The Kisoro District Council met on Monday and decided not to create a new district called Bukimbiri. The idea to make Bukimbiri District was suggested by Juliet Kamusiime, a councilor from Nyanamo town council. She wanted to separate Bukimbiri from Kisoro District.
Juliet Kamusiime’s proposal to create Bukimbiri District was supported by Byamugisha Deus, who is a councilor from Rubuguri town council. They presented this idea during a meeting at Kisoro district headquarters, which was led by Amos Hakizimana, the speaker of Kisoro district.
Kamusiime argued that the people in Bukimbiri County wanted their own government. She said that the services in the area were not good because of tribal differences in jobs and resources.
She also mentioned that Bukimbiri has a lot of natural resources and tourist attractions. She believed that this could bring in money to develop the new district. Kamusiime suggested that the headquarters of Bukimbiri District could be in Rubuguri town council, and new sub-counties could be created.
Despite Kamusiime’s strong request, the council decided to follow the advice of Hajji Badru Mayanja, the Chief Administrative Officer. Mayanja suggested talking to the lower government units in Bukimbiri County first before making a decision. He also reminded everyone that Parliament had banned creating new town councils.
In response, Amos Hakizimana, the district speaker, said that the motion should be sent to sub-counties and town councils in Bukimbiri sub-county. Local councilors would review and discuss the proposal before it could be presented to the district council again for approval.
This is not the first time people from Bukimbiri have wanted their own district. In 2012, they tried to create Mutanda district by splitting Kisoro. Back then, Milton Mutabazi, the Kisoro LC5 Boss, and John Nzeyimana Kamara, the Bufumbira county Member of Parliament, got into a fight during a council meeting.
Mutabazi accused Kamara of making councilors from his area push for splitting Kisoro into two districts. Things got worse when Mutabazi said Kamara was going beyond his authority. This made Kamara very angry, and they started fighting. Other councilors had to separate them and told them to behave properly. Mutabazi criticized Kamara for saying things that caused trouble.
But in the 2016 general election, when President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was campaigning in Kisoro District, he told the people in Bukimbiri that it’s not a good idea to create a district based on tribes. Instead, he said he would give them a constituency.
