GETTING TO LEARN HOW KINYABONDO FOUNDED BUKONZO KINGDOM BEFORE THE FORMATION OF TOORO AS AN OFF-SHOOT KINGDOM
It has always been repeatedly said, told and written that, when the imperial British colonial masters came to Uganda, they annexed the Rwenzori mountain areas, inhabited by the Bakonzo ethnic people; whose officials subdued, subjugated and oppressed the Bakonzo ethnic people under what came to be known as “Tooro Hegemony”!
Now, here the probe question should be, between the Bukonzo and Tooro kingdom in the former Bunyoro kitara Empire, which was the first to be founded? For the purpose of putting a greater emphasis on the subject matter of special importance and logical attention, it can be further repeated that, kinyabondo founded the Bukonzo tribal kingdom of the Bakonzo ethnic people, way back in year 1630AD. And of course this was shortly after the collapse of the Chwezi Dynasty during the year 1500AD.
It is historically probable that, the formation of the Bukonzo kingdom occurred simultaneously with the formations of other post Chwezi Dynasty kingdoms of Bunyoro, Buganda and Ankole – all in the present day country of the Republic of Uganda. And at around the same period of time, other kingdoms were formed in the areas of Rwanda, Karagwe and Bukoba. Karagwe and Bukoba are found in the present day Republic of Tanzania.
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION OF OBWAMI BWA BAKONZO OF BAKONZO ETHNIC PEOPLE OF THE BUKONZO KINGDOM
The political organization of Obwami Bwa Bakonzo ethnic people of the then newly formed Bukonzo kingdom – as founded by Omwami Kinyabondo was as below:
1. Omwami Kinyabondo centrally ruled Bukonzo Kingdom starting from the year 1630AD, of the forward date counting calendar.
2. The Bukonzo kingdom, remained on a centralized system of a monarchical government. All political authority was derived from the king - Omwami kinyabondo.
3. As a topmost and supreme tribal king of the Bakonzo ethnic people of the Bukonzo Kingdom of that time, below him – Omwami Kinyabondo – were vassalage leaders known as and called “Baise Balhambo”. These tributary leaders were horizontally well coordinated, they all paid allegiance to the king.
4. As he ruling monarch, Omwami kinyabondo also had another hierarchy of officials, both in the palace and mountain ridges. This is to say that, as a king kinyabondo was the head of the then newly established Bukonzo kingdom, but he was being assisted in his administration by the Baise Malhambo and other Monarchical chiefs, down in the rank to village chiefs.
5. Like his predecessors the chwezi rulers, Omwmi KIinyabondo built Earth Work fortification around his palace and capital for defending the Bukonzo kingdom from possible external attacks.
6. Omwami kinyabondo ruled as an absolute king of his time that followed the last regime of the chwezi dynasty.
7. Obwamiship (kingship) had to remain hereditary, as upon his death, his own biological son called katubiro, had to succeed him on the Obwami throne as the next king of the Bukonzo kingdom.
COMPARING THE ROYAL TITLE OF OMWAMI WITH OTHER MONARCHICAL LEADERSHIP TITLES IN UGANDA
Now, we are comparing the Royal title of “Omwami” with other local traditional monarchical and tribal leadership titles, commonly known and used by other ethnic communities in the country the Royal title Omwami is comparable to and is the equivalent of Omukama of Bunyoro kingdom, kabaka for the Buganda kingdom and Omugabe for the Ankole kingdom.
Note it that, all the three kingdoms mentioned above are believed to have been founded in the same time bracket. They were formed alongside the Bukonzo kingdom – but as separate and stand-alone monarchical entities of different ethnic communities or tribal societies, in replacement of the fallen chwezi dynasty – which had ruled the year 1350AD to the year 1500AD.
NOTE IT THAT, the Omukama of Tooro kingdom has not been mentioned. And this is because, by the year 1630AD, when the Bukonzo kingdom was founded by Omwami kinyabondo, the area now called Tooro, was under the monarchical jurisdiction of the Bunyoro kingdom. It is historically known that, Tooro became a break away and an off-shoot stand-alone kingdom during the year 1830AD. This therefore means that, Tooro kingdom was formed 200 years later, after Bukonzo kingdom had already been formed 2 centuries ago – by the famous ancestor kinyabondo, of the Basu – Banyangalhadynasty.