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besides being a simple of Identify, the Bakenye use this logo of Bakenye Isaanga Development Association (BIDA) as there symbol of affinity.
THE 5WS AND H REGARDING BIDA
In early 80s, there was a clique of Bakenye young men graduates who often converged at some drinking joint in Mulago for evening leisure. During their routine interactions, they discovered that they were ready to marry, but could not locate any Mukenye marriage partner who was educated enough. The deficiency of women graduates among the Bakenye became quite a serious concern. The male graduates wanted to marry from their tribe (Bakenye), yet they could not find any females who could match their standards. The members therefore decided to revive their ancestral group known as “Bakenye community” where their fore-fathers used to collect money and offered to whoever showed interest in education. “The Bakenye Community” was therefore rejuvenated mainly to devise possible means by which Bakenye girls could attain higher education and be suitable enough for their male colleagues to marry.
Incidentally, as the members of Bakenye Community embarked on drawing comprehensive plans of ensuring that their colleagues equally got good education, the insurgency erupted back home in Teso and Lango in 1987 where they all hailed from. The members then abandoned their earlier plans and instead concentrated on receiving their friends and relatives who were then fleeing the conflict in Teso and Lango regions.
The numbers of their fleeing relatives and friends became so overwhelming that their few relatives in Busoga and in Buganda and other areas could not manage to feed and house them anymore. As a result, the members of Bakenye Community were compelled to hold a crisis meeting, in which they resolved to register Bakenye community as an entity through which they could make a stronger and authoritative statement to both government and other humanitarian organizations regarding the plight of the Bakenye at that time, which needed urgent remedial interventions.
The Bakenye community was therefore transformed and registered as Bakenye Isaanga Development Association (BIDA) in 1990, mainly to seek for relief and resettlement of the displaced Bakenye. Since then, BIDA has made significant interventions following the aftermath of the unrest that engulfed Teso and Lango areas, when the NRA of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni took over power in 1986 leading to the massive displacement of the Bakenye and loss of innocent lives and property.
There were awful incidences which befell the Bakenye as they were seeking asylum; for example in some places where the Bakenye sought refuge, they were victimized as being rebels; harassed, beaten and detained not until BIDA came in and proved to their oppressors that the Bakenye were simple refugees who had fled the rebellion in Teso and Lango areas where they had been living. BIDA has also made several attempts to notify the major stakeholders like the Government, through the Uganda Human Rights Commission about the plight of the Bakenye; unfortunately there has never been any deliberate commitment by government to specifically address the predicaments of the Bakenye for the last 25 years of BIDA’s plea.
However, BIDA has drawn a comprehensive five year work plan; in which it proposes to continue engaging both local and international custodians of the universal human rights, about the Bakenye’s rights and privileges. BIDA also intends to deal with the common challenges of the Bakenye, in the areas of education, health and socio-economic aspect identity and equity, national representation, recognition and political involvement.
In short therefore, Bakenye Isaanga Development Association (BIDA) is a registered non-profit and non- political national association for the Bakenye within in Uganda and in the diaspora; whose fundamental obligation is to create socioeconomic opportunities for the Bakenye and to promote and preserve the identity of the Bakenye and their rights, including lobbying, and mediating between all stakeholders and the Bakenye.
The December 8th and 9th 2017 national convention of the Bakenye in Buyende district therefore, is one of the series of activities of BIDA; which have been planned with the aim of popularizing BIDA activities and reconnecting all the Bakenye from wherever they are. BIDA believes that, if there is that kind of chainconnection of the Bakenye across the country, the common anxiety resulting from inferiority complex and other factors will gradually reduce despite their lack of dominion; because as the Bakenye keep bonding with their colleagues from different areas, they will likely be able to learn from one another and also encourage one another; thereby increasing their self-esteem and productivity etc.
Also the Bakenye convention is aimed at creating an opportunity for the Bakenye to articulate their own story to the rest of the world; because there have been several attempts to tell the Bakenye story by members of the public, unfortunately none of the accounts have been exhaustive enough to bring out the real image of the Bakenye. Most of the stories about Bakenye are not only full of fallacies but also contain some element of demeaning aspects; which have been partly responsible for the present situations amongst the Bakenye. adopted from bidaug.org
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