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KAMPALA, Uganda /
The New Vision / October 20, 2009
President Yoweri Museveni and the newly-crowned King Mumbere of the Rwenzururu during the ceremony in Kasese on October 19. During a ritual at a palace, the President laid his hands on Mumbere’s left shoulder and then addressed the kingdom’s parliament.
He said the people of Kasese had shown love for their monarchy in line with Article 246 of the Constitution, which allows the restoration of old kingdoms and creation of new ones. He had proof the people of Kasese wanted Obusinga, in form of a resolution passed by Kasese district council, elders and other people.
Abridged news report
© Copyright The New Vision 2000-2009
Seniors World Chronicle adds
Huffington Post, New York carried this report on October 16, 2009
Charles Wesley Mumbere, Nurse's Aide In U.S., To Be Crowned African King
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania — An African man who worked for years as a nurse's aide in the United States, caring for the elderly and sick, is back in his homeland to be crowned king of his people in the mountains of western Uganda.
Charles Wesley Mumbere's coronation is scheduled Monday, October 19, in the Kasese district. He will rule over Rwenzururu, a kingdom of about 300,000 people – roughly the size of Pittsburgh – that is now recognized by the national government.
Mumbere, who is in his 50s, lived in the United States for 25 years. He kept his royal roots secret until July, when he granted an interview to
The Patriot-News of Harrisburg as he was preparing to return to Uganda.
"I find it was very good interacting with the people I was taking care of," he told the newspaper at the time. "It was very lovely and friendly."
In the 1960s, Mumbere's father, Isaya Mukirane, led a secessionist movement by an ethnic group known as the Bakonjo, and they recognized him as their king.
Mumbere inherited the title at 13 and took charge of the kingdom when he turned 18.
"I grew up in the mountains, fighting in the war," he said.
When he was 30, the Bakonjo and the government negotiated an agreement that provided for Mumbere to be sent to the United States for an education.
Mumbere arrived in 1984 and attended a business school until his government stipend was stopped amid political upheaval in Uganda. In 1987, he gained political asylum, trained as a nurse's aide and took a job in a suburban Washington nursing home to pay his bills, the newspaper said.
In 1999, he moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's capital, where he worked for at least two health care facilities.
He was "very loyal, a very hard worker, a very private person," said Johnna Marx, executive director of the Golden Living Center-Blue Ridge Mountain on the outskirts of Harrisburg. [
rc]
Copyright © 2009 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
Charles Wesley Mumbere, 56, shows the coat of arms of his kingdom during an interview at his house in Kasese, hours before he was crowned king of the ethnic group the Bakonjo people in the Rwenzururu district of western Uganda. An African man who worked for years as a nurse's aide in the United States, caring for the elderly and sick, is back in his homeland after he was crowned king of his people in the mountains of western Uganda. AP Photo
President Yoweri Museveni and the newly-crowned King Mumbere of the Rwenzururu during the ceremony in Kasese on October 19. During a ritual at a palace, the President laid his hands on Mumbere’s left shoulder and then addressed the kingdom’s parliament.
He said the people of Kasese had shown love for their monarchy in line with Article 246 of the Constitution, which allows the restoration of old kingdoms and creation of new ones. He had proof the people of Kasese wanted Obusinga, in form of a resolution passed by Kasese district council, elders and other people.
Abridged news report
© Copyright The New Vision 2000-2009
Seniors World Chronicle adds
Huffington Post, New York carried this report on October 16, 2009
Charles Wesley Mumbere, Nurse's Aide In U.S., To Be Crowned African King
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania — An African man who worked for years as a nurse's aide in the United States, caring for the elderly and sick, is back in his homeland to be crowned king of his people in the mountains of western Uganda.
Charles Wesley Mumbere's coronation is scheduled Monday, October 19, in the Kasese district. He will rule over Rwenzururu, a kingdom of about 300,000 people – roughly the size of Pittsburgh – that is now recognized by the national government.
Mumbere, who is in his 50s, lived in the United States for 25 years. He kept his royal roots secret until July, when he granted an interview to The Patriot-News of Harrisburg as he was preparing to return to Uganda.
"I find it was very good interacting with the people I was taking care of," he told the newspaper at the time. "It was very lovely and friendly."
In the 1960s, Mumbere's father, Isaya Mukirane, led a secessionist movement by an ethnic group known as the Bakonjo, and they recognized him as their king.
Mumbere inherited the title at 13 and took charge of the kingdom when he turned 18.
"I grew up in the mountains, fighting in the war," he said.
When he was 30, the Bakonjo and the government negotiated an agreement that provided for Mumbere to be sent to the United States for an education.
Mumbere arrived in 1984 and attended a business school until his government stipend was stopped amid political upheaval in Uganda. In 1987, he gained political asylum, trained as a nurse's aide and took a job in a suburban Washington nursing home to pay his bills, the newspaper said.
In 1999, he moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's capital, where he worked for at least two health care facilities.
He was "very loyal, a very hard worker, a very private person," said Johnna Marx, executive director of the Golden Living Center-Blue Ridge Mountain on the outskirts of Harrisburg. [rc]
Copyright © 2009 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
Charles Wesley Mumbere, 56, shows the coat of arms of his kingdom during an interview at his house in Kasese, hours before he was crowned king of the ethnic group the Bakonjo people in the Rwenzururu district of western Uganda. An African man who worked for years as a nurse's aide in the United States, caring for the elderly and sick, is back in his homeland after he was crowned king of his people in the mountains of western Uganda. AP Photo
