Chwa II Kabalega (18 June 1853 – 6 April 1923), was the King or Omukama of Bunyoro in Uganda from 1870 to 1899.
In 1869, Omukama Kamurasi Kyebambe IV died and two of the legitimate royal candidates — Kabalega and Kabigumire could not agree on who should be his successor. This led to a devastating war of succession in the Empire of Kitara. Normally, such wars to determine a legitimate successor were supposed to be brief and decisive until only one claimant to the throne was left alive. However, sometimes these conflicts dragged on for years, destabilising all of society and leading to famines, massacres and refugee crises. In this case, the clan leaders and the dead king's brother, Prince Nyaika, were so tired of Kabalega and Kabigumire's constant fighting that they ordered Kabalega, who had the upper hand, to respect Bunyoro's laws of succession and just-war conventions and end the war. When Kabalega was crowned king, he set out to develop his new empire via trade especially through the Kibiro Saltworks.[1] On 1 January 1894, the British declared war on Bunyoro. At the height of the British offensive on his empire, Kabalega went into hiding in Acholi under the protection of Chief Awich Abok of Payira. It's from there that he consistently led the Nyangire rebellion that proved to be a thorn in the side of the British colonialists.
In 1972, President Idi Amin renamed Murchison Falls, located within Murchison Falls National Park, Kabalega Falls after the Omukama.
On 8 June 2009, Kabalega was declared a national hero of Uganda by President Museveni.[2]
In 2010,[3] the Most Honourable Order of Omukama Chwa II Kabalega was founded in honour of Kabalega by the Omukama of Bunyoro-Kitara[4]