IN BUGANDA: MUTEBI CELEBRATES TWENTY YEARS ON THE THRONE:

The Uganda that you know and see on TV and want to visit before you die is only 50 years old. 

Prior to British Colonialism that lasted from 1894 to 1962 most of what we know as Uganda was different territory made up of different kingdoms including Buganda where my family was born.

No doubt many of you know where Uganda is….but did you know that inside Uganda lies one of the world’s most ancient Kingdoms; one that dates back nearly 1000 years.

In Buganda, this very ancient Kingdom that makes up most of central Uganda, hence the name of the country Uganda comes from the word Buganda…there are three main events that us Baganda people (people from Buganda are referred to as Baganda, we speak Luganda, which  mainly all of Ugandans speak) will never forget. These events will remain penned on the mental sheets of our always unfolding history for generations come.

In 1962 when the British formed Uganda: King Edward Mutesa II of Buganda was made president of Uganda, by 1966 his kingdom was abolished; the Ugandan govt of that time burned down his palace and sent Mutesa II running into exile where he died in 1969.

The ancient kingdom was lost and it wasn’t until 1993 that the Kingship was restored. Mutesa II’s son Mutebi would become king. I was a little boy in 1993 and I remember the country coming on a freeze for this occasional. As any little boy of that time: I had no idea what the fuss was about: I didn’t care.

Ekitibwa Kya Buganda: KYAVA DDA!

Twenty years later, our kingdom is rebuilding, BUGANDA is still waiting for the “central govt,” which is the govt that governs all of UGANDA to fulfill and honor the promises that Buganda signed with the rest of Uganda in 1962! 

Among many, all of us in Buganda want a “federal type govt,” where Buganda manages her own affair as a state with in Uganda because prior to 1894 and before 1962 that is what we did.