President Yoweri Museveni has come out to dismiss a long held belief by certain sections of the population that he was born in neighboring Rwanda.
Museveni while responding Thursday afternoon to a social media commentator who brought up the claim, said he is indeed a Ugandan Munyankole.
“First of all, I am not a Munyarwanda. I am a Musiita and my mother is Mweene Rukaari and you can go to the beginning of creation, you will not find any Bunyarwandism in me,” Museveni said in response to one Mwoyo Gwa Gwanga.
The talk about the president’s heritage heated up on social media last week following circulation of an unconfirmed document purported to be the birth certificate of First Son Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba in which Museveni’s birth place is stated as Rwanda.
However, even if he was indeed Rwandan Museveni said today that this “would not have mattered” because “NRM talks of Africa, not just the small tribes or even just Uganda.”
“Moreover, at a personal level, I have many Banyarwanda relatives by marriage.”
The president went on to explain that Banyarwanda are one of the indigenous tribes of what became Ugandam, first because part of Rwanda, Kisoro, was put in Uganda by the colonial borders and also because a part of Mpororo, Omutara, was put in Rwanda by the Colonial borders.
“A number of Bahororo clans actually have their origins in Omutara: The Bagina from Kichwamba, the Bakimbiri from Rutuungu, etc. There are other clans like Bakurungu, Baturagara etc. who are said to originate from Omutara; then, the area near Katuna is occupied by Abakiga,” Museveni explained.
“Therefore, those who waste their time trying to find which Samia is from Kenya, which Mukoonjo is from Congo, which Alur is from Congo, which Kakwa is from Congo or South Sudan, which Madi is from South Sudan, which Acholi is from South Sudan, which Karimojong is from South Sudan, which Sabiny is from Kenya, which Mugisu is from Kenya, which Munyankore or Rakaian is from Karagwe or Buhaya in Tanzania, are not part of our Pan-African vision. Since time immemorial, these peoples have always interacted in spite of the myopic chiefs that fomented wars among out people”
