Very often, some people have found my name very long and chosen to call me Omwe. If the last letter was changed to read Omwa, I would share the name with Michael Omwa, the Deputy Principal of Uganda Technical College - Lira campus. He is from Lango in Northern Uganda. I would not be the first person from Kigezi, Southwestern Uganda, to share a name with a Northerner. My neighbour and very good friend from Bukinda who passed away very recently was called Oketta (RIP). His Rukiga name was Bikeitooha. My class monitor in S1C at Kigezi High School was called Oryem from Rugarama, Kabale. His Rukiga name was Kwesiga. Omolo and Opima (two of them) were from Rwakaraaba, Kabale. At Makerere University, we had a Guild Minister called Odongo resident in Lumumba. He was from Southwestern Uganda. These are a few examples of very many names originating from Northern Uganda but carried by people from Southwestern Uganda. In the early 2000s, I worked a lot in Teso, Northeastern Uganda. I was given the name Okiror. My friend Ilahi Mansoor was named Otim. We are proud to address each other by those names. Some names have their origins in Northern and Southwestern Uganda. These include Ogaba, Aguma and many others. Dr Apollo Milton Obote from Lango was President of Uganda (1962 - 1971, 1980 - 1985). He was loved so much in Southwestern Uganda that some people owed their existence to him. I was very young when then Army Chief Maj Gen Idi Amin Dada toppled Obote in 1971. I was living with my aunt Joy Masisi Basiga (RIP) in Nyakishenyi, Rukungiri. My mother immediately sent for me and when I reached home, I heard her say, Now that Obote has been removed, we are going to die. It is partly for this reason that many children were given names from Obotes home (please note the word PARTLY). My brother who was born before Obote came on to the political scene would not miss out completely. He was baptised in the Anglican Church to become Apollo Milton Byarugaba.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 12:07:41 +0000
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