Prime
Mayiga’s nine years in office at glance
Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga (L) during a tour of the kingdom. PHOTO/ FILE
What you need to know:
- Mr Mayiga is the 5th Katikkiro in the regime of Kabaka Mutebi. He replaced John Baptist Walusimbi.
On May 12, 2013, lawyer and businessman Charles Peter Mayiga made nine years since he was appointed as the premier (katikkiro) of the Buganda Kingdom by Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.
Mr Mayiga is the 5th Katikkiro in the regime of Kabaka Mutebi. He replaced John Baptist Walusimbi.
During his maiden speech, Mayiga issued four priorities that he said he would pursue. These included ensuring integrity of the throne, restoration of the Kasubi Tombs, completion of the Masengere commercial binding and introducing new work ethics.
“With the integrity we have tried to popularise our culture and heritage within the kingdom and this has been appreciated even with the young generation, people within Buganda region and those who are not Baganda today,” he says.
The Katikkiro adds that culture and heritage has been emphasised and brought on the forefront.
“This set of heritage and culture is still going on and I am not saying those who were Katikkiro before me did not do anything. They did something and those who will come after me will also start from there,” he says.
The unending process to complete the Kasubi Tombs has seen Mayiga’s administration come under intense criticism. The Kasubi Tombs were gutted by fire in 2010 and their restoration is yet to be completed.
But Mayiga’s administration has always argued that building the tombs is not akin to constructing a normal house. He says it entails a lot of cultural processes. The tombs are the burial grounds for Buganda’s kings.
“We are now in the final stages. We have embarked on working on the interior and the thatching which is at 99 percent complete. That stage of the interior is traditionally supposed to be done by the Ngeye clan and the royals have roles to play, depending on the stage we have reached,” he says.
On the completion of the Masengere, Mr Mayiga says the building its one of the kingdom’s financial arms.
“The Masengere building houses the kingdom key companies which include: Buganda Land Board, CBS FM. BBS Telefayina and others tenants,” he says.
The Katikkiro says he introduced a new work ethic (Enkola ey ó mulembe omujja) and this encompasses innovation, transparency and working with passion.
“We have been re-organising the Kabaka’s civil service, ensuring that we have competent people to fill the different positions, drafting different policies and manuals and other things which include setting up internal audit offices called Kalondoozi,”he says.
