A History of the Gonyi Clan of Buyobo Bugisu

Kuundu of Mount Elgon had three sons; Womutwa, Siboolo and Gonyi.

Our ancestor Gonyi, one of Kuundu’s sons was a very wealthy man and greatly respected. He was tall, strong and dark-skinned. He was a humorous and kind man and was well-liked by many people. The name for the mountain Elgon in Eastern Uganda was a mispronunciation of his name by the European colonisers, from ‘El Gonyi’. When the colonisers inquired from the locals the name of the mountain, they were told it was the ‘Mountain of Gonyi’.
As the families and animals of Kuundu’s children grew and multiplied, they descended onto the lower slopes of the mountain in search of land for expansion. They settled in an area called Butandiga, on one of the ridges of Mt Elgon. Butandiga is now a sub-county in the present Budadiri county of Sironko district in Eastern Uganda. Gonyi’s land in Mbaya, Butandiga sub-county was eventually sold off by the children of his brothers in 1993.

Gonyi was a blacksmith, in the tradition of his forebears. He used to burn a special type of stone to extract iron ore for making tools like hoes, knives, spears, arrows and others. He was a skilful craftsman who gained both fame and recognition for his work. Gonyi traded in Butandiga and beyond with his craft. He exchanged metal tools for animals, such as cows, goats and sheep. Knowledge of his work spread to the Buyobo plains where he used to travel to sell metal implements.

In Buyobo, he met and made friends with an elder, Mzee Nangoye.   Nangoye had emigrated from Bufumbo area of Bungokho in what was previously Mbale district in Eastern Uganda to Buyobo. Gonyi had to travel back and forth between Butandika, his home area and Buyobo to supply tools to his customers. Sometimes, Gonyi would be invited to spend the night at Mzee Nangoye’s home if it was raining, or too dark to travel.

One day, Mzee Nangoye requested Gonyi to live with him as he was getting quite old. He promised to give Gonyi his youngest wife, Namakambo, if he accepted. Namakambo was a young girl given in marriage to Nangoye because he was very rich. She was born in Bugitimwa, from the present day sub-county of Bumasifwa, Budadiri, in Sironko district.

Gonyi returned to Butandiga to consult with his brothers and relatives on this important issue. Some of his brothers and relatives paid a visit to Nangoye’s home and after further discussions agreed for Gonyi to join Nangoye. Gonyi soon returned to Buyobo and settled with Namakambo. Some of Gonyi’s brothers also immigrated from Butandiga to Gamatui Sipi in the current district of Kapchorwa.

Gonyi and Namakambo had three children; Nabudere, Dindi and Sodo. Nabudere had a sole daughter whose offspring can be traced at Bugwagi, Bukimali, Buyobo in the home of the late Wododa. The only living male in the lineage of Nabudere is Woniala Wododa living at Bukimali on Budadiri-Mbale road.

Gonyi and Namakambo’s second son Dindi had one boy Kibombi. Kibombi and Mugide had three sons; Erukana Madasi Magombe, Wanyama Tomasi, Muwambo Jude, and one daughter, Kevina Namakambo.

The third son of Gonyi called Sodo had several children. His first wife, Nabude, from the clan of Banabandy of Bugwagi, bore very many children and only one, Muboji, the mother to Nasusi, survived the war of Gamatui. The rest of the children were killed at Gamatui Sipi with Sodo. The second and youngest wife to Sodo was called Wanyenze Maliza a daughter of Banakwasi, Bulumolo, Buyobo who produced one daughter, Nambafu, and the second son, Muduli Wonadoya Anderea, followed by his brothers, Wogidoso Daniel (Wodyemira) and Gimei Sodo.

When Sodo’s brothers Nabudere and Dindi died, he felt very lonely and decided to follow his cousin brothers who had left Butandiga and had settled at Gamatui, Sipi in present day Kapchorwa district. When his relatives and neighbours heard of this, they tried to discourage him from doing so. However, Sodo insisted and one morning asked his family to pack and prepare to leave for Gamatui Sipi. By this time, Sodo’s first wife Nabude had died. He left with his second wife Wanyenze, the children and the animals.

Sodo, like Gonyi his father before him was a blacksmith, and was also quite wealthy. Sodo with his family ascended and travelled towards Gamatui Sipi. When they reached an area called Kamoko, they rested at a friend’s home whose name was Matui Mungusho. Sodo informed Matui of his plans to join his cousin brothers at Gamatui Sipi. When Matui heard this, he informed him that the people at Gamatui Sipi were hostile to new settlers and instead discouraged him from taking his family and the children any further.

Sodo did not heed Matui’s warning and proceeded on his journey. They arrived at Gamatui Sipi and found that his cousin brothers had left for Kapchorwa. Some of the relatives who had stayed behind showed Sodo the land where his cousins used to stay. Sodo constructed a kraal with huts for his family and they stayed for a little while. Eventually he received news that his cousins had left Kapchorwa for Bukwa. It was not long before the people of the Bumatiek clan conspired to kill Sodo and his family and take his animals. One day, when Sodo’s wife Wanyenze went to the well to fetch water, women from the Bumatiek clan warned her of their husbands’ conspiracy to kill Sodo and his family because they were Bagisu who had come to Gamatui to take their land.

Wanyenze returned home and reported to her husband what she had heard from the Bumatiek women but he brushed her off.

One cloudy morning as Wanyenze opened the door to come out of their hut, she saw men armed with spears surrounding their home. She rushed back into the hut to inform her husband. Sodo made an alarm and quickly armed himself and the older children. Sodo, together with his sons and daughters put up a brave fight but the enemy were too many for them. They were overpowered and killed. The Bumatiek clan also suffered severe casualties and lost many men during the attack.

At the time of the attack, Wanyenze was pregnant with Gimei. The enemy believed it was a bad omen to kill pregnant women and very young children. Wanyenze was allowed safe passage with the three little children she was holding, carrying one of them on her back.

The attackers took all the animals and burned down the homestead. Wanyenze stood on the other side of the hill and saw their kraal going up in flames and realised that all her family had been killed.

Wanyenze moved down to Kamooko with her three children and reported to Mangusho Matui who welcomed her and her children. She narrated the whole story to Mangusho who in turn wept for the demise of his friend Sodo and the children.  Matui asked Wanyenze to stay with them at Kamooko but she refused. After a few days of rest, Matui arranged for escorts to lead Wanyenze down to Buyobo through Butandiga. When Wanyenze reached Buyobo, she had the three children; Nambafu, Muduli and Wogidoso. After a few months, she gave birth to a baby boy whom she named Gimei.

At the time, Wanyenze was still young and a certain man from Bumayamba village wanted to marry her on condition that she kills her son Wogidoso because mucus used to run from his nose all the time, and he did not want to live with a child who eats mucus. Our grandmother Wanyenze wept and rejected this man who wanted to kill her son. So until the day Wanyenze died, she called Wogidoso by the name ‘Wodyemira’ (meaning one who eats mucus)

One day, the British colonisers together with Baganda administrators visited the village. The Baganda leaders looked for local children to be educated in reading and writing. The people of the area heard about this, but the parents hid their children as they did not want the Baganda to take them believing their children would get lost. So they reported to the Baganda that there was only one orphan boy called Wodyemira in the village who would be availed to them. The local people directed the Baganda chiefs to Wanyenze’s home and they requested her to give them her son called Wodyemira. They convinced Wanyenze to allow her son to go with them as they were going to teach him to read and write and they also promised to bring him back after training. She accepted but with mixed feelings.

The first Baganda who entered Bugisu were Muslims hence Islamic influence grew in the area. Since Wogidoso (his birth name) had been registered for education in the names of ‘Wodyemira’, it was very difficult to reverse it. He was 15 years old then and was not circumcised as he was still young. Wodyemira was later circumcised in the Muslim faith and given the name Zakaliya. After healing, he continued with his studies learning how to read and write. He also studied the Holy Quran and other Islamic readings and rituals.

His mother, Wanyenze Maliza got married again to a man called Bwirura and gave birth to a baby girl, Nafuna who was her last born.

When Wodyemira Zakaliya qualified to read and write, he was appointed as a Mwalimu (Teacher) attached to a county chief of Budadiri by the name of Sareh. At this time both present day Kapchorwa and Bukwa districts were under the Budadiri County administration. It was in 1934 that Kapchorwa attained a county status. During the census of 1922, there were only 39 graduated tax payers in Kapchorwa. Kapchorwa gained district status in 1962.

As the Baganda leaders had administered Bugisu for a long time, the white colonialists saw it prudent that indigenous Bagisu take over the affairs of their administration to avoid discontent and uprising from the local natives. This opened an opportunity for Wodyemira Zakaliya who was then appointed a Muluka Chief. In 1925, the white colonialists fearing Islamist expansion instructed all local chiefs to convert to Christianity. Wodyemira was then baptized as Daniel. In 1930, he was promoted to Sub-County Chief of Buteza.

In 1936, both the British Governors for Kenya and Uganda agreed to extend the Kenyan boundary to the present location of Masaba Senior Secondary School in Eastern Uganda. The European settlers wanted to secure the whole of Mountain Elgon and surrounding regions for farming. The British Governors wanted all the sub-county chiefs to endorse on this agreement. The revolutionary sub-county chiefs, including Wodyemira refused to honour this arrangement. Therefore, in 1939, all the sub-county chiefs who did not endorse the expansionist agreement were prematurely retired with pension, except one Gidale who endorsed it.

Wanyenze Maliza died in 1931 and is buried at Buyobo, Bumayamba, Bugisu. On this note I am going to mention her children and grandchildren in order of age.

Nambafu, her first daughter produced one son whom she named Nabudere Zerubaberi. She passed in 1984 and is buried at Bumusi, Buyobo, Budadiri where she had married.

Muduli Wonadoya Andrea who died in 1962, produced Nacwera Gonyi Henry who died in 1980 and is buried at Buyobo, Bumayamba. Nafuna Phoebe a daughter who died in 1963 and rests at Bukimali, Bugwagi, Buyobo where she had married. Wojambuka Sekaniya is living. Wasige Muduli who died in 1987 and rests at Buyobo, Bumayamba. Gumonye Yosiya is living. Mafabi Enos is living. John Budeyo who passed in 1997 and buried at Buyobo, Bumayamba.

Wodyemira Wogidoso Daniel who passed August, 1972 produced the following children:

1.      Kamesi Mitulesi (daughter); born 1918, deceased 1954

2.      Sodo Erusaniya (son); born 1919, deceased 1994

3.      Gyabi Erika (son); born 1921, living

4.      Mashate Erieza (son) born 1922, deceased, 2010

5.      Mugide Hadija (daughter); born 1922, deceased 2006

6.      Nambafu Erina (daughter); born 1922, deceased 2004

7.      Kibombi Yolamu (son); born 1924, deceased 2003

8.      Kayegi Grace (daughter); born 1925, deceased 1961

9.      Wambedde Wodyemira (son); born 1925, deceased 1949

10. Womadere Benedict (son); born 1925, living

11. Makada Misaki (son); born 1928, living

12. Bwairisa James (son); born 1929, living

13. Wagooli John (son); born 1930, living

14. Masumba Misulamu (son); born 1930, deceased 2006

15. Prof Dani Wadada Nabudere (son); born 1932, deceased (2011)

16. Wanyenze Florence (daughter); born 1932, deceased 1973

17. Mabberi Ignatius (son); born 1934, deceased 1936

18. Wagooli Charles (son); born 1936, deceased 1986

19. Wamboza Yosamu (son); born 1936, living

20. Wanyenze Margaret (daughter); born 1939, deceased 1973

21. Wegosasa Beth (daughter); born 1939, deceased 1983

22. Nabuduwa Aida (daughter); born 1945, deceased 2006

23. Wadada Peter (son); born 1947, living

24. Wambedde Richard (son); born 1950, living
25. Obadiah Mudebo (son); born ?1952, deceased 2017

Wodyemira Wogidoso’s wives:

1.      Nakasumba from Bukimali, Bugwagi, Buyobo

2.      Nambafu from Bushika

3.      Irene Neumbe from Bunamakongo, Buyobo

4.      Namudosi from Bukiyiti, Buteza

5.      Nambafu Robinah from Bumasifwa

6.      Nanzala Euglas Edisa from Bugwimbi, Buteza

Gimei Sodo died in 1919 soon after he was circumcised. He died while nursing his wound and buried at Dunga where the present church of Buyobo is located. He did not produce any children.

Nafuna Wanyenze Bwirura died childless in 1964.

In May 1972, Wodyemira Daniel Wogidoso, while of sound mind made a will that his son, Prof Dani Wadada Nabudere would be his heir upon his death and succeed him as head of the home and Clan.

This information was compiled from the clan oral tradition by Wambedde Richard of Bumayamba, Buyobo, Sironko District. The youngest child of the late Wodyemira Daniel Wogidoso. (2011)