As their new cultural leader was installed, President Yoweri Museveni galvanized the Bamasaba to embrace the wealth development effort.
Inzu Ya Masaba, the Bamasaba cultural organization, installed Jude Mike Mudoma during a colorful ceremony conducted at the cultural grounds in Mbale City.
The installation was presided over by Vice President Jessica Alupo on behalf of President Museveni, according to Pamela Ankunda, her press secretary, in a statement made after the ceremony.
Mudoma, the Bamasaba’s third cultural head, succeeded the late Bob Mushikori, who died of COVID-19 on January 4, 2021.
The institution was founded in 2010 and rotates leadership among the three families of Wanale, Mubuya, and Mwambu.
Mudoma emphasized his commitment to working with everyone in his speech.
He stated that his first goal will be to ensure genuine reconciliation among the various factions.
Museveni congratulated him on his election and installation as President of Uganda.
He sent him his warmest wishes for peace, prosperity, and good health as he begins his reign.
The President hailed the people of Kenya, whom he characterized as brothers and sisters, for joining the Bamasaba in installing their leader in a remarkable way.
“During such cultural functions, I am always pleased to see the enthusiasm and pride, with which our people display the rich and unique African cultures through the traditional dances, songs, attires, and language,” Museveni said in a statement.
He stated that the administration of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) recognizes the importance of cultural institutions as caretakers of African cultures, customs, and languages.
He emphasized that culture cannot be developed without the participation of traditional institutions.
Museveni stated that cultural leaders must ensure the preservation of African vernaculars and norms involving marriage and etiquette.
He explained that it is critical to recognize that some cultural traditions are regressive and, as a result, must be reformed or adjusted since they “infringe on human rights.”
He cited female genital mutilation, livestock rustling, early marriages, wives, and inheritance as examples of such archaic traditions.
The President emphasized the need of preserving the positive aspects of their cultures while discarding the negative ones.
According to him, the NRM government restored cultural institutions in 1993 as a symbolic recognition of forebears’ efforts to establish centralized administration, a prerequisite for better production organization and societal welfare.
He claimed that the kings and chiefs of Buganda, Bunyoro, Ankole, and Toro, as well as the chiefdoms of Busoga, had succeeded to combine scores of tribes under single administrations.
“It is, therefore, important to commemorate the fact that our ancestors had attained this level of development in terms of political integration,” he went on to say.
Museveni invited Bamasaba to join the wealth creation drive in order to create jobs and reduce household poverty.
