Security alert as Banyala, Mengo loyalists clash over building

Tension is building up in Kayunga District following last Friday’s clash between the Banyala ethnic group and Mengo loyalists after the former seized a building belonging to the latter.

There is heavy deployment at the facility to quell any likely chaos.

A section of the Banyala cabinet headed by the kingdom prime minister, Rev Wilson Galimaka, last Friday morning seized one of the Kabaka’s buildings at Ntenjeru Village and had planned to transact their kingdom official work from the building.

Upon breaking the padlock, they (Banyala) accessed the facility and erected tents with chairs in the compound in preparation for an event that was to mark the official opening of the Bunyala Kingdom offices.

In an interview at the weekend, Mr Derrick Kaddu, the Bunyala Kingdom spokesperson, told this publication that they had seized the property in fulfilment of the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed between the Mengo establishment and the central government.

The contested building had hitherto housed the office of the Kayunga Resident District Commissioner (RDC) as well as that of the District Internal Security Officer (DISO) but upon relocation, Ntenjeru prisons officer-in-charge took over the facility.

At about 7am last Friday, some Mengo officials who reside in one of Kabaka’s buildings at Ntenjeru Village were, however, shocked when they found tents and chairs at the facility.

“I saw strange faces at one of the buildings and when l drew nearer, one of them asked what I was looking for and I was told to vacate,” an unidentified lady, who oversees Buganda Kingdom work in the Bugerere County, told this newspaper.

About six Bunyala Kingdom officials stood outside the building.

It was at this point that news of the seizure of Kabaka’s property began spreading, drawing hundreds of Mengo loyalists and local Buganda Kingdom leaders to the scene.

A verbal duel ensued between the members of the two ethnic groups, with some Mengo loyalists attempting to beat up the “intruders”.

As the feuding intensified, police officers from Kayunga Central Police Station as well as soldiers from a UPDF detach at Ntenjeru Village also rushed to the scene.

The Ssezibwa Regional Police Commander, Mr Jafari Magezi, too, arrived at the scene accompanied by some police officers.

Rev Galimaka and Mr Kaddu, who both reside in Mukono District, arrived at the scene just moments after the feud had begun. 

“As far as I know, this entire district (Kayunga) is Bunyala Kingdom. This building belongs to us (Bunyala Kingdom),” Rev Galimaka told the Mengo loyalists.

The police then arrested one of the officials from Bunyala Kingdom and bundled him onto a police pick-up truck. The tents and furniture that had been erected were also removed and put on the police vehicle.

The police later cordoned off the area.

Ms Rosette Sikahwa, the Kayunga District Police Commander, told this newspaper that investigations into the matter had commenced.

Background

The Banyala ethnic group, mostly located in Kayunga District, claim to be an independent tribe with their cultural leader, the Ssabanyala. 

In 2009, the Banyala protested a planned visit by the Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, to Kayunga, leading to the infamous 2009 Buganda riots. Lives and property worth millions were lost.