Before the middle of the seventeenth century, the area that became Mpororo - the land of the Hororo - was known as Ndorwa and formed the southern province of the kingdom of Busongora.
In retaliation, the Songora armies occupied the region around Lake Muhazi in central Rwanda (present-day Gahini) and captured many Rwandans.
When Kahaya Rutindangyezi succeeded Murari on the throne, Mpororo flourished under his rule, earning a distinguished reputation that endures to this day.
At its peak, the kingdom of Mpororo encompassed all of Kigezi (except the modern Bafumbira saza and a portion of Kinkizi), the Ankole sazas of Kajara, Igara, Sheema, and Rwampara (excluding the low ground south of the Rwizi River), sections of northeastern Burundi, northwestern Tanzania, eastern Congo, and the entirety of the northern region of Rwanda.
Stanley's assessment of the Bahororo was unfavorable: "I had to negotiate with the people of Mpororo who were savage and had never before encountered strangers, besides being embroiled in perpetual blood feuds."
Accompanying Stanley was Sheikh Ahmed bin Ibrahim, a Muslim trader, who remarked, "The Bahororo are a formidable people but covetous, malignant, treacherous, and utterly untrustworthy.
When Captain Frederick Lugard and others ventured to conquer Central Africa, they harbored fear of both Hororo and Songora communities, and they treated them harshly.
The memory of Kitami-kya-Nyawera inspired the powerful politico-religious movement known as Nyabingi in the early 20th century, which played a significant role in the struggle against colonial occupation.
She embarked on a quest to locate the lost drum Murorwa and initiated a resistance movement aimed at unifying Central Africa.
Although centered in Mpororo, the Nyabingi Resistance was active in Central and East Africa, particularly in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Eastern Congo, between 1850 and 1950.
Such dramatic practices earned her the reputation of a powerful sorceress capable of both bewitching and benefiting people throughout Karagwe and Mpororo."
The followers of Muhumuza are also responsible for preserving the memory of the Songora queen Kitami and conserving and transmitting much of the history of ancient Busongora and Mpororo.
The Jamaica-based Niyabinghi Theocracy Government, a Mansion of Rastafari, was named after the resistance movement and Nyabingi spiritual belief system led by Muhumuza.
The Igongo Museum in Uganda (Mbarara) features a special display dedicated to Kitami-kya-Nyawera, popular among Rastafarians and others associated with the Nyabingyi Movement.
The Bahororo people speak a dialect of Nkore-Kiga called Ruhororo and are divided into clans, most of which are shared with both the Nkole and Kiga ethnic groups.