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Kabaka marks 19 years today
Dancers prepare to welcome the Kabaka at a function in Entebbe last Friday. Photo by Martin Ssebuyira
What you need to know:
Royal fete. Kabaka Mutebi II, having lived in exile for most of his childhood, was little known to his subjects during his coronation in 1993.
Today marks 19 years since Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II was enthroned as the 36th Kabaka of Buganda with celebrations marking the day to be held at Sentema Municipality in Wakiso.
The July 31, 1993, coronation of the kabaka in Nagalabi-Budo, the official coronation site for the kingdom, was attended by President Museveni.
The ceremony appeared to be the rebirth of the monarchy after being abolished by the post-independence government of Dr Milton Obote in 1966.
Kabaka Mutebi II, who was little known to many of his subjects then, had spent most of his childhood in exile following the deportation of Kabaka Edward Muteesa II, his father, and the desecration of the Buganda Kingdom between 1966-1986.
Many kingdom assets were seized by the central government then and many are still in its custody to date. Some of those returned include; Mengo Palace (Lubiri), Kasubi tombs, Supreme Court building, Makindye Military barracks and Bulange building.
Since the restoration of the kingdom, the Kabaka through his ministers has tried to secure the return of the assets through negotiations but this has not yet yielded substantial results.
Government is supposed to pay rent for using the property but the rent arrears have accumulated to a whopping Shs20 billion, according to kingdom sources.
In 1998, the kingdom cancelled the ceremony and instead ‘mourned’ to express her dissatisfaction with the passing of the Land Act, 1998 which the kingdom administration viewed as a ploy to grab the kingdom land still in State custody.
“In fact the government couldn’t understand exactly what we were going to do. We began by going to churches and mosques as a way of commemorating our coronation anniversary,” former Katikkiro turned politician, Joseph Mulwanyamuli said in a recent interview.
The kingdom information minister, Mr Charles Peter Mayiga, says they have managed to re-unite the people of Buganda to appreciate their cultures and norms and have a strong voice for Buganda though people are still grappling with poverty and unemployment.
The celebrations will be marked under the theme “Understanding culture through education.”
