Women Celebrated in 2025
Queen Muhumuza of Kigezi
Around 1895/96, Queen Muhumuza fled Rwanda for Ndorwa after the passing of her husband, Mwami Kigeri IV Rwabugiri. At this time, the Belgian, German, and British forces had begun to interfere with the sovereignty of the Kigezi region. As a result of this interference, the colonial powers had placed a ‘puppet king’ on the Rwandese throne, forcing Muhumuza and her son Musinga to settle in Ndorwa.
When Queen Muhumuza relocated to the Kigezi region she discovered that the people worshipped a deity called ‘Nyabingi’ which translates to ‘of many’. She claimed to be possessed by the spirit of Nyabingi and that the ancient deity was speaking through her. Muhumuza began her fight with about 50-60 warriors and mobilized women called ‘Abagirwa’ which translates to ‘Priestesses of Nyabingi’.
Feared and respected by her followers, Queen Muhumuza used their religion to create a referent power based on their respect and veneration. She was also much loved because she was aware of the grievances of the people and she offered them a way to fight the colonial powers that were interfering with their way of life. One of the ways Muhumuza was able to convince a number of young men to join her fight was to promise them the ‘sharing of the spoils’, Muhumuza told her followers that she was in search of a drum called Muhinda or Karinga in place called Ihanga, which was supposed to be hidden in a cave claiming that if this drum was played by her and her son, then they would low like cows. And following this, calves would come out of the ground and each one of her followers would amass as many cows as they wished. This propaganda left no man behind and soon Muhumuza had amassed an army.
It was these warriors that Queen Muhumuza used to attack colonial posts as well as farms of chiefs and individuals identified as colonial sympathizers and collaborators. By this time the colonialists had built administrative posts in Kisoro, Kihihi, Nyagesenyi and Muhinga.
Described by colonial governments as “an extraordinary character” Muhumuza took up the fight against the three colonial powers in the region. Her courage and ability to mobilize masses as a woman to face the colonialists head on was unheard of at the time, and as a result, her story inspired many disgruntled societies at the time, especially in the Caribbean, which led to the creation of the ‘Nyabingi order’ within the Rastafarian Movement. In 1909, the Germans led by Rusiina and Rwatangabo (rulers in Rwanda at the time) captured Muhumuza at Nyakitabire, Rutoba, and took her to Bukoba, Tanganyika, where she spent two years before she escaped.
Muhumuza went to Nyakijumba to meet with more followers of Nyabingi the Spirit, It was here that she sent for a number of local leaders to come and pay homage to her; most of them accepted to submit to her because they wanted a share of the spoils of war. Among the leaders who were sent for were Mutambuuka, son of Rutoogoogo the Omukuru of the Baheesi at Bukoora, Kiyundo son of Birirwenda, and Rwagara son of Rubyama, who were the Abakuru of the Basigi. These men curtly refused to pay homage to Muhumuza simply because they did not want to pay homage to a ‘woman usurper’. After this refusal, Muhumuza formed an alliance with the pygmies from Murugyezi, with whom she invaded Mutambuuk,a who fled to Mutobi near Lake Bunyonyi. This led Mutambuuka to contact Captain Reid, a British army official who was in Bufumbira at the time, to assist him with defeating Muhumuza. A plan was then laid to ambush Muhumuza when her army reached Ihanga Hill, which is now Gomborora Bubaare, close to Kabale.
The battle happened close to sunrise, and Muhumuza’s troops were woken up with the sound of British canons. a number of her followers were killed, and Muhumuza was captured and taken to Mbarara as a prisoner and later transferred to Kampala, where she stayed until 1945 when she died in incarceration.
Some of Queen Muhumuza’s followers believed in her spiritual powers so much so to the point that they believed that she was in fact the reincarnation of the Spirit Nyabingi. It was for this reason that Capt. Reid opted not to murder Muhumuza but rather place her in jail as he did not want to create sentiments of Sainthood for her among her remaining followers.
What started as a palace war snowballed into a resistance movement that created a legacy remembered a century later. Queen Muhumuza is remembered for resisting the establishment and norms that limited a woman’s capacity in society.
Because Of Her is an organization based in Uganda, dedicated to celebrating and preserving the achievements of Ugandan Women.
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