Mr. Sabiiti Mbiire Fenekansi is a Teacher with a long time interest and experience in Research and Education. He is a Counselor and a Human Rights Defender.

Serving with the local church in local communities of Uganda, working with Christian non-denominational programs for a long period,and going out of the church and hearing success stories and testimonies from real Religious people forms the basis for his work.

Being a part of the multidimensional, multicultural Religious setting has given Sabiiti the chance to view Religion in Uganda and beyond in a real context.

Being able to make a difference in the understanding of Religion and cultural traditions in Africa is what inspired him to do this work and carry on –this is how he defines success.

Sabiiti’s roots can be traced from the Basiita clan of Karagwe.

Sabiiti is son of Mbiire and a grandson of Kabooko of the Basiita clan from the Banyambo tribe of Karangwe in Northern Tanzania. Though Sabiiti was born from the Abiiru sect of Ankole Kingdom and grew up from Tooro Kingdom, his grandparents long lived in Karagwe Kingdom.

The Karagwe kingdom was part of the many Great Lakes Kingdoms, in East Africa. Like many other Great Lakes kingdoms, the Karagwe people, known as Abanyambo, claim inheritance from the ancient Kitara empire, ruled by a dynasty known as the Bachwezi.

The first indigenous leader of Karagwe kingdom before the coming of Ruhinda’s generation was Nono Marinja (Nono ya Marinja). This indigenous leader was from one of Nyambo clans “Abasiita“. His clan was therefore the luring clan before Hamtik’s arrival in the interlacustrine region.

There are many sub-groups in Karagwe, but the main tribe is Nyambo, who call themselves Abanyambo. They can also be referred to as Wanyambo and they speak Kinyambo.

Abanyambo are a Tanzanian branch of Banyankole-Banyoro-Batoro of Uganda. Banyambo tribe of the Basiita clan traces its roots in Bunyoro. As a tradition, many of the princes in Karangwe have to seek blessings from Bunyoro grandfathers before enthronement in Tanzania. And in return many times, Bunyoro leads the enthronement rituals in Bweranyange, the seat of Karagwe kingdom.

Kings from Karagwe and Bunyoro kingdoms emphasised unity and close working relations between the two institutions to harness their culture and resist all forms of neo-colonialism.

Kinyambo language is similar to Runyoro and when people from both sides introduce themselves by name and clan you see a lot of oneness. Clan mates from both sides hug and laugh with joy whenever they meet.

Amazing ancestry of “Abiiru” of Ankole revealed.

The “Abiiru” in Ankole are actually descended from “Hebrew”; and an analysis of their current fortunes explain why only the strong Abiiru Christians are successful on this world. It is their destiny; if the Abiiru (Hebrews) honor God, He rewards them.

Hebrew is a member of an ancient people living in what is now Israel and Palestine and, according to biblical tradition, descended from the patriarch Jacob, son of Isac, grandson of Abraham. After the Exodus (c. 1300 BC) they established the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and their scriptures and traditions form the basis of the Jewish religion. Abram was called “the Hebrew” in Genesis 14:13, the first time that the word is used in the Bible.

Following the advent of colonization and balkanization with Ankole, the indigenous people were referred to as Abiiru! That was the surprising turn of events; the presumably harmless Bahima who came to Ankole from Mpororo Kingdom had brought up reference to these indigenous people as Abiiru. So where did the term come from?

What the royals of Ankole did not realize was that these presumably harmless Bahima have a long heritage themselves. These Hamites of ankole also trace their ancestry to the Luo, and all of these together from Cush son of Ham, son of Noah from present day northeastern Sudan, where they had an extensive kingdom. And their affinity for power dates back to those days when Cush ruled over Egypt. This detail of migrations and empires is well recorded in African history and in the bible (Genesis; 10 all).

Now, it transpires that during the time when the Hebrew were slaves in Egypt, the reigning monarch was Cushitic (read “Luo” History); According to Egyptian archeological findings (reference to Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia 1999), the Hebrew people were a group of tribes of Semitic stock that, according to Egyptian tradition, migrated from Mesopotamia to Palestine during the 2nd millennium BC. Some scholars, however, trace their origin to the Wilderness (that is, the Sinai) rather than to Mesopotamia.

These two views may both be true because according to the bible (Genesis 11; 31 – 32) Abraham the founding father of the Hebrews came from Mesopotamia.

And then for the second view, the biblical story of the exodus is quite well known to everyone; the Hebrews moved to Egypt, where they were enslaved. When released from bondage in Egypt under the lawgiver Moses, they journeyed through the Wilderness and thereafter, under Joshua, conquered and settled in Palestine. It is during this exodus time that there were offshoots of the main group that either did not leave with Moses, or deserted the main group somewhere in the Sinai desert. This group went south eventually settling in the hinterland of what is referred to in the bible as Ethiopia but we know as Africa.

So it is quite established that the term Hebrew is applied in the Bible to Abraham (see Genesis 14:13). What most people don’t know is that the term “Abiru” / “habiru” is actually the same as “Hebrew”. The Encyclopedia states – and this is most amazing part – that;-

The Hebrews are the people called Habiru or Hapiru in the tablets found at Tall al ‘Amârinah, Egypt; written about 1400BC, these were found in 1887. This assumption coincides with biblical tradition; the Amarna correspondence, however, makes no reference to the origin or ethnic character of the Habiru. In Genesis 40:15, Joseph explains to the Egyptians that he had been kidnapped from “the land of the Hebrews”; in Exodus 2:6, the daughter of Pharaoh recognizes Moses as “one of the Hebrews’ children.” The implication of these sources is that in early times the Israelites were known to foreigners as Hebrews. In later times the Israelites applied the name to themselves, as in Jonah 1:9.

So you now know how the Bahima knew that these Abiru are supposed to be their slaves – because that is what they were in Egypt. The Bahima knew that these Habiru were their slaves in Egypt, and believed they still had to be overlords over them. Wrong. Because subsequent to the Egyptian episode of their lives, God had broken that bondage of slavery, provided that the Hebrews / Habiru stick to a certain formula – observe the Ten Commandments, and the most important ones being the 1st two commandments. Once these are fulfilled, then no one could be allowed to lord it over the Hebrews / Abiru.

Effectively and to cut a long story short, the Abiiru of Ankole, who are descended from the Hebrews, could only be successful if they – like the Jewish brothers – recognize their relationship with God the almighty as per the commandments delivered to Moses. I.e. if they recognize the sovereignty of God the almighty who delivered them out of bondage, and if they bow to no other gods; if they do this, God blesses them. If they don’t, then tribulations and damnation as promised in the commandments.

Fast forward; when Moses delivered the Hebrews he told them to serve no other God. So, the Abiiru shall not be put under any other God. (Exodus 20: 1 – 17, and Deut 5: 1- 21).

So if only most of these facts had come out earlier, then the fortunes of Uganda would be very different from what it is today. But it is never too late for anything; as you can see, the facts about the ancestry of Abiiru are just beginning to fizzle out of the archives of history, explaining why the Abiru people have given birth to some of the most industrious people in the world. It is really a blessing to be one of the Abiru / Habiru / Hebrew; the people can really work.

Sabiiti’s clan, the Basiita clan in Uganda, is found in Kigezi (especially Rukungiri), Ankore, Tooro, Bunyoro, in Tanzania (Karagwe, Buhaya, Bujinja, etc.) and in Rwanda.  In Bukonjo, the Basiita are called Baswaaga. In Buganda, they are called Ab’ ente, with the same totem ─ the striped cow.  In Sironko, there is a whole parish, known as Busiita.  The Basiita clan, of course, also is found in the DRC, the Bunia area.