Mutebi’s reign: A kingship ‘without authority’

Since the late 19th Century, almost every Kabaka has faced unique challenges. It would seem there has never been a comfortable fit for Buganda within the protectorate or the republic.

In 1843, Ssekabaka Ssuna II donated his favourite wife, Gwokyalya, to the Sultan of Zanzibar after she embarrassed him by publically acclaiming the good looks of his Arab visitors. In 1876, Ssekabaka Muteesa I slaughtered Muslim converts after they rejected him as their Mufti. In 1886, Ssekabaka Mwanga II rebelled against the British, executing Christian converts.

By the time Ssekabaka Daudi Chwa II was crowned, the absolute authority of the kabakas was a thing of the past. It was in his son’s reign that the kingdom was abolished.

Kingship without authority
Joash Mayanja-Nkangi, who was Katikkiro (Buganda prime minister) in 1966, believes Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi’s greatest challenge is a kingship without authority.

“In the 1962 Constitution, Mengo was mandated to have seven ministries. The Lukiiko (parliament) was legally constituted. We made laws that governed everyone in Buganda. We could institute penalties because we had our own courts. We even collected taxes. Now, the Constitution says the institution of the Kabaka was restored, but what exactly was restored?” he asks.

Rhetorically, Mayanja-Nkangi asks if the restored institution was modelled on the absolute power of Muteesa I or the federation of Muteesa II, wondering why no lawyer has petitioned the Constitutional Court for an interpretation.

“Without legal authority, the kabakaship is living off empisa y’ensi (people’s goodwill) where Baganda make financial contributions out of their tremendous love for the Kabaka, not because the law compels them to do so,” he says.

He argues that Mengo should have petitioned the Constitutional Court, although “When you are in Mengo you have to be very careful. If the central government returned a tip of the iceberg, they can remove it. You must understand their reluctance to pursue the issue”.
Omutaka Kibaale Daniel Nanziri Nadduli shares Mayanja-Nkangi’s misgivings, saying right from the 1900 Agreement the Kabaka has been isolated.

“The Constitution does not indicate the scope of the Kabaka’s authority. They left him with only ekitiibwa (glory). It is true that when we were bargaining for the restoration, we fronted ekitiibwa. It is not easy to convince a military government to restore a king. We could not bargain for authority when there was no kingship first,” Kibaale says.

He blames Baganda in the Constituent Assembly (CA) for failing Buganda. In 1995, on the floor of Parliament, Ssabalangira Besweri Mulondo dealt a blow to Buganda’s hopes of attaining power and federalism.

The extent of the damage became evident in 2010 when then Katikkiro John Baptist Walusimbi was denied entry into Kayunga where he had gone to prepare for the Kabaka’s visit to mark Buganda Youth Day.

Many died in the ensuing violence, and without authority, Buganda can only hope the situation does not reoccur.

The Federo question
Two years after the restoration, Buganda came close to attaining its pre-1966 federal status. When the issue was put to a vote in the CA, Buganda’s delegates failed to make the 51 number needed to win the day.

Besides attaining power, the demand for federo was premised on the fact that while the government took care of providing security, the developmental issues in the local communities would be seen to by the kingdom.

Mr Noah Kiyimba, the information minister and spokesman of Buganda Kingdom, agrees that federo has been a challenge to the Kabaka.

“Mengo government has systems in place, right from the village level to the Kabaka. Because our hands are tied, in order to do our developmental work, we have to work with the LC5 in different areas because we are serving the same people,” Kiyimba says.

Without federo, the kingdom is being deprived of revenue collected that could be used for social services which the central government is struggling to provide. Because a federal status requires a constitutional amendment, Mayanja-Nkangi believes the leaders in Mengo should not have given up.

“When Muteesa II and his Katikkiro Micheal Kintu went to the UK to negotiate Uganda’s Constitution, they fought for a federal system. In 1980, when I started the Conservative Party, our aim was a federal system of governance. No one from Mengo supported us; not even in secret,” Mayanja-Nkangi says.

He blames “okwegendereza” (careful navigation) as a weakness permeating Mengo. “Buganda is huge! It can scare the central government with its numerical strength. If the kingdom is united, the central government will listen, as long as the federo does not weaken their hold on power,” he says.

It is believed that with the appointment of Apollo Makubuya as the third deputy katikkiro, the federo debate could be resurrected.

Revival of the East African Community
With the fast tracking of the East african Community (EAC), there is an uncomfortable silence about the future of Buganda’s federo dream.

“I would love for Jesus to find Buganda on his return, but what will happen to us in the EAC?” Mayanja-Nkangi asks, adding, “Whatever arrangement we have with the central government may not work in an EAC political federation. This is something Buganda needs to think about.”

He alludes to the descendants of the Romans who are hardly visible in Rome today. “The Romans had a saying: Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis. (Times change and we change with them). When I explained this to a Muganda man, he asked where the Romans were today. He told me that although change is good, it needs to be made with wisdom,” he says.

This wisdom, according to Mayanja-Nkangi, means demanding from the central government Buganda’s schools so that its traditions and culture are maintained.

“Buganda is a key stakeholder in Uganda, so for the EAC to succeed in this country, the government has to consider our position,” Kiyimba says, adding, “Unless it is clear, I doubt the EAC can succeed. I know it is being fast-tracked, but consider Brexit. They have to settle Buganda first.”

A weakened Bataka Council
The Bataka Council is one of the reasons Baganda cherished their kingdom during the dry years when it was abolished. The Bataka are a strong foundation of the kabakaship because they held sway over Baganda.

There are some who believe the Bataka were intentionally weakened by Buganda’s 1993 Lukiiko because President Museveni had found a foothold in the council.

A source, who prefers anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, says, “Most Bataka were not politicians but such was their power that if they were against a katikkiro, he would be axed. But, Museveni had found rapport with them, and this made many in the kingdom uncomfortable.”

Nowadays, there are Baganda who do not know the titles, let alone, names of their clan leaders unless they introduce themselves during clan football games or at last funeral rites.

The non-visibility of these custodians of Buganda’s culture has created a freewheeling generation who are clueless about the tasks their clans perform in the kingdom.

“No one knows what will happen in the future because some of the current clan leaders do not know what they are doing,” Kibaale laments.

As times changed, new members in the Bataka Council became radicalised against the government. The weakening of the council gave rise to these new lone voices which almost derailed the kingdom.

“Look at what happened in Kayunga (2010). It could have been avoided if people had calmed down and discussed with the central government, instead of letting the radicals take matters into their own hands. Giving radicals a free hand is always a receipt for disaster. If we had used force to demand for the restoration of the kingdom, where would we be now?” Kibaale asks.

The voices of the radicals are no longer heard in Mengo. However, Kiyimba refutes the idea that the council is weakened, saying a few years ago it had been infiltrated by charlatans who had to be weeded out.

“They imposed themselves on the clans as leaders and sold clan property. They are the ones who hindered the work of the council. However, none of them is being targeted because of their individual political affiliations. We only urge them not to show which political party they belong to,” Kiyimba says.

The Bataka approached for this article agreed that there were challenges but declined to be interviewed for fear of being victimised.

Kibaale also decries the commercialisation of the kingship, which he claims is a result of a weak council leaving everything in the hands of the youth.

“This is going to cause problems for the future generation. I think they (the youth in Mengo) are trying to create an Agha Khan kind of kingship so that wherever Baganda exist on the globe that is where the kingdom is.

Baganda has taken to enjoying fetes all the time. Fetes are good, but they are happening at a time when we should be thinking critically about our future,” Kibaale says.

Youth unemployment and land question
Although youth unemployment is a global challenge, the rate at which Baganda youth are selling off their land to start small informal businesses is alarming.

“The land they sale in the villages can never come back. The government will soon reclaim unused land for major projects, such as commercial farms. Which kingdom can exist without land?” Kibaale asks.

Recently, Lands, Housing and Urban Development minister Betty Amongi announced that government will soon table an amendment to the Land Act (1998) aimed at easing government takeover of private land for national development projects such as roads and other infrastructure, before negotiation for compensation with the owner.

The kingdom has embarked on a mission to encourage the youth to venture into commercial agriculture in rural areas, instead of leaving their land to come to urban areas.

Managing the king’s popularity
Whenever Kabaka Mutebi visits his counties, the sheer love the Baganda show him is overwhelming.

In an interview with The Observer on January 17, 2011, (then) Buganda attorney general Apollo Makubuya said, “They have failed to comprehend that the Kabaka does not ferry people, does not pay them to attend his gatherings … but somehow people love him … In a way, it creates centres of power so much so that if the Kabaka said one day, ‘enough is enough; I am joining politics,’ it may leave these people in a bit of a situation … but their worries are misplaced.”

However, this joy has gotten some people thinking, as Mayanja-Nkangi narrates: “Just after I became Katikkiro in 1964, Uganda was playing an international match at Nakivubo Stadium. I had been delayed in Butikkiro, so when I arrived at the stadium, prime minister Apollo Obote was greeting the footballers.”

When the football fans – who had been silent – saw Mayanja-Nkangi’s official car, with the Buganda flag on the bonnet, they erupted into cheers.

“I told the driver to stop. The people went silent again. Obote then walked to the pavilion. When the driver resumed driving the people began cheering. They cheered until I entered the pavilion.”

After the game, as they were walking down the steps, a minister, Akbar Adoko Nekyon commented, “When the Baganda see Nkangi, they think that Jesus Christ has come back.”
“I did not reply, but I will never forget that statement,” Mayanja-Nkangi reminisces, continuing, “If he could say that about a Katikkiro, what were they saying about the Kabaka? Whenever we stood at the steps of Parliament waiting for Muteesa, we would hear the cheers miles away. Yet when Obote stood among us, no one even looked at him.”

When this reporter asks him whether the situation is the same today, Mayanja-Nkangi laughs long and hard, begging not to be drawn further into the conversation.

“Look, political ambition and jealousy began at that football match. All I will say is that according to the 1900 Agreement, the Kabaka is supposed to have 100 men-at-arms. These are not good times and Mengo needs wisdom on how to navigate them. The Bible says, unless the Lord guards the city … (Psalms 127.1b),” he says.

Democracy in the Lukiiko

An article tittle, Easy win for Mayanja-Nkangi, appeared on August 18, 1964, in the Uganda Argus newspaper.

It read: Joash Sibakyalyawo Mayanja-Nkangi (34), former minster of Commerce and Industry in the Central Government, was overwhelmingly elected Buganda’s Katikkiro by Lukiiko Members yesterday.

He got 44 votes and his rival, Mr Masembe Kabali, former minister of natural resources in the Kabaka’s government received 22 votes. There was tension inside and outside Bulange before the election. All entrances … were guarded by Buganda government police.