Mbale, (UG):- At least ten (10) kings from various chiefdoms and cultural institutions on the African continent have confirmed their attendance for the upcoming Imbalu ceremony slated for August 3rd 2024 in Mutoto, Mbale City.
Customarily, the Imbalu is a practice where hundreds of young men with circumcision gear are flagged off by the cultural leader of Bamasaaba; His Royal Highness Jude Mike mudoma for a series of circumcision activities across the region.
The Spokesperson of Inzu Ya Masaaba, Mr Steven Masiga while briefing the Bamasaaba on UBC Ratio – Butebo, confirmed that more than 10 kings and cultural leaders from across Africa, particularly from Ghana, Ngoni state, Swaziland (Eswatini) and Mumias in Kenya have all written expressing interest to be part of the 2024 Imbalu ceremony.
“The Ugandan cultural leaders have equally expressed interest to attend,” Mr Masiga noted.
He added; “the Umukuka has also officially invited presidents; H.E Kaguta Museveni of Uganda, President Dr William Ruto of Kenya and the speaker of Kenyan National Parliament Rt Hon Moses Wetangula Masika as top guests of the Bamasaaba community.”
The Imbalu Circumcision in Uganda takes place every even year and is characterized by singing, drumming, electric dancing, beer parties and happiness.
During the COVID-19 era, President Museveni froze all activities related to public crowding and in 2020, the ceremony didn’t take place on account of that directive and in 2022 there was a lukewarm attitude towards the ceremony since the Bamasaba had not got a mandated cultural leader to preside over such a ceremony.
Last year in August of 2023, the Government of Uganda in line with Article 246 and Section 6 of the Cultural Leaders Act 2011 gazetted the current cultural leader and this will be his first time to preside over such a ceremony in an official capacity.
The bamasaba are united under the Inzu Ya Masaaba as a cultural institution which is a one-stop cultural home of Bamasaaba from Mwambu, Wanale, Mubuya and Kenya.
Mr Masiga equally encouraged Bamasaba to fully prepare for the ceremony by planting sufficient and quickly yielding food crops for the imbalu ceremony.
He urged them to celebrate the imbalu ceremony within permissible laws and refrain from acting outside the law, since the circumcision period doesn’t cloth anyone with immunity to commit crimes.
“We expect our people to ceremony the imbalu peacefully,” he said.
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