On the names of the royal twins of the Busoga Kingdom so far shared in the media, I thought I was the only one who noticed and is kind of bothered by the seeming cultural dislocation. It turns out I am not the only one.
I have read reacting posts on social media about the names of the royal twins which reminded me of a conversation I heard, in which the distinguished award-winning Professor Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí expressed befuddlement at Ugandans’ Eurocentric names, including of our royal families.
The twin sons of his royal highness the current Kyabazinga (King) of Busoga Kingdom, recently born in August 2025, are named: Prince William Ethan Nadiope and Prince Arnold Eli Nadiope, as it was reported in the media.
Meaning that the princes hold only their family name, Nadiope, as rooted in the culture of the third largest first nation of Uganda, Busoga Kingdom. Their other two names, their individual identifier – Arnold and Eli; and William and Ethan are seemingly Eurocentric.
Within the central logic of practices of naming twins among African-Ugandan cultures the naming of the princes makes no sense. It makes no sense if they were ‘ordinary folk’, let alone being of the royal household, which ideally is functionally the custodian of, the preserver of, the promoter of Busoga culture.
Perhaps, an example from the African-Uganda culture and royal line from which I am descended might help to demonstrate what I mean by it makes no sense.
My twin nephews are descended from the royal line of late Chief Yosia Engatunyun, who was fondly referred to as Simba, for Engatunyun in Ateso, the language of the fourth largest first nation of Uganda, Iteso, means lion. Chief Engatunyun is the twins’ great grandfather.
The twins’ grandfather, son of Chief Engatunyun, who succeeded their great grandfather as Chief of Ikariwok Isekelio Clan of the Iteso, late Chief George William Obityo Owaraga, is the father of their father; the latter named after his father, their grandfather, making Owaraga their family name.
In addition to their family name, Owaraga, my twin nephews each have two cultural names which locate them in their father’s Iteso culture – one is named Opio and the other Odong to signify them being twins; as is the tradition among Iteso.
To fully locate my twin nephews within their royal lineage one is named after his late great grandfather and the other is named after the late first older brother of his grandfather, the first son of his late great grandfather. The twins’ older brother, whom they follow, is the one named, Owaraga, after his grandfather.
To further root them among their people, each of my twin nephews were given a name to signify the culture of their mum. So, in total, each of their names, is composed of four culturally rooted names signifying that they have a unique identity and cultural lineage.
Love that my brother, papa odwe (father of twins) and my sister in love, toto odwe (mother of twins) gave my late papa, he too a papa odwe, the Chief, the honour to name imwatok (the twins) according to Iteso culture.
In their names, imwatok, my twin nephews, embody and carry forward the history of their paternal lineage and of our Iteso line, emuria koliai. This is what I would wish that the names of the royal twins of Busoga would overtly signify – their paternal lineage located within Busoga culture.
If the names given to the Busoga Kingdom royal twins are and remain as published in the press, then I hold a grudge against the royal household for seemingly refusing to participate in implementing the urgent agenda of decolonizing our minds of legacies of colonialism.
Specifically, I hold a grudge with the elders of Busoga, who should know better, and who should intervene to rid the royal household of its seeming affliction with a kind of ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ – affinity to be like and identify with the colonizer.
Norah Owaraga, Blogger and Social Commentator
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