Chaos erupted at the traditional Imbalu launch ceremony on Saturday afternoon when traditional Kadodi dancers and Imbalu candidates, armed with large sticks and drums, charged the VIP section, forcing Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oboth-Oboth to be hurriedly whisked away by security.
The Speaker, who was the chief guest representing President Yoweri Museveni, had just begun reading the presidential message when the situation turned hostile. A large group of revelers escorting the circumcision candidates broke through security lines and surged toward the raised platform where Oboth-Oboth and other dignitaries were seated. Security personnel struggled to hold back the crowd before extracting the Speaker from the grounds.
Eyewitnesses and organisers said the disruption stemmed from delays in the programme. It was time for the candidates to proceed to the nearby swamp for the sacred Khuwakha Litosi ritual the traditional mudding ceremony that prepares boys for circumcision and links them to ancestral spirits. Instead, the prolonged speeches, including the Speaker’s address, held up the spiritual pathway.
“The Speaker’s speech came at a time when the candidates were supposed to be taken to the swamp for mudding,” said Emma Bwayo, secretary of the organising committee and Namisindwa District chairperson. He described the overall event as successful despite the incident.
Video:https://youtu.be/BEPvzX5NhlU?si=HZvPEZ5NH-CUdnYT
Joshua Mafabi, father of one of the candidates, confirmed that traditional dancers escorting the boys “tore through a VIP section and charged towards the Speaker. His security rescued him.”
This year’s Imbalu launch was organised by district chairpersons rather than a single cultural institution because of ongoing wrangles among parallel claimants to the Bamasaba cultural leadership. District leaders from across Bugisu, Members of Parliament from the sub-region, and the Kenyan Ambassador to Uganda were among those present.
Some locals attributed the unrest to deeper cultural sensitivities, claiming the presence of government officials who are not believed to have undergone traditional circumcision angered the ancestral spirits. Similar disruptions have occurred at Mutoto before; in 2022, Kadodi dancers also stormed the VIP area after organisers placed a tent across the spiritual path.
About 11 candidates from the BaMutoto clan underwent circumcision to officially open the 2026 Imbalu season. The rite, practiced every even year among the Bamasaba (Bagisu) on the slopes of Mount Elgon and in parts of western Kenya, marks the transition of boys aged 16 and above into manhood. Organisers expect more than 10,000 boys to be circumcised across Bugisu’s 26 clans by the end of the season. In 2024, the figure stood at approximately.
The Imbalu tradition is believed to date back to at least 1804, though oral history places its origins much earlier. The ceremony involves days of Kadodi drumming, dancing, feasting, and processions before the actual cutting.
Despite the dramatic interruption, organisers insisted the core cultural purpose of the day was fulfilled. The candidates completed their initiation, and the season was officially declared open. Speaker Oboth-Oboth’s early departure, however, became the defining image of the 2026 launch at Mutoto.
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