Nyabongo/Labongo’s Farthest Footprint In The South
Very little is known about Nyabongo/Labongo’s presence in Kigumba in Bunyoro. According to Dr. Yolam Nsamba, a historian and elder at the Bunyoro kingdom, Nyabongo/Labongo went to Bunyoro to look for people whom he would move with for protection as he continued his trek.
Nyabongo/Labongo crossed the Nile and proceeded to Bunyoro (in Western Uganda) and mourned for days: “Umira, iketho adoko jamugumba pi nyathin para ma iketho anego pi tigo peri! Wabinen kudi ngo kendo,” (“Brother, you caused me to become childless after slaying my daughter for your bead! We shall never meet again as brothers”) and the place was named Kigumba, meaning barren or childless.
Kigumba is currently a vibrant town located in mid-North Uganda on the Kampala-Gulu highway. Although the natives of Kigumba welcomed him, they refused to join him. In Bunyoro, there is a hill called Nyabongo/Labongo, which is located in Nyabongo/Labongo village in Masindi, named after him. He retreated northwards and crossed the Nile again until he arrived at a flooded river where he got stuck and said: “Meni dong wia lal swa ba!”, (“Am I stuck and confused!”) The river was named Aswa (another important river in Acholi).
He then met a group of Karamojong on a hunting spree. Nyabongo/Labongo ordered his retinue: “Uring gul gul, gimaro neno wu!” (“Bend low and run so that they may not see you!”) and the place where they relocated became known as Gulu (the main town in Acholi).
Some versions have it that it instead one of Nyabongo/Labongo’s brother called Kamurasi (some people call him ‘Kamuraci’), who left Nyabongo/Labongo at Wang-Lei and decided to head southwards to Bunyoro where he stayed and intermarried with people there until he died. Their other brother, Tipul (also known as Thiful), on the other hand followed Nyipir/Gipir westwards to Loga village in the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC.)