Ancient Buganda burial site on Fire

Buganda under siege as Kasubi tombs are burned to ground
Unknown people have set ablaze the burial places of Buganda’s Kings in
what seems as the latest attack on the Kingdom of Buganda. The Kasubi
which harbor the last remains of the Kings of Buganda with a 129 year
old history were Tuesday night torched to the ground. The suspects of
this inferno have not yet been established. The fire which started
with Muzibuazaalampanga, the main ancestral house later spread to the
nearby huts at the tombs in a heavy fire which despite a heavy
downpour and fire brigade efforts could not be put out.
Thousands of Baganda loyalists thronged the site on Tuesday night to
mourn the incident, these included Eng Allan Waliggo Nakirembeka, the
head of the Clan Leaders Council, Mengo Minister for Culture and
tourism, Nakiwala Kiyingi and Prince Namugala among other Buganda
Kingdom officials. A visibly stricken Buganda Premier Eng. J.B.
Walusimbi regretted the incident and urged the people of Uganda that
the Kabaka’s government will come to the bottom of the case. He called
upon Baganda to remain strong amidst this confrontation and vowed that
the tombs will be re-built at whatever cost it may demand as soon as
possible. Wilberforce Luwalira the Bishop of Namirembe called upon
Baganda to remain calm and asked God to protect the King throughout
these hard times.

The Kasubi tombs were a few years ago earmarked by UNESCO as an
international Heritage site one of the few in the whole world; it is
one of the leading tourist revenue earners for the Kingdom of Buganda
alongside other sites. The site also was the final resting place of
Kabaka Muteesa I who invited Christian missionaries to Uganda, Kabaka
Daniel Basammulekkere Mwanga who ordered for the massacre of the
Uganda Matyrs, Kabaka Daudi Chwa who was king at the signing of the
1900 agreement with British Colonialists and King Fredrick Edward
Walugembe Muteesa II who was deported by the British and later died in
exile after troops loyal to former president Milton Obote besieged his
Mengo palace in 1966.
The tombs which were built in 1891 housed a number of items including
the royal drums and a number of royal regalia were kept at the place.
Also in custody at the enclosure were a number of animals both
domestic and wild believed to have connection with the ancestral
spirits. Chairs brought by the European Missionaries, jewelry ,
cowries shells among others.
According to eyewitnesses the fire started at 7:30 pm on Tuesday
evening and although the cause of the fire has not been established
the possibility of arson is high. According to residents an unnamed
individual was seen entering the premises a few minutes shortly before
the fire. Attempts to put out the fire were futile as the heavy fire
spread from house to house and despite a Tuesday night downpour and
heavy fire brigade presence, little could be done to put it out.

According to Princess Kagere it is like Muteesa II has been killed
again, Kagere one of Muteesa’s daughters was struck by grief. Speaking
to the Press, Kagere said it was unfortunate that the remains of her
late father had been burnt. Mengo Attorney general Apollo Makubuya
said that the Kingdom will rebuild the fallen structures as soon as
possible although he was pessimistic whether they would ever retain
the fallen glory after the infernal.
Angry people blocked the police from entering the tombs and this
forced the police to retaliate by shooting in the air to disperse the
crowds. By Monday Midday a heavy deployment of both the police and the
army was visible. Gen. Katumba Wamala the Head of Land Forces was
leading the deployed security forces.

Museveni blocked from entering scene
At around 11:00 am Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni attempted to
reach the site and express his grief but was blocked by Baganda who
chanted slogans expressing solidarity with the Kabaka and the crown.
It took military might to clear the way for the Ugandan president who
was from the view of events an uninvited mourner. Mr. Museveni who
appeared under heavy guard was booed by the crowd which later sang the
Buganda Anthem for the whole period he was at the scene. The police
and army had to shoot in the air to clear the way for the President’s
motorcade. Earlier on a number of government officers were chased away
from the scene of the infernal as if to suggest that government was
connected to the arson. Rubaga Division chairman Peter Sematimba could
not wait for a rough-up as he fled the scene after angry Baganda
youths threatened to burn him.
By midday on Wednesday the Buganda cabinet was in a closed session
following the inferno. Fires believed to have been ignited by
arsonists have ravaged different parts of the Kingdom and it remains
to be seen whether this could be the climax. In 2008 and 2009 alone a
total of 40 schools in the Buganda region were torched in fires
believed to have been connected to the Kingdom’s stand on the Federal
arrangement for Uganda.

Linked to Makerere university riots
However observers of Uganda’s political spectrum have intimated that
the torching of the Lubiri had a possibility of relationship with the
student’s strike at Makerere University on Monday night which left
three students dead from shootings by an errant security guard.
Ignatius Nyongeza, Brian Angoka both Kenyan students and Aaron Mugezi
a Uganda students were killed after being shot by Richard Akasi a
security guard attached to Snowwhite guards. According to eyewitnesses
a drunken Nyongeza tried to hit a car belonging to NRM guild
presidential candidate John Taylor after they came to his hostel to
canvass votes for their candidate. Nyongeza who was a supporter of
Simon Peter Kamau a Kenyan student contestant was according to
eyewitnesses confronted by Taylor’s supporters. Following the
shootings Makerere students took to the streets protesting the
killings of their colleagues. Business came to a standstill in the
areas of Wandegeya, Kasubi and Nakulabye as rowdy students vandalized
property and engaged police and the army in running battles. The
shooting incident which happened at God is able Hostel left the
premises shattered by students who destroyed the hostel’s glass
windows. Students then looted a coffin at Wandegeya and proceeded to
Mulago hospital mortuary to retrieve the bodies of their fallen
colleagues but were stopped by a heavy deployment of police. The
students then overran the police as the force ran out of teargas.
According to Police’s political Commisar Hassan Kasingye, the errant
guard had been arrested and is currently detained at Central Police
Station in Kampala.

Meanwhile police has disarmed all security guards belonging to Snow
White Security guards, the police has also taken over the security of
all student’s hotels near Makerere following the shooting of three
students. In a related development the Makerere Guild elections have
been postponed indefinitely until further notice following the
student’s riots. According to John Ekudu, the Dean of Students
Makerere University, the surrent situation is not condusive to a fair
electoral process. The elections for the new guild leadership are a
tight contest between the Democratic party’s Shaban Ssenkubuge and the
National Resistance Movement’s John Taylor. Others in the contest are
Grace Cheruto, a Kenyan student and Simon Peter Kamau also a Kenyan
student. Kenyan students have increasingly taken active participation
in the Guild politics of Makerere University. Makerere University has
over 2000 foreign students with over sixty percent being Kenyan
students.