Mushikori: Museveni loyalist who reigned in controversy

“I call upon the people of Masabaland to vote for President Museveni. He is the best President in the whole world,” Mr Mushikori said during one of his interviews with journalists in August, 2020.
Mushikori died on Monday at his home on Union road in Senior Quarters in Mbale City. The cause of his death has not yet been established.

But in June last year, Mushikori was taken to Nakasero Hospital with the intervention of State House after being referred by Mbale Hospital, where he had been admitted with severe diabetes symptoms.

He was elected Umukukha (cultural leader) in 2015 after he returned from Canada in 2012, where he had sought refuge in 1985.

He replaced the first Umukukha, Mr Wilson Wamimbi, who was enthroned in 2010, the year the institution was recognised by the government.

Mr John Kizangi, one of the elders and a resident of Bulweta Village in Bukonde Sub-county, Mbale District, said the deceased never hid his love for President Museveni’s leadership, which he believed ushered in peace and stability. “He spoke his mind and this is why he ended up creating more enemies because some thought being a cultural leader, he was being partisan but short of that, he was a friendly and loving person,” Mr Kizangi said.

Mr Kizangi said as elders, they have lost a person who has been an encyclopaedia of Bamasaba culture and norms.

“We have lost a great man who had the history of our culture and norms at his fingertips,” he said.
Mr James Kangala, the secretary general of one of the parallel factions of the institution, who has also closely worked with Mushikori, says he was social and friendly.

“I worked with him in the regime of the first Umukukha, Wamimbi, where he served as kingdom minister of foreign affairs. He was very social and friendly,” he said.

However, Mr Kangala’s faction later fell out with Mushikori three years after he was elected Umukukha.

Intrigue
They accused Mushikori of incompetence, promiscuity, misuse of office and poor dress code, and threatened to impeach him.

The faction also claimed Mushikori harboured plans to extend his term of office from five to seven years.
However, a committee was formed headed by two religious leaders, the retired Bishop of Mbale Diocese, Rev Samuel Wabulakha, and Rev George Mechumo, the Bishop of the Diocese of Bungoma in Kenya, in bid  to stop the impeachment and succeeded in its efforts.

But Mushikori still felt threatened and so he called for a general assembly, which took place in Mabanga, Kenya.

During that assembly, leaders affiliated to Mr Kangala’s faction were voted out and replaced by confidants of Mushikori in what was seen as an attempt by the latter to consolidate his power.

A section of elders interviewed say Mushikori’s reign from the start was embroiled in controversies and internal fights due to a fact that he won the race with a difference of one vote.

“Mushikori miraculously became Umukukha but he was never trusted by the elders. They looked at him as an outsider,” one of the leaders, who preferred anonymity, said.

As result of infighting in the institution, currently there are two parallel cultural leaders, Mr Mike Jude Mudoma, who was elected by Mr Kangala’s faction, and Mr John Wagabyalire, was also elected by a faction affiliated to the deceased.

Daily Monitor has learnt the deceased had been scheduled to hand over the throne to Mr Wagabyalire on January 30.

Mushikori’s term expired on November 28 but he had refused to vacate, saying he would hold on as long as there are internal fights within the institution.
Despite the  shortcomings, the incumbent MP for Mbale Municipality, Mr Jack Wamai Wamanga, said the deceased had presided over several development projects geared towards improving the living standards of Bamasaba.
“He was a developmental and unifying factor among the Bamasaba. He was a good man,” he said.
Mr Mudoma said it is very unfortunate to lose such a senior citizen of the institution.
“He performed to his best amid challenges. He remained committed and we shall miss his leadership,” he said.
Mr Mathius Nabutele, the first deputy prime minister of the institution, said the Umukukha’s  sudden death is a big blow to the unity and development of the Bamasaba.
The Bamasaba are found in the districts of Mbale, Sironko, Namisindwa, Manafwa, Bulambuli and Bududa.

About mushikori

Mushikori was born in 1948.He went to Nanyere Primary School in Bududa District and later joined Nabumali High School.

He joined Community College in Nairobi, Kenya, where he studied railway operations and after graduation, was briefly employed in Pakwach and Masindi as a commercial officer.

In 1985,  Mushikori sought refuge in Canada, with  his family  and was later offered  an opportunity to study environmental studies at the University of  Toronto.
After his graduation, he worked at the municipality of Toronto in the department of solid waste management until his retirement at the age of 65 years. The deceased   is survived by a widow Gertrude and eight children. [email protected]