Johnson Mujungu
Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:37:44 -0800
By Muniini K. Mulera In Summary Besides promotion of networking among Banyakigezi and non-Banyakigezi who support its mission, ICOB has an active programme of funding technical education in Kigezi through its Kigezi Education Fund. Dear Tingasiga: On Monday, December 28, the International Community of Banyakigezi (ICOB) gives birth to its latest offspring. The Uganda Chapter of ICOB, which has been in gestation for six years, will be launched during a convention at the historic White Horse Inn, Kabale’s oldest and most beautiful upscale hotel.
The Kabale Convention will also be a collective home-coming opportunity for
Banyakigezi in the Diaspora who, among other programmes, will enjoy a
celebratory feast with their brothers and sisters that is scheduled to be held
in Kabale Stadium. ICOB was formed in 2003 when a group of Banyakigezi met in
Toronto, Canada, and agreed on a mission to promote the cultural and
socio-economic development of Banyakigezi in Uganda and in the Diaspora. With
its headquarters in Washington, DC, ICOB has active member chapters in Canada,
the USA and the United Kingdom.
Besides promotion of networking among Banyakigezi and non-Banyakigezi who
support its mission, ICOB has an active programme of funding technical
education in Kigezi through its Kigezi Education Fund. ICOB has funded a
computer sciences laboratory at the Rukungiri Technical Institute and a centre
of excellence in Electrical and Plumbing Technology at Nyakatare Technical
Institute in Kanungu. The organisation is examining opportunities for funding
similar projects in Kabale and Kisoro districts. A major strength of ICOB has
been its deliberate policy of forming excellent working relationships with
non-Banyakigezi, one result of which has been a major ongoing grant given to
the Kisoro Demonstration School by I Read ABC, a Toronto-based organisation
that supports education for deaf and blind children in Kenya and Uganda.
I Read ABC, which stands for “International Resources for Education of African
Deaf and Blind Children,” was founded by Mr Opiyo Oloya, a native of Acholi who
is a senior educationist and school principal in Toronto. Mr Opiyo also writes
a popular weekly column in New Vision. ICOB has survived largely because its
founders were united in their commitment to voluntarily serve Banyakigezi
regardless of ethnicity, religion, political affiliation or other label.
Keeping partisan politics out of ICOB remains a central operating principle in
the organisation’s leadership.
Dr Frank Byamugisha, a senior official at the World Bank in Washington DC, has
been president of ICOB since 2004. His team has included economists,
administrators and finance experts from the World Bank and the International
Finance Corporation. It has also included social workers, a child psychologist,
a justice and correctional services expert, lawyers, experts in information
technology and human resource development, and medical doctors.
I have been privileged to serve with this team since ICOB’s inception, an
experience that has affirmed my view that when a team focuses on a clear
objective, and its members set their egos and personal interests aside, the
target community they serve benefits. This team has conducted the business of
ICOB with a commitment to democracy and transparency that have prevented the
rancour and scandal that have often sabotaged the efforts of many non-profit
organisations. Fortunately, the establishment of the Uganda chapter is led by
people who have shared our vision from the beginning. Dr Tumusiime Mutebile,
the Governor of Bank of Uganda, has been a moral and financial supporter of
ICOB from its inception. He is now the interim chairperson of the Uganda
Chapter. Dr Mutebile is working with Mr Athanasius Rutaroh and Dr David Behena
of Rukungiri, Prof. Joy Mafigiri Kwesiga of Kabale, Dr Peter Atekyereza of
Kanungu and Dr John Bahana of Kisoro.
To symbolise the global nature of ICOB, the keynote speaker at the Kabale
Convention will be Dr William Kalema, a Muganda friend of many Banyakigezi, who
is internationally respected as an intellectual and businessman. The masters of
ceremony will be Dr Abel Rwendeire, a former minister in the Uganda government
who has also worked for the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, and
Mr Johnson Mujungu, the Information Technology Supervisor at the Commonwealth
Secretariat in London.
There is a view that ICOB is a narrow-minded and retrogressive organisation.
Those who hold this view argue that we should be emphasising regional
integration and African unity, not organisations with a small focus like
Kigezi.
No doubt a united Africa is our shared goal. But Africa will remain weak
without strong regional unions like the East African Community. Our regional
unions will remain weak without strong and stable national members. The member
countries will remain weak without strong regional communities like
Banyakigezi, Banyakitara, Acholi, Baganda and so on. These communities will not
survive without strong families. And no family will thrive and succeed without
strong individual members.
A strong community of Banyakigezi and a strong and united Uganda or Africa are
not mutually exclusive. The former is a mandatory building block of the latter.
Mr Paulo Ngorogoza, the first African Secretary General of Kigezi, wrote many
years ago: “I would, in writing this, like to remind the settlers that even if
they become rich and change their mother tongue, they should remember the
proverb Gatagata munonga gateebirwe wa beene mbeho’ “They must never forget the
good customs and characteristics of the Bakiga, nor forget their own language;
and they must feel in their bones that they are Bakiga, remembering where they
used to live.”
Mr Ngorogoza wrote his book, Kigezi and Its People, in 1967. His reference to
Bakiga alone was because they were predominantly the ones who had migrated from
Kigezi to other lands such as Nkore, Toro and Bunyoro in the preceding two
decades. Had he been alive today, Mr Ngorogoza, one of the most visionary
leaders Uganda has produced, would have addressed himself to all Banyakigezi
and all Ugandans who have left their homelands. Next week’s gathering in
Kabale, which will bring together the Bafumbira, Bahororo, Bakiga, Banyarwanda
and Batwa in a fellowship of business and celebration, will be a symbolic
fulfilment of Mr Ngorogoza’s wish. It will also be an opportunity to say “thank
you” to friends of Kigezi, especially the Banyoro, Batooro, Banyankore and
Baganda whose kings welcomed Banyakigezi settlers into their kingdoms many
years ago.
For very understandable reasons, many Banyakigezi in the Diaspora will not be
able to attend the Kabale Convention. On the other hand, Banyakigezi and
friends of Kigezi living in Uganda will be hard pressed to explain why they
should miss this historic event.
Dr Mulera is a consultant pediatrician and neonatologist
mkmul...@aol.com
Johnson
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"I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet" Gandhi
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