Mbale Uganda – Tensions are rising within the Bamasaba (Bagisu) community as a growing faction of elders, clan leaders, and cultural custodians intensifies calls for the removal of Umukuuka III Jude Mike Mudoma from the leadership of the Inzu Ya Masaaba cultural institution.
Critics accuse Mudoma of overstaying his term, undermining the institution’s constitution, and operating without key governance organs, sparking a deepening rift in the Bugisu sub-region.
According to the constitution of Inzu Ya Masaaba, the Umukuuka serves a single five-year term without the possibility of re-election, with leadership rotating among the three traditional lineages of Masaaba’s sons (Mwambu, Mubuya, and Wanale). Mudoma, from the Mwambu clan, was elected by a General Assembly on October 6, 2020, and inaugurated in October 2023.
Many elders insist his term officially ends on October 5, 2025, and processes to elect Umukuuka IV from the Wanale lineage have already begun.
Mudoma’s supporters, however, argue that his five-year term started only upon gazettement by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in August 2023, meaning it would run until 2028.
The Umukuuka himself has dismissed replacement calls as “fake news” and reaffirmed his authority, stating he has three years remaining.
Key grievances include:
Bypassing constitutional organs: Critics say Mudoma has sidelined the General Assembly (the institution’s “parliament”), Cultural Council, and Governing Board, running affairs unilaterally through appointed ministers. Former officials, including ex-Speaker Nelson Wedaira and others dropped in a December 2024 cabinet reshuffle, accuse him of ignoring structures that helped bring him to power.
Name and institutional changes: Allegations that Mudoma has effectively altered or replaced “Inzu Ya Masaaba” with a new entity, sparking claims of creating a parallel structure that deviates from the 2010 constitution.
Failure to unite the community:
Some elders and youth groups claim Mudoma has prioritized personal privileges over development, reconciliation, and proper management of cultural practices like the Imbalu circumcision ritual.
In September 2024, a group of Bamasaba petitioned the Minister of Gender to revoke Mudoma’s gazettement, accusing him of hijacking the institution and disregarding its rules. By late 2025, elders formed a new General Assembly to push for fresh elections.
Mudoma has rejected these moves, insisting the Umukuuka institution is a Corporation Sole under the law and that Inzu Ya Masaaba (IYM) cannot override it. He has urged the community to focus on development rather than division.
The controversy has roots in a long-standing leadership crisis following the death of Umukuuka II Bob Mushikori in 2021, with competing claims and alleged political interference complicating the process. Some factions have even petitioned President Museveni to intervene.
As the October 2025 deadline approaches, the row threatens to further divide the Bamasaba people, who have historically lacked a centralized kingship but established the institution in 2010 for unity and cultural preservation. Community leaders on both sides say dialogue is needed to prevent escalation, with calls for the Ministry and courts to provide clarity.
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