Royal Order of the Omujwaara Kondo

The Order of the Omujwaara Kondo (English: Order of the Coronet Wearer) is the oldest and highest royal order of the Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom and is awarded solely by the Omukama (King) of Bunyoro. It is a single-grade honor, separated into two classes - Class I and Class II. Class I is limited to other royal families of the world and heads of state, while Class II is open to all persons.

History of the Order
The first recorded recipient of the Order was Kasaru, the interpreter of Omukama Rukidi of Bunyoro, who ruled in the late 15th century - Therefore the Order is believed to be more than 500 years old. It was normal that recipients of the Order were awarded ownership of land and it was believed that they obtained a special divine power called mahano with the admission into the order.

Recipients were awarded an Ekondo (English:coronets) and other regalia, and had special seats during ceremonies of the Kingdom. Recipients were not allowed to eat common food like potatoes and beans, instead they were expected to follow a special diet, containing primarily meat, poultry and other finer/rare foods.

When awarded the Order, recipients obtains the title of "Omujwaara Kondo" (English: Coronet wearer) and became an Abajwaara Kondo (Name for a group of Omujawaara Kondo's). It was also normal to award recipients with elaborate headdresses made from beard and skin of the Colombus Monkey.

The Order has, compared to European standards, more characteristics of a title of nobility (The award being a title and a coronet) than of an Order of Chivalry. When the British conquered the Kingdom however, the Bunyoro Agreements of 1933 and 1955 between the Kingdom and the British Government recognized the Omukama's power to award this ancient honor, which was then classified as an "Order of Distinction".

After Uganda gained its independence from Britain in 1962, Omukama Sir Winyi IV continued to award the honor until 1967, when the Kingdoms were abolished by dictator Milton Obote. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara was restored on June 11, 1993 with the enthronement of H.M. Solomon Iguru I, son of H.M. Omukama Sir Winyi IV of Bunyoro. After the enthronement, similar to the other traditional honors of Bunyoro-Kitara, the Omujwaara Kondo is once again being awarded.

Current Order
Originally, when being awarded the Order, recipients would swear an oath of loyalty to the King, and drink a bowl of milk with the King, but now the drinking of milk is optional. How the tradition of drinking milk started is not known, but it is believed to have ties with the former large herds of Ankole cattle, which were an important part of Bunyoro economy, history and culture.

The Order was revised on March 22, 2010 by Solomon Iguru I, in an attempt to modernize it. Since then the honor has been updated to be a breast star that is 90 millimeters in diameter. This star is worn at Empango ceremonies or other appropriate formal occasions, and member of the order sits in a special place of honor during the Empango events. Traditionally the Order was only given to men, but since its restoration in 2010, women are also allowed admittance into the order. The traditional ban on eating beans, potatoes and other vegetables has also been removed. Also recipients must be minimum 25 years of age. The honor is normally granted two times a year, once during the Empango ceremony (which most often is on June 11 each year) and the other on H.M. Solomon Iguru I's birthday on June 18.

The order is a very high honor, and may be compared to for example the highest grades of the Order of Dannebrog or the Order of the Thistle

Privileges and responsibilities for recipients
There are several unique aspects of the award that recipients of the Order receive in contrast to other world orders. First, per Section 5(b) of the Order's current statutes, all recipients are entitled to the style "The Most Honourable". However, persons entitled to an existing style that supersedes "The Most Honourable" will retain it within the Order's records. Second, per the aforementioned Section, a recipient is entitled to use the title of Omujwaara Kondo. Official authorization is granted for a male recipient to translate Omujwaara Kondo into "Crown Knight" in English and a female recipient may translate this into "Crown Dame". Third, the post-nominal of "OOKB" may be used after an honoree's name, which stands for (O)rder of the (O)mujwaara (K)ondo of (B) unyoro-Kitara Kingdom.

Heraldic privileges
Additionally, per Section 20 of the Order's statutes, persons who receive the honor are also entitled to the right to display certain heraldic privileges. This section reads: "20. Heraldry of Members. Heraldry has historically been limited in Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, with the exception of the Kingdom having an armorial achievement in the ensign of its historical flag and His Majesty the Omukama having similar heraldry. However, to honor some Members whose ancestors maintained heraldic customs, by authorization of His Majesty the Omukama, all Members of the Order who desire to have heraldry are entitled to display supporters and top their helm with a basic coronet if they desire to signify their status as Members."

Intergenerational transfer rules
In accordance with both the historical traditions of The Order of the Omujwaara Kondo and its modern statutes, the honor is inherited by the original grantee's eldest child of the same sex at the moment of the original grantee's death or renunciation of the honor. Intergenerational transfer rules for the honor are described in Statute 8. For male grantees, the honor passes by patrilineal primogeniture (from male to male) and for female grantees, the honor passes by matrilineal primogeniture (from female to female).

References and links
The complete statutes of the order can be found here