Rwenzururu region

Kingdom of Rwenzururu Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu
Flag
Location of  Rwenzururu  (red) in Uganda  (pink)
Capital	Kasese
Official languages	Konjo, English
Ethnic groups	Bakonjo Baamba
Demonym	Rwenzori
Government	Constitutional monarchy
• Omusinga	Irema-Ngoma I
• Prime Minister	Johnson Thembo Kitsumbire
Independence
• declared from the Tooro Kingdom	30 June 1963
• Autonomy	13 August 1982
• Recognition	17 March 2008
Population
• Estimate	300,000
Currency	Ugandan shilling
Time zone	EAT (UTC+3)
Calling code	256

in Uganda  (pink)

Rwenzururu is a subnational kingdom in western Uganda, located in the Rwenzori Mountains on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The kingdom includes the districts of Bundibugyo, Kasese and Ntoroko. Rwenzururu is also the name given to the region the kingdom is located in.

The Rwenzururu region is inhabited by the Konjo and Amba peoples. In the early 20th century, these two tribes were integrated into the Kingdom of Toro as a political maneuver by the British colonialists: the neighboring Bunyoro monarchy was anti-colonialist (see 1907 Nyangire rebellion) and the British wished to strengthen the pro-British Toro. The Bakonjo and Baamba initially accepted being arbitrarily made subjects of the Toro monarch with resignation, but asked the Uganda Protectorate to provide them their own district in the 1950s, separate from the Toro District. The movement declared that they were not part of the Toro Kingdom on 30 June 1962, three months before national independence.

After their request was denied by the colonial authorities, the Bakonjo and Baamba launched a low-intensity guerrilla war that continued through independence. The movement carrying out the armed struggle was named "Rwenzururu". While the movement began to achieve recognition as a separate district, it eventually became a movement to secede and form their own kingdom. The movement declared an independent Kingdom of Rwenzururu on 30 June 1962, three months before national independence, with Isaya Mukirania as king. The violence reached a height in 1963 and 1964, when Toro soldiers massacred many Konjo and Amba people as they sought to control the lower valleys. The Ugandan army intervened against the separatists, doing such significant damage to the Rwenzururu that the movement was suppressed for some time. The movement, however, achieved fame through a local folk epic.