- Title: VARIOUS: AMOTI NYABONGO SHARES DUAL ROLE OF NEW YORK POLICEMAN AND UGANDAN PRINCE
- Date: 5th June 2000
- Summary: 13 NEW YORK, NEW YORK, JUNE 5, 2000 (REUTERS) SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) OFFICER AMOTI NYABONGO: "Just the day in and out running of the kingdom, making sure that everybody is well, making sure that things go smoothly, you know, I mean no society is perfect and I guess if you will I wouldn't say that I would want to be a police officer for the Kingdom but I'm sure that some of my skills that I've picked up here at the NYPD would help." CLOSE UP OF OFFICER NYABONGO'S BADGE VARIOUS OFFICER NYABONGO TALKING IN STREET ON HIS BEAT (2 SHOTS) TRACK: OFFICER NYABONGO WALKS DOWN STREET WAVING
- Embargoed: 20th June 2000 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES/ DEMOCRATIC REBLIC OF CONGO / UGANDA
- City:
- Country: Uganda
- Topics: People
- Reuters ID: LVAASRENAPCKBGYCJAT0WYXDNFSL
- Story Text: Known locally as New York's Finest, the NYPD could also be called Uganda's Finest with a Prince from the Toro Kingdom in its ranks.
He was born in America, but his roots lie in African royalty. Amoti Nyabongo is a Prince in the Toro Kingdom of Uganda. His grandfather and uncle were both Kings, before Uganda's former dictator Milton Obote abolished all Uganda's royal tribes in 1967.
The current President, Yoweri Museveni, re-instated the monarchy in the 1980's but Nyabongo remained in the US.
His colleagues in the NYPD know all about Nyabongo's Royal connections, providing them with no end of jokes. "I get a lot of 'Coming to America' jokes" Nyabong said.
Currently he serves as an officer in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, patrolling his beat daily by foot and squad car.
Most of the people on his rounds aren't aware they're being watched over by Royalty, but the ones that do know are extremely impressed. "Uganda Prince right? It's impressive alright, but he's very shy, humble, you know he don't wanna talk about it." and "You can't really expect somebody from that kind of a family to be working here as a cop, but this is something great"
There are four main kingdoms in Uganda. Toro is one of the larger ones with around 1.5 million people in the Tribe. With the various coups and upheaval in Uganda over the past four decades many of them are scattered around the world. Amoti has now set up a website of photographs of past and present Toro monarchies in an attempt to trace all the people of his Tribe.
Unmarried and with no children the 44 year old now wants to return to his homeland to take up his rightful place in the Royal Court. He plans to help restore the traditions of the Toro Kingdom, many of which were lost after the Monarchy was abolished.
"Just the day in and out running of the kingdom, making sure that everybody is well, making sure that things go smoothly, you know, I mean no society is perfect and I guess if you will I wouldn't say that I would want to be a police officer for the Kingdom but I'm sure that some of my skills that I've picked up here at the NYPD would help."
Uganda is a country battling aids, disease, warfare and extreme poverty. Amoti wants to use his position in the Toro Tribe to help his people, set up development projects and hopes to use his American connections to bring in much needed investment.
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