Empire of Kitara - Oral Tradition

Oral Tradition

In the oral tradition, Kitara was a kingdom which, at the height of its power in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, included much of Uganda, northern Tanzania and eastern Congo (DRC), ruled by a dynasty known as the Bachwezi (or Chwezi) who were the successors of the Batembuzi Dynasty. The Cwezi people may have been part of the peoples that landed on the Nile River from around 2000 B.C establishing astonishing civilizations along its banks, or they may be descendants of such ancient peoples as those that inhabited ancient Egypt, Abyssinia, Sudan and the area around the great rift valley, up until 1600 A.D.

According to the story, the Kitara Empire lasted until the 16th century, when it was invaded by Luo people, who came from the South of the present-day Sudan and established the kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara.However,this hypothesis has been questioned by scholars on whether the invasion really took place. There is no historical record that confirms this theory, and to be sure, there is no linguistic connection of the modern day Banyoro,Baganda ,Banyankole and Batusi with any of the Luo dialects but relics of the Chwezi empire exists in parts of central Uganda,Rwanda and Burundi. The Chwezi were purportedly a pastoral (nomadic) people, implying that some of the dense forested area of central Uganda would have not been conducive to their lifestyle also part of the reason why they may have left so soon to other areas in the south of the rift valley.