The Batwa (pygmy) king in Bundibugyo, Geoffrey Nzito, has expressed his desire to have a vehicle from the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni to help him run his activities.
Nzito said the President has always gifted cars to other kingdoms in Uganda leaving out the Batwa.
He revealed this on Thursday afternoon at Kirigime Guest House in a press conference after signing a petition, seeking government attention.
“Even the king doesn’t have a vehicle, yet the President has always given out cars to other kings. We also need recognition from the president,” King Nzito said.
The king also revealed that his Kingdom wishes to have its subordinates receive salaries from government, as other kingdoms receive salaries from government.
Museveni has got a tendency of generously donating vehicles to cultural and religious leaders in the country.
The Batwa, who are described by many as the internally displaced persons in Uganda are among the most marginalized Indigenous Minority Groups in Uganda.
Originally, the ‘Forest People’ who used to live in what later became the Semuliki, Mgahinga and Bwindi national parks and Ecuya Forest Reserve were forcefully evicted by Government in the early 1990’s.
Since then, they have continued to suffer cultural, social, economic and political injustices that have threatened their existence as people.
Baryeburya Julius, the spokesperson of the Batwa Kingdom said the government of Uganda has left the Batwa helpless, reveling that even their population has drastically reduced due to poverty and HIV.
It’s estimated that the population of the Batwa in Uganda is about 6,800.
Gad Semajeri, the founder of Batwa Development Organization (BDO) who also doubles as then vice chairperson for the civil society on indigenous people in Uganda said the Batwa could only be uplifted from their worst situations by having representation in parliament and the army.
“I have visited the Batwa from Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. They are all better off than us here in Uganda because they have representation in government,” Semajeri was quoted saying.
Among the issues that were also raised, the Batwa allege that they have never enjoyed government scholarships from any public university yet they cannot afford school fees.
They also reported that the Batwa of Rubanda and Kabale districts have never benefited from government projects like Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) and Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) among others.
John Bosco Akandwanaho, a Mutwa leader from Butanda Sub county Rubanda district revealed that the Bakiga people from Kabale District register organizations in the names of the Batwa to benefit from government and benefit on their behalf when they don’t know.
Henry Kamugisha, the Kabale district community development officer attending the workshop advised the Batwa to work along with the Bakiga by being shroud, saying they have distanced themselves from other people missing a lot of opportunities from government.
The one day workshop was facilitated by Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU), a non-governmental organization that works with various minority groups in Uganda to promote their cultural rights.
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