Paper short abstract:

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Paper long abstract:

The recent confirmation of commercial deposits of oil in the Albertine Grabben in Western Uganda has created a wave of anxiety and expectation in Uganda and Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom in particular. Historically one of the most powerful kingdoms in the Great Lakes Region, Bunyoro resisted colonial rule, was crushed and marginalized during and after colonialism. Bunyoro kingdom and its subjects suffered extreme humiliation and subjugation, resulting into crisis and eventual decline, demonstrating the price paid for resisting foreign imposition. For instance, during British colonial rule surveys of the oil deposits were undertaken and completed in 1928 and colonial intentions to exploit the oil were announced but never implemented- in some ways re-enforcing the narrative of colonial marginalization. Because oil like other mineral resources represents capital, geograpy and territory it creates fertile ground on which identities (political, economic and social), can be constructed and sustained. This paper intends to engage with the emerging spaces of indigeneity associated with the confirmation of oil finds in Bunyoro. Using data obtained from recent field studies, I present how oil has become a cornerstone of mobilization in present day Bunyoro and how this has led to new forms and spaces of local power and how mining capital engages with these spaces.