Are the Bafumbira People quarrelsome?

In September 2024, during the sendoff of the late Honorable Sarah Nyirabashitsi, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni made a statement describing the Bafumbira people as “quarrelsome” (read here too). This remark sparked debates across Uganda and beyond, raising questions about the basis of such a characterization and its validity. The Bafumbira, an ethnic group primarily residing in the Kisoro District of southwestern Uganda, are part of the larger Kinyarwanda-speaking people, sharing cultural and linguistic ties with Rwanda. President Museveni’s statement, while seemingly anecdotal, warrants a deeper exploration to determine whether it reflects a cultural, historical, or sociological reality or is merely a stereotype. This article examines the question, “Are the Bafumbira people quarrelsome?”

Before we get deeper, let’s explore the sociohistorical context of Bafumbira People.

The historical context and identity formation for Bafumbira

The Bafumbira (singular: Mufumbira) primarily identify as part of the broader Banyarwanda cultural-linguistic group and speak Rufumbira, a dialect closely related to Kinyarwanda (Ngologoza, 2018). In my earlier article, I briefly explored the origin of the Bafumbira People; look into that too. Back to the discussion, Kisoro District, the Bafumbira’s traditional homeland, was historically part of the Kingdom of Rwanda until colonial boundary-drawing separated it, placing it under British colonial administration while neighboring Rwanda fell under German and later Belgian control (Mamdani, 2001).

This history of artificial separation from culturally related groups across borders is crucial for understanding Bafumbira identity formation, and probably some basis for what some would call ‘quarrelsome’. As Chrétien (2003) argues, colonial boundary-drawing created new political identities while often maintaining cross-border cultural and familial connections. The Bafumbira developed a distinct identity partly through their incorporation into Uganda’s political structures while maintaining cultural connections with related communities in Rwanda and eastern DRC.

Vansina’s (2004) historical research demonstrates that pre-colonial sociopolitical organization in the Great Lakes region was characterized by complex interrelationships between different communities, with both cooperation and competition occurring simultaneously. The historical record does not support characterizations of particular groups as inherently more prone to conflict than others, but rather shows how changing political and economic circumstances influenced inter-group relations.

Wait! We will come back to this article later!