By Andrew Irumba
Kasese: Grief has engulfed the Rwenzuru kingdom after the death of Omusinga Charles Wesley Mumbere’s mother, who has been bedridden for weeks.
Queen Mother Christine Biira Nyamukama Mukirania, died at age of 85 on Tuesday at Kilembe Mines Hospital, Kasese, where she has been battling a longtime illness. Family sources reveal that Mukirania has been battling hypertension and diabetes for several years. In February this year, she was admitted at the Intensive Care Unit of Case Hospital for close to a week where her condition was managed, before she was later discharged to her home in Kasese.
However, a few weeks later, her health condition deteriorated further, prompting family members to rush her to Kilembe Mines Hospital, where she has been bedridden until she breathed her last. Moses Kibanzanga, a grandson of the deceased, revealed that  Mukirania’s condition worsened about two weeks ago and was taken to Kilembe Mines Hospital where she underwent a number of operations including amputation of the leg. “We have lost a mother and a pillar of the Rwenzururu Kingdom.
When her husband died, she didn’t only take care of the young King but also led an infant Kingdom in the mountain. We have lost a fighter.” Kibanzanga says. Her death however comes at a time when Mumbere is not allowed to travel beyond Kampala, not even to his palace in Kasese, which was destroyed by the army when they invaded Rwenzururu kingdom in November 2016. Since then, Mumbere has been under house arrest in Kampala, while many of his royal guards, followers and servants languish in various jails across the country.
