By Aaron Okotel
MBALE CITY
A growing controversy has erupted within the Bamasaba community over the recent change of the name of their cultural institution, Nzu ya Masaba, to Umukuuka wa Bugisu.
Elders and cultural leaders are demanding answers from the Minister of Gender, accusing the current Umukuuka, Jude Mike Mudoma, of acting unilaterally and disregarding established cultural protocols.
The dispute centers on a recent publication in the Uganda Gazette, dated April 8th, which officially changed the institution’s name. This change, according to the cultural leaders, was made without any consultation with the relevant councils or the general assembly, the supreme body of the institution.
“We are surprised to see that the minister decided to change without having our own to discuss the same matter,” stated the chairman of the cultural council, expressing the collective dismay of the gathered leaders.
“In this institution, we did a very thorough search to get the name of Umukuuka we Bamasaba. So it could now be the same thing in case there was a change, the same people could have been consulted to have an advised to see if it was necessary this Change,” Nelson Wedaira, the former speaker of the institution, who was dismissed along with four cabinet members for alleged insubordination to Mudoma, emphasized the significance of the original name, Inzu ya Masaba.
“The Bamasaba cultural institution is named after five clans: Mwambu, Wanale, and Mubuya, including our brothers across the border in Kenya, the Babugusu,” Wedaira explained.
“Calling the institution Nzu ya Bugisu excludes our brothers from Kenya,” he adds.
The leaders are now calling upon the Minister of Gender to restore the original name, Inzu ya Masaba, and to explain the process by which the name change was gazetted.
They accuse Umukuuka Jude Mike Mudoma of circumventing the institution’s established structures and making decisions without proper consensus.
The gathered leaders, who met on Saturday to address the issue, have raised serious concerns about the direction of the institution under the current leadership. They insist that the cultural identity of the Bamasaba people must be respected and preserved, and that any changes to the institution’s name or structure must be done through proper consultation and consensus.
