Busoga Kingdom - Cultura Safaris in Uganda

Busoga is one of Uganda's ancient kingdoms belonging to Bantu ethnic group,and it is the third largest ethnic group.The term Busoga means ans area where Basoga people stay.Some history about Busoga states that they originated from Baisengobi clan,who are said to come from Bunyoro.

Busoga Court of Arms

Origin of Busoga
Busoga's origin was around the 16th century when Prince Mukama Namutukula from Babiito clan left Bunyoro and moved Eastwards across Lake Kyoga along with his wife called Nawudo.They left Bunyoro with few servants, a dog,few arms and settled in the northern Busoga at a place called Lyingo (presently called Kamuli district).

At the new found land,Prince Mukama was admired by everyone because of his skills in hunting and his sharpness when it came to decision making.Apart from hunting,he also took part in blacksmithing,hoe making,and spear making.
The prince and his wife gave birth to several children and among these,only 5 boys survived.Time came when prince Mukama wanted to go back to Bunyoro and he allocated areas to his 5 sons to control and oversee.
Wakoli was his first son and he was given to oversee Bukooli,Zibondo had to control Bulamogi,Ngobi had Kigulu Kitimbo had Bugabula and Tabingwa was to oversee Luuka.

Time escalated and on realizing by the 5 sons that their father might not come back,they decided to regard themselves as the legitimate rulers over their respective areas.They continued to rule their respective areas till the 19th century when the colonialists persuaded them into some form of federation.The federation resulted into a regional Busoga council known as Busoga Lukiiko.
This led to a new beginning for Busoga and unlike their neighbour (Baganda),Busoga did not have a central figurehead (King &Queen).It was 1906 that Busoga was influenced by Bunyoro and Buganda and got one leader among the 5 chiefs.

Current Busoga

Kisoga Dance

Presently,Busoga has no official king due to the the wrangles in the kingdom.Their way of choosing a king among the 5 chiefs is the main reason for this.Every chief wants to be a king and therefore it has led to conflicts in the kingdom.
This method of selecting a king was first used in 1949 for the subsequent elections of the Isebantu Kyabazinga wa Busoga.

The biggest town in Busoga is Jinja which was Uganda's number one industrial town before 1972,when the then president of Uganda (Idi Amin),chased away the Indians from the country.
The town lost its glory and pride and it has not yet gained it's glory even with the current return of some Indians.
The kingdom's headquaters are found at Bugembe hill,a few kilometers from Jinja.