On Saturday at about 3pm, celebrations to launch imbalu (male circumcision) at Mutoto Cultural Ground in Mbale City were disrupted by ugly scenes.
This after a group of traditional circumcision dancers escorting candidates to face the knife tore through a VIP section.
They shortly charged towards the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Jacob Oboth-Oboth, moments after he had started reading President Museveni’s speech as guest of honour, forcing him to leave prematurely on Saturday afternoon.
The Speaker’s escorts and other security operatives on the ground faced a hard moment restraining the locals who had charged directly to the platform on which the Speaker was standing to address the thousands of revellers who had turned up for the ceremony.
Unlike the previous circumcision ceremony, which was organised by a cultural institution, this year’s was spearheaded by the district chairpersons due to wrangles among the parallel cultural heads over who is the rightful leader to preside over the ceremony.
The launch attracted several dignitaries, including the cultural leader of Lango, Dr Michael Moses Odongo Okune, and a delegation led by the High Commissioner of the Republic of Kenya to Uganda, Mr Ababu Namwamba, accompanied by leaders from Trans Nzoia, Busia and Bungoma counties.
‘The ceremony turned ugly after a group of traditional circumcision dancers escorting candidates to face the knife tore through a VIP section and charged towards the Speaker. His security rescued him,’ Mr Joshua Mafabi, a father to one of the candidates, said.
It is alleged that the candidates and dancers lost the spiritual pathway meant for Imbalu candidates going to perform a ritual known as Khuwakha Litosi (mudding) from the nearby swamp.
The Khuwakha Litosi ritual involves smearing traditional circumcision candidates with mud before the circumcision itself happens.
It’s a symbolic rite that puts imbalu candidates in fellowship with the ancestral powers.
Mbale Industrial City Division Mayor Abdallah Madoi said the platform where the Speaker stood had been erected along the traditional pathway for imbalu candidates.
‘By that time, speeches were still going on, yet it was already time for the initiates to proceed for circumcision,” he said.
Mr Emma Bwayo, the secretary of the organising committee and chairperson of Namisindwa District, attributed the situation to delays and late arrival of the chief guest.
‘The Speaker’s speech time came at a time when the candidates were supposed to be taken to the swamp for mudding, but besides that, the function was successful,’ Mr Bwayo said.
However, some locals told this Monitor Publication that the presence of government officials, who are not circumcised, angers the ancestral gods.
‘And traditionally, by around 3pm, the candidates proceed for circumcision rituals, and culturally they cannot be stopped,’ one of the locals said.
Background
In 2022, the celebrations at the same ground were also disrupted after a group of traditional circumcision dancers escorting candidates to face the knife tore through a VIP section.
The tent had been reportedly erected along a spiritual pathway meant for Imbalu candidates returning from a ritual known as Khuwakha Litosi (mudding) from the nearby swamp.
Every even year, the Bamasaba living around the slopes of Mount Elgon and parts of western Kenya observe Imbalu, a tradition passed down from their grandfathers.
The ritual signifies the initiation of boys into manhood among the Bagisu (Bamasaba), particularly those aged 16 years and above.
Records indicate that the Imbalu ceremony in Bugisu dates back to 1804, although it is believed that the practice began several years earlier.
Monitor Publication has learnt that this year’s circumcision is likely to attract over 10,000 boys. In 2024, about 6,024 boys were circumcised across the Bugisu Sub-region.