By Aaron Okotel
MBALE CITY
A new General Assembly of Masaaba clan leaders and delegates has announced its intention to elect a new cultural leader, or Umukuka, citing the current leader’s alleged abandonment of the clan’s constitution and the end of his five-year term.
The move, which follows a meeting in Mbale city on Saturday 30th – 08 – 2025, is supported by various elders and community representatives who claim the current Umukuka, Jude Mike Mudoma, has strayed from the “Inzu Ya Masaaba” (House of Masaba) tradition.
Ambassador Walimbwa Charles, the Secretary General of the new assembly, and former Prime Minister to the current Umukuka, stated that their disagreement began when Mudoma allegedly created his own organization.
“The man came out, he threw out the constitution of Inzu Ya Masaaba, which made him to be elected, to be sworn in, and gazetted as Umukuka,” Walimbwa said.
He accused Mudoma of prioritizing personal gain and financial interests over the future of the Masaba people, citing a rumored $10 million US-funded project as a motivator for Mudoma’s actions.
With the current Umukuka’s term officially ending on October 6, 2025, the General Assembly has established a search committee to find his successor. This move, Walimbwa explained, is in line with the Inzu Ya Masaba constitution and a recent clarification from the Solicitor General.
“We have come out to serve Bamasaaba, and we think for the future of the children who are going to come after us,” Walimbwa stated. He and the assembly’s speaker, Mzee Daira, have tasked the committee with identifying suitable candidates for the fourth Umukuuka.
According to Mzee Nelson Wedaira, the speaker of the new General Assembly, Umukuka Mudoma was elected in October 2020 following the end of the late Bob Mushikori’s term. Although Mudoma was not officially gazetted by the government until 2023, Wedaira says the clan’s constitution dictates that a leader’s term begins upon their election.
Wedaira states that their meeting was a direct response to Mudoma’s alleged decision to change the institution’s name from Inzu Ya Masaba to “Umukuka Wa Bugisu,” or the “Bugisu Institution.” Wedaira believes this move was made without consulting the elders or the General Assembly, and he criticized the new institution for lacking the foundational structures of the Inzu Ya Masaaba, such as a cultural council, secretariat, and General Assembly.
The speaker claims that he and other elders have been demanding an elected General Assembly since Mudoma took office, but their requests were repeatedly denied. This led to the formation of the new General Assembly earlier this year, an action Wedaira says was necessary to hold Mudoma accountable.
During the meeting, the assembly established a cultural council, which will act as a search committee, to identify a new Umukuka.
A delegate from the Sano clan, Molilo Wanga Karim, says the current Umukuka is “misleading” the Bamasaaba by changing their cultural institution’s name and disregarding the constitution. Karim, speaking on behalf of his clan, stated that they are disappointed with the Umukuka and are taking action to reinstate the traditional values of the Nzu Ya Masaaba.
The Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Masaka, Ahmed Washaki, stressed that the Bamasaba’s cultural leadership is not hereditary but rotational, with each of the three lineages—Mwambu, Mubuya, and Wanale—taking a five-year turn.
Washaki’s statement reinforces the sentiments of other elders and delegates who believe the current Umukuka is overstepping his mandate and disregarding the constitutional framework that governs the Inzu Ya Masaaba.
The search committee will seek a new leader from the Wanale family, in accordance with the clan’s tradition of rotational leadership. The constitution requires candidates to be at least 55 years old, properly married with children, and have had their children circumcised. The goal is to have a new Umukuuka in place by the end of Mudoma’s term.
