Kibuku, Uganda: Efforts to resolve the protracted leadership dispute within Obwa Ikumbania Bwa Bugwere have gained fresh political momentum after Kabweri County MP Dr. Patrick Godfrey Wakida called for urgent intervention by Parliament and Government, while Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth proposed a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni if Bugwere leaders agree on a common position.
Speaking during celebrations marking the Sacerdotal Silver Jubilee of Fr. John Richard Owor on Saturday, Dr. Wakida accused some elders of commercialising the Bugwere cultural institution, saying their actions had undermined its intended purpose.
“For many years these elders have messed up this institution. They have commercialised what a cultural institution is and made it a commercial institution,” Wakida said.
The legislator said Members of Parliament from the sub-region would engage the Speaker of Parliament and the minister responsible for cultural institutions to chart a lasting solution to the leadership impasse.
“As Members of Parliament, we are going to meet the Speaker. We are going to meet the minister and we are going to determine for you because you have confused everything to do with Obwa Ikumbania,” he said.
Wakida also appealed to Speaker Oboth-Oboth to support the initiative should the matter formally come before Parliament.
His remarks follow a recent intervention by Budaka County MP Moses Goire, who raised the matter during the 14th sitting of the First Meeting of the First Session of the 12th Parliament, calling on Government to restore leadership at the Bugwere cultural institution.
Citing Article 246 of the Constitution, which provides for traditional and cultural institutions, Goire told Parliament that Bugwere has remained without a substantive Ikumbania since the death of the late cultural leader in February 2021.
“Since then, the Ikumbania of Bugwere has stayed without a substantive Ikumbania,” Goire told Parliament.
He appealed to Parliament, the Speaker and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to intervene and restore the institution. “We need the ministry to intervene and restore this cultural institution,” he said.
Goire also thanked President Museveni and the Government for according the late Ikumbania an official state burial, describing it as a gesture of respect for the institution.
His parliamentary statement came shortly after DailyExpress highlighted the continuing leadership dispute within Obwa Ikumbania Bwa Bugwere.
Speaker proposes meeting with Museveni
Responding to Wakida and other leaders, Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth urged unity among stakeholders, saying consensus would provide the quickest path to resolving the dispute. “If you agree with one position, we can meet the President and this matter can be resolved immediately,” Oboth-Oboth said.
He encouraged Bugwere leaders to set aside their differences and present a unified position before engaging President Museveni.
Even as political leaders pursue dialogue, the dispute remains before the courts.
Meanwhile, the High Court in Mbale has scheduled mediation for Monday, August 10, 2026, bringing together the rival factions in an effort to secure an amicable settlement.
According to a mediation notice issued by the court, parties in Miscellaneous Cause No. 008 of 2025 and Miscellaneous Application No. 045 of 2025 have been summoned to appear before a panel of mediators at the Supreme Court Building in Kampala at 11:00 a.m.
The leadership dispute within Obwa Ikumbania Bwa Bugwere has persisted since the death of the institution’s recognised cultural leader in 2021, with rival factions advancing competing claims over succession and administration of the institution. The disagreement has since attracted political attention, legal proceedings and repeated calls for Government intervention.
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