Africa-Press – Uganda. Families of Rwenzururu Kingdom royal guards, who have been in prison since 2016, are struggling to make ends meet in the face of rising commodity prices and have appealed to the government for help.
About 70 royal guards, arrested in 2016 during the raid on the Rwenzururu Kingdom palace, have remained incarcerated. A total of 138 royal guards were released.
Ms Rachael Kiiza, a mother of 12, says it has been a struggle for survival in the absence of her husband, Mr Justus Masereka Rugheya.
“To look for money and pay fees for my children has been a very big challenge. Only three children have completed Ordinary Level, and I am not sure whether they will continue with further studies,” she says.
Ms Kiiza says before her husband’s arrest, he was a teacher at Mubuku Primary School in Kasese District.
She said he used to visit the palace regularly because he was among the people who had been assigned some responsibilities there.
Ms Kiiza adds that she has been renting three acres of land at Shs100,000 to plant cotton, maize and beans but every season they are affected by the dry spell.
“After the arrest of my husband, I decided to relocate the family from Salulti B Cell in Kanyangeya Ward, Nyamwamba Division, Kasese Municipality, because the house rent had accumulated to Shs800,000 and I could not manage to pay,” she said.
Currently, Ms Kiiza and her five children stay in Kihara Trading Centre where she rents two rooms at Shs10,000 each per month.
She says her older children, who would not continue sharing one room with her, relocated to their village in Kitswamba.
“What traumatises me most is to see my children every time asking when their father will come back,” Ms Kiiza says.
Similarly, Ms Margarete Kabugho, whose husband, Mr Johnson Kahungu, is among those still in jail, says her family is undergoing a number of economic hardships.
She says her husband was a trained tailor and that at the time of his arrest, he had gone to the palace to conclude a contract given to him to make uniforms for the royal guards.
Fees hurdle
She says her eldest son aged 23 years completed Senior Four but has since failed to continue with his studies due to lack of school fees.
Ms Kabugho says her business of selling clothes in Kasese Central Market collapsed because she spent all the capital on food.
“My business collapsed and I decided to start weaving baskets to earn a living. I sell each basket at Shs10,000 to enable me to sustain my family but still, it is not enough,” she says.
The kingdom prime minister, Mr Joseph Kule Muranga, has been severally quoted on Kasese-based local radio stations that plans were underway to bail out the Rwenzururu subjects who are still incarcerated.
Mr Muranga said the kingdom’s legal team led by Caleb Alaka & Company Advocates is doing all it can to ensure the detained Rwenzururu subjects are released.
Background
Last week, Bukonzo West MP Atkins Katusabe voiced his frustrations over the continued incarceration of Rwenzururu guards. Mr Katusabe told Parliament that he continues to get reports about the failing health of the jailed royal guards asking government to set them free.
But Deputy Attorney General Jackson Kafuuzi said there is a solid case against the detained guards and that they will appear in court soon.
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