ABAKHOONE FOUNDATION: THE PEOPLE OF BUNAMBO KINGDOM

The people of the Chwezi Empire were known as AbaChwezi . The word "chwezi" means "lawgiver" or “ruler”. The abachwezi were believed to be having divine powers and therefore were capable of performing miracles. The Chwezi Empire's most military belligerent ruler was Emperor Ndahura I kya-Rubumbi [known in Rwanda as Ndahiro , and in Buganda as Ndaula ]. Ndahura had a royal kraal on Rweisamba Hill that overlooks the crater lake known as Lake Kikorongo , in what is now Busongora County in Kasese district (the seat of the modern day Busongora Kingdom), in the Republic of Uganda. In 2012 Lake Kikorongo merged with the larger Lake Matsyoro [a.k.a Lake George], but is still visible on account of its perfectly round banks despite being flooded by the larger lake. Ndahura was a warrior-king and empire-builder, and so he was constantly leading his armies into battle. One day while on an expedition, Ndahura and his guard unit had become separated from the

Of all the shrines of the Abakhoone, the Ndekwe shrine is the most revered. When the oldest ancestor of the Abakhoone, Namada arrived in Bunambo, he first settled in Bunambo. This was around the year 1350AD ( though records being oral, it is my suspicion that this might have been around 1450 AD when looking at the generational difference of circa 30 years, since it said that Khoobi brought back the Abakhoone to Ndekwe around 1550 AD ). Namada on arrival found the Abalanda and the Abalusere. Their arrival shocked the Abalanda and the Abalusere because they did not understand how such a large number of people could arrive out of the vastness of Lake Victoria. Out of suspicion, the Abalanda and the Abalusere were a bit unsettled and unwelcoming. As a result, Namada and his people relocated to Igoye (Lumia hills or modern day Ramogi hills). It is here that Namada, his son Bwibo and grandson Gonja died and were buried. However, the spirits of the ancestors came and told Namada's g

The young men who were at the age of joining the army were known as "abasoliri". The bravest and most fearsome among them were known as "abalulu" meaning the "fierce one". The most elite warriors were called "abaofu" meaning the blind ones. These ones were fearless warriors who had been tested by killing a hippopotamus single-handedly. Among the abaofu different houses were allocated different roles during the war: House of Ndekwe also called House of Ng'ang'a formed the core leadership and provided some warriors too House of Membwe were the producers of weapons and formed the bulk of the elite warriors. They used to have furnaces for smelting iron on top of Singwe Hill near the modern day Bukoma Beach House of Khokosi also produced warriors but their main job was to mop up the battlefield to prevent any enemy who might might have faked death during the battle from escaping. House Khulang'u mainly supplied the warriors with food