The Cutting Edge

Barely six months after the riots that ensued after the Kabaka (King) of Uganda’s largest ethnic group, the Baganda, was prevented by government forces from visiting Kayunga, a corner of his kingdom—for fear of public unrest, which ironically erupted in Kampala itself, leaving 17 dead, instead of Kayunga—another stand-off threatens.

On the night of March 16, the massive grass-thatched huts that house the remains of the four past Kabakas in Kasubi, a Kampala suburb, caught fire and burned to the ground.

The Royal Tombs of Kasubi, an international tourism site recognized by UNESCO and placed on the heritage list in 2001, was one of the “must-see” sites for visitors to Uganda, together with the source of the Nile and the magnificent Mountains of the Moon (Ruwenzoris). It was a major spiritual centre for Ugandans.

The structure, at 30 metres wide and 7.5 metres tall with the thatch reaching the ground, the largest of its kind in the world, was set up in 1882 and was evidence of the architectural prowess of the Baganda people whose kingdom traces back to the 13th century AD and to their hero Kintu, Traditional belief has it that Kintu’s spirit resides there still, as well as those of his successors, which herbalists or witchdoctors regularly consult.

The tombs of the four kings, Muteesa I (1856-1884); Mwanga (1884-1897), who ordered the killing of 30 boys and young men who were to become Christian martyrs in 1886; Chwa (1897-1939), and Muteesa II (1939-1969), who was appointed first president of Uganda in 1962, ousted by his prime minister, Milton Obote, in 1966, and fled to England where he died in destitution in 1969. Idi Amin had his body brought back to Uganda and given a proper burial.

Besides the tomb of the kings, the large compound is also the burial site for Baganda princes and princesses and their families, where tribal rituals are performed, such as the new moon ceremony and the regular consultation of mediums. These are carried out in private and not accessible to ordinary visitors. Many of the royal drums, spears, rifles, chairs and portraits of the kings, other regalia, and royal “paraphernalia” were destroyed in the fire, but there was little damage done to the tombs of the past four Kabakas.

One week of mourning has been declared in the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses Kampala and much of the south of Uganda, and the Katikkiro, the Buganda Prime Minister, John Bosco Walusimbi, has promised the tombs will be rebuilt “to their full glory as a symbol of Buganda’s resilient and tenacious spirit.”

Foreseeably, the event has turned political. Immediately the alarm was raised by the women guardians inside the large structure, the fire engines were called and people from the Kasubi area, a densely-populated village, flocked to the scene. Some people in the huge crowd meanwhile, either in the confusion or from suspicion, threw stones at the fire-fighting vehicles and they had to back away; when they could finally do their work, the roof had collapsed and little could be saved. The following morning President Museveni—who is not Muganda—arrived, but only after national soldiers had forcibly cleared the way.

The present Kabaka, Ronald Muteebi II, arrived separately and stayed for 30 minutes, but did not address the crowd, only the resident princesses in private. At one point he wiped tears from his eyes. Traditional Baganda view these occurrences with some apprehension. The living Kabaka is not supposed to have contact with the dead without incurring the need for purification; and if the king weeps in public and does not speak, “things look serious” according to the Baganda. Besides, two young men died from bullet wounds in the melee and five more were admitted to hospital in critical condition, as well as three fire-fighters..

The unspoken words on people’s lips are ‘arson” and “sabotage”. As yet there is no evidence. But in the rarified political atmosphere of Kampala, with general elections less than one year away, and in the aftermath of last September’s fracas, and with plenty of un-and under-employed able-bodied Baganda youths ready for immediate action, only a tiny spark is needed to set off another conflagration.

Cutting Edge Africa correspondent Martyn Drakard writes from Uganda.