CHAPTER 47
WHY BUSOGA HAD NO KING
Having read all the history narrated by the natives and heads of clans of this country, it is now quite easy for you to understand why Busoga is not a kingdom with one king. The chief reason for this is that, on allocating land to his sons, Mukama or Kintu, gave them full power over their areas without subordinating his sons to any one of his brothers who could thus become king of the whole country.
Each of these sons, moreover, settled in his own area where he built a permanent home and assumed kingship over that area. They were all fully aware of the wrath of their father, which might be brought down upon them as a result of any attempt to oust any of the brothers, so they abstained from encroaching on the others’ lands.
Every family of each of these sons was a royal family with princesses and princes, including all kingly rituals or customs. Because of this fullness none of these families had ambitions beyond their borders. This is a very important consideration in Busoga.because it promoted harmonious living between the various kingdoms and culminated in the saying that ‘evicting a Musoga from his kibanja is tantamount to plucking the heart from his body. Up to this day the Basoga are very jealous of their land.
Each kingdom, however small, was self-supporting and did not welcome any invasion of any kind. For instance a king named Nadiope, from Bugabula, once invaded Bulamogi and fought a successful battle against Zibondo’s army at Nawaikoke. After putting up a resistance for a brief time, Zibondo’s army turned and fled; Nadiope, however, pursued them with the intention of capturing Zibondo’s mbuga. Just as the pursuit was nearing the end, one exhausted fighter from among the pursued turned and hurled his spear in the direction of Nadiope, who was thus fatally injured. His death marked the end of the pursuit and his men carried his body back to Bugabula.
Although the exhausted fighter’s act saved Zibondo’s army from capture, the murder of an annointed king was, however, an unforgivable crime. The man who so bravely saved Bulamogi was condemned and executed, together with his family and members of his clan. Some members of his clan, however, escaped death by identifying themselves with other clans, this incident shows the loyalty and respect which the various sons of Mukama had for one another.
Another reason for the absence of a king may be attributed to the fact that there being no roads in Busoga, the Basoga did not travel widely enough to enable them to come into contact with large and strong kingdoms elsewhere. This contact might have helped to arouse ambitions in them for more power, instead of being content with the relatively small power which they had within their small kingdoms. But once there is progress in acountry this ambition is bound to be developed. To appreciate the validity of this statement, note that at present there are incessant disputes for ‘bibanja’ and ‘mitala’ in Busoga. Even the royal brothers within certain kingdoms rebelled against their rulers and sought to establish their independent chieftainships.