I am not critically ill – Rwenzururu King

________________

The Rwenzururu King, Charles Wesley Mumbere Irema-Ngoma, has dismissed claims that he is critically ill.

The 73-year-old monarch also cautioned against undermining the efforts of those advocating for his medical welfare and warned politicians not to exploit his condition for personal political gain.

The Omusinga was recently meeting a delegation of his subjects from Kabarole and Bundibugyo districts at his provisional palace in Habitat Ward, Kasese Municipality.

Briefing them on a wide range of kingdom matters, Mumbere cited a recent letter written to President Museveni by three Kasese members of parliament petitioning the president to facilitate his specialised treatment abroad.

The petition

Dated April 18 and addressed to President Museveni and titled “Petition for urgent medical support to His Majesty Omusinga Charles Wesley Mumbere Irema-Ngoma,” the letter was written by the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Kasese district legislators Ferigo Kambale (Kasese Municipality), Gideon Thembo Mujungu (Busongora County South), and Sowedi Kitanywa (Busongora County North).

Kambale reportedly said the king’s personal doctors had recommended that the monarch go abroad for specialised treatment.

Controversy

The letter attracted contradictory comments from the district community, where one faction commended the legislators while others faulted them for the move.

The critics included outspoken former Kasese Forum for Democratic Change branch chairperson Saulo Maate, who challenged the three NRM MPs to personally finance the king’s medical bills instead of merely lamenting.

Mumbere criticised those who attacked the MPs for their efforts, asserting that the legislators were exercising their constitutional mandate to advocate for his health.

“Those faulting the members of parliament are wrong. The MPs made no mistake at all and did or said nothing against me.” Mumbere said.

He added, “They did so in their capacity as the Kasese parliamentary caucus, which is mandated to advocate for issues of Kasese and the Obusinga and their voters.”

He explained that the Omusinga was privileged to travel abroad for treatment and that the delay was “not safe.”

He cautioned other politicians and residents who are in conflict over the move by the MPs to desist from dragging the medical issue into their businesses.

In an earlier statement, the kingdom’s first deputy prime minister and minister of finance, Baluku Patrick Muhesi, had said the kingdom authorities had only seen the letter “circulating on social media.”

“The king was neither consulted nor officially copied into the petition, and therefore we cannot formally own it as an official communication from the OBR administration,” Muhesi clarified.

However, Baluku Muhesi, a former Bank of Uganda Deputy Director, called for calm among the king's subjects, saying he was confident the president would look for a lasting solution.