been transformed into the offices of the diocese.

‘Show us somebody’

Whereas there have always been rumours linking him to several ladies, the current Kyabazinga has always kept his love life out of the public domain. That perhaps explains why the 34-year-old Nadiope Gabula IV had by his 31st birthday come under pressure from sections of his subjects “to show them somebody.” 

Ms Proscovia Salaamu Musumba, the vice national chairman of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, was one of those that made the demand. 

“The people in Busoga region want to be ‘breastfed,’ eat food, take tea in their home. It is, therefore, very important that the Kyabazinga takes a wife,” Ms Musumba argued. 

For Mr Mathias Mutatyama, a member of the Busoga Lukiiko, a move in that direction would help enhance the Kyabazinga’s image as a man. 

“We want him to be like other traditional leaders who attend functions with their queens. The Kabaka attends functions with the Nnabagereka, just like the Omukama of Bunyoro attends functions with the Omugo,” he argued. 

However, even when there were calls for him to “show them somebody,” there was strong opposition to the possibility of Nadiope Gabula IV presenting an inhebantu from outside Busoga. 

It is not clear whether he had at the time been inclined to look beyond the boundaries of Busoga, but Mr Andrew Ntange, the kingdom’s Information minister, seemed to move to prepare the Kyabazinga’s subjects for such an eventuality. 

“The kingdom will issue a communique on that matter at an appropriate time. As you are aware, the Kyabazinga is free to marry from within or outside Busoga. His choice will be made known whenever he makes it,” Mr Ntange said.

History repeated
That said; some of the events in the run-up to Saturday’s wedding are quite similar to what transpired in Busoga in 1955 following the election of the 34-year-old Muloki as the Isebantu Kyabazinga of Busoga. Back then, Muloki replaced Sir William Wilberforce Kadhumbula Nadiope, the grandfather of Gabula IV. 

Dr Frank Nabwiso, the co-author of the book entitled Evolution of the 11 Chiefdoms and the institution of the Kyabazingaship of Busoga from 1400 to 2016, says that demands for an Inhebantu were made almost immediately after Muloki’s election. 

“I recall that when he had to be installed, he had to walk with somebody. Given that he did not have a wife, it had to be his sister, but Erios Kalikwani was away in the United Kingdom, so the late Erios Joy Batambuze had to take her place,” Dr Nabwiso says. 

At the time, Muloki was “seeing someone” but she was not from the Sub-region of Busoga. 

“Muloki’s girlfriend at that time was from [theSub-region of] Bunyoro,” Dr Nabwiso told Saturday Monitor, adding, “There were some concerns that although the Banyoro are related to the Basoga, the Inhebantu would not be able to communicate in Lusoga.”

That set the stage for concerted efforts to find Muloki “a good Musoga girl” to marry. A team of members of the Mothers’ Union was officially assigned the task of finding the best suitable girl to become the Inhebantu. 

Information about the choices that were available to them and Muloki is difficult to come by, but according to Prince Fredrick Mukunya, the eldest son of Kyabazinga Henry Wako Muloki, his father threw out all the candidates and made his own choice.

“He told them that he had already identified the Reverend’s daughter (Alice Kintu) as the person that he wanted to take for a wife,” Fredrick Muloki told this newspaper. 

Muloki had apparently spotted her in Kaliro in the 1940s when her father, Rev Zachariah Kintu, was a clergyman in Kaliro near Zibondo’s palace. 

“The Clergy and lay readers in the Anglican Church during that time would be introduced to the Chiefs once they were posted to their areas. The Chiefs were responsible for looking after them. The Clergy would go to these Chiefs during the Easter and Christmas festivities. So Muloki got to know Alice when Rev Kintu and the girls would go to the palace to rejoice and pray,” Dr Nabwiso says.

No brainer
It was not difficult for Busoga to accept Muloki’s choice for a wife. She had gone through Buckely High School, Gayaza High School and then trained as a Teacher in Buoloba Teacher Training College before being posted to Bishop Willis Demonstration School. It was from there that she joined Bishop Willis Teachers’ Training College. 

“She was considered to be a suitable person, because not only was she beautiful, but also had this respectable background and respectable educational achievements.” Dr Nabwiso says. 

Just as was the case with Muloki, there had been several attempts to find a “suitable Inhebantu” for Gabula IV. 

As things turned out, he borrowed a leaf from Kyabazinga Muloki when he made his own choice.