Nurse-turned-king arrested after dozens killed in clashes in Uganda
Charles Wesley Mumbere with Queen Agnes at Buhikira Royal Palace, Kasese, Uganda.Mumbere worked as a nurse’s aide in Maryland and Pennsylvania for years, caring for the elderly and sick, before being crowned king in 2009.
Nurse-turned-king arrested after dozens killed in clashes in Uganda
KAMPALA, Uganda – Scores of people have been killed in fighting between Ugandan forces and a tribal militia in a remote district near the border with Congo, Ugandan officials said Sunday as security forces battled armed men protecting a tribal king who is accused of leading the rebels.
At least 54 people, including 41 rebels and 13 police officers, have been killed in clashes in Uganda’s Rwenzori region, police spokesman Felix Kaweesi told reporters. Four police officials and four soldiers have been wounded, he said.
The killings are an escalation of a long-running conflict between Ugandan security forces and rebels who are believed to be loyal to a tribal king, Charles Wesley Mumbere, a critic of the country’s long-time president. Mumbere was arrested after the killings, accused of inciting violence, reports the BBC.
Mumbere worked as a nurse’s aide in Maryland and Pennsylvania for years, caring for the elderly and sick, before being crowned king in 2009. President Yoweri Museveni has officially recognized Mumbere’s 300,000-strong Rwenzururu Kingdom. Government recognition does not grant any executive power but allows the monarchs to determine cultural and social issues affecting their people.
The King of Uganda’s Mountains of the Moon has undergone many transformations in his life – from teenage leader of a rebel force to impoverished student to a nursing home assistant working two jobs in the U.S., where he lived for nearly 25 years. READ MORE
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/
