Mediation Begins in Bugisu Cultural Leadership Dispute

What the report says

Nile Post reported that a high-level mediation process has opened in Mbale to address a long-running leadership dispute within the Bugisu cultural institution. Rival factions appeared before a panel of senior legal figures in an effort to reach an out-of-court settlement over the contested position of Umukuka Jude Mike Mudoma, with the article describing the meeting as the first peaceful engagement between the sides in years.

The mediation is being chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Emeritus Richard Buteera, with support from Solicitor General Emeritus Francis Atoke, Uganda Law Society President Emeritus Francis Gimara and Andrew Khaukha, who heads Alternative Dispute Resolution and directs the Judicial Training Institute. According to Nile Post, Buteera told the parties that the panel was not acting as a court, but as mediators seeking a mutually acceptable outcome, and urged restraint, respect and flexibility.

Lawyers for nine of the eleven applicants set out conditions including recognition of Inzu Ya Masaba, restoration of its original constitution and rotational leadership system, Mudoma’s departure on the argument that his term expired in October 2025, and a transition to the Wanale Clan. Mudoma’s side argued that he holds office lawfully under Uganda’s legal framework for traditional or cultural leaders, and said any institutional constitution must comply with national law.

After hearing submissions, the panel moved into separate closed-door meetings with each faction, without lawyers present. Nile Post reported that the process aims to settle more than eight related court cases and is being seen as a major attempt to reunite a cultural institution divided by years of litigation and competing claims.