Tribalism and Tribal Identities in Uganda, no need for polarization.

On Friday 22nd, October, 2010, while at Uganda Christian University, one of the lecturers that attended the competition that the Uganda Law Students Society and the International Committee for the Red Cross organize annually came close to me and asked, 'Are you Kenyan?' I was not surprised as much because my neighbor had in the last week observed that I have a Kenyan accent. But I didn't want to assume, I asked the lecturer why she thought I was Kenyan. She told me about my curly hair, that I speak so fast and yes, my accent!

In 2006, fate threw me to Pallisa where I was working in a restaurant. Pallisa is a melting pot of tribes; it has Bagwere, Basoga and Itesots among others. I was always bemused at how it was so easy for people to greet me in Ateso, than Lusoga or Rugwere. Almost everyone thought I was an Itesot. When I engaged one of my co-workers on the matter, she told me that all my physical features are Itesot, from my dark complexion to my height and small body.

Later in 2007, as we lined up at Makerere university freedom square (was helping a friend applying to join the university), some two tall boys fluked some space in front of us in the line. Annoyed at the arrogance, I told them that they should respect us and go behind. One of them sneered at me and blurted in heavy Runyankore, 'ogu omwairu egyi agyetsire Gulu?' meaning 'does this "mwairu' (Runyankore for servant) think this is Gulu?' I understand Runyankore because my mother tongue Rukiga is linked to it, but to this man, I was from Gulu, probably an Acholi. How wrong! Pretending not to have understood, I pestered them further and then they responded more rudely and even referred to me as a 'mukooko' (Runyakitara for animal)! That is when I lost my cool and I guess others in the line had been equally annoyed by the couple of these arrogant and no doubt discriminatory boys. We united and threw them out of the line, almost physically.

So, Brian Bwesigye, before disclosing his surname that always offers a free clue to his tribe has been mistaken for a Kenyan, an Itesot, an Acholi and a Rwandan (Tutsi)! Yet I am one simple Mukiga, born among the Basyaba of Maziba, Kabale! To judge a person's identity by their looks and physique is folly. Many a time when people realize that I am a Mukiga, the first comment is that I do not look as strong as Bakiga! My height, from an early age has always attracted comparisons to the Tutsi, my dark complexion when I started living in Kampala also attracted comparisons to Acholi and when I lived in Pallisa, I was a typical Itesot! That is not to mention my accent when speaking English, some have said it is Kenyan, others have said that it is Rukiga-influenced!

But that does not mean that tribal identity is non-existent because it can not easily be discerned by physical features. It is in fact important. Those who have lived and stayed with me, (they no longer judge my tribe by my looks) easily tell you that I am a Mukiga. My identity comes through many aspects of character. You can not see them the first time we meet. My ancestry, my history, my culture, my mother-tongue, my likes and dislikes, the taboos in my life, the values that my parents, community and folklore have inculcated in me are all that make me a Mukiga! Do not take it for granted that the hills of Kabale have also shaped this identity. Our interaction with nature shapes how we think and what we think and no doubt the hills have shaped that. One who has lived on the shores of a lake has their identity shaped by the lake.

And this is the identity the Baganda yearn for when they say there is one radio in Uganda (kingdom owned CBS), it is the identity the Bahima jealously guard including using force, when they clothe their fascination with large patches of land in legitimate claims of bonafide occupancy. It is the same identity that the Karamajong also want, despite the fact that other pastoralists like them get preferential treatment. The Rwezururu kingdom inhabitants of the Rwenzori mountain ranges want the same right to have their identity recognized, the same for Banyoro, Acholi etc. That does not mean we are dividing the country, it means we are uniting the country as we celebrate our diversity! So, why is there polarization among the different identities? Because politicians have messed us up! They have attempted to inflict their own identity on us, to destroy our identity in favor of theirs! And to judge our qualities and entitlements on the basis of our identity, than merit and citizenship!

Thus when Col. Dr. Besigye contested for FDC president with Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu in FDC, we did not hear any voice against "tribalism", when one won, now a one Nabillah is saying that FDC is ruled by "westerners", an ambiguous identity because as a Mukiga, to be humped together with a Muhima does not augur well for my identity! And was Col. Besigye voted for being a Mukiga and Muntu not voted for his tribal identity? And who did the Baganda vote because there was no Muganda in the race? Do people like Nabillah and Betty Kamya want an election where the eight plus tribes of Uganda are having a candidate each? It is shallow to resort to tribe to justify selfish ambitions. We should vote people because they deserve and have the qualities we want. And we should out rightly reject those who undermine our identities, those who look down upon us when we respect our cultures (like kneeling for our kings). Those who use tribal identity to divide us like one that once wrote that Bakiga should not contest for elective positions have no place in the Uganda we deserve. Our diversity should not polarize relations among us; our diversity should fortify our efforts to develop as country!