African Food and Art

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Charles Mumbere From CNA to African King

Charles Mumbere From CNA to Ugandan African King

King Charles Wesley Mumbere is the the first reigning king in post-independence Uganda to be arrested, remanded and charged with murder.

Charles Wesley Mumbere, known by his royal title Irema-Ngoma I, is the king of the African kingdom of Rwenzururu, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. In November 2016, King Charles Mumbere was arrested after a government raid on his palace in which more than 80 people died.

The government has accused the Rwenzururu kingdom in Kasese district of recruiting and training militants that are seeking secession from the rest of Uganda to create their own republic, to be called Yira. Before becoming king, Mumbere spent many years living in the US, where he worked in a Pennsylvania nursing home.

The Nande and Konjo are a Bantu speaking ethnic group, they speak Konjo language. They live in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Rwenzori Mountains of southwest Uganda. Their King Charles Wesley Mumbere is the the first reigning king in post-independence Uganda to be arrested, remanded and charged with murder.


Charles Wesley Mumbere African King

The Nande of Congo and the Konjo people of Uganda are a single ethnic group, called the Yira. They trace their origins to the Ruwenzori Mountains between the two countries.

Their population in Congo is estimated to be 7.5 million while in Uganda they are about 1.5 million, their king is known as King Charles Mumbere. He was crowned King in October 2009 after returning from exile in the United States working as a nurses aid in a Pennsylvania nursing home.

On November 27, 2016 Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) commandos attack King Mumbere’s palace in Kasese Town, leaving 46 royal guards dead as government forces pursue suspects believed to have been involved in the attacks. King Mumbere is also arrested and flown to Kampala Uganda as the army brands him a terrorist and rebel leader.

The King was charged with murder. The arrest affidavit stated Charles Wesley Mumbere and others still at large on March 24, 2016 at Field Force Unit Detach in Kidondo Cell in Central Division, Kasese Municipality in Kaseses District murdered police constable Kasimba Godfrey. The king was jailed in Uganda Kirinya prison until December 13, 2016.

King Charles Wesley Mumbere was granted bail in January 2017; the case was postponed until June 2017 and granted a bail extended to February 2018. His case to date has not been brought to trial.

Did you know? The Konjo people believe in monotheism, animism, vitalism, spirit, ancestor worship, and witchcraft and sorcery. They believe ancestral spirit could bring good or bad luck in the community such as getting a prosperous generation, having good harvests for the farmers and also good luck for fishermen also it can bring a curse in the community like death, drought and famine.

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