52% say kings must keep out of politics

Kampala

Half of all Ugandans say cultural leaders should not engage in politics, according to a new Daily Monitor poll. However, a majority say the government was wrong to block the Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Mutebi, from visiting Kayunga last September, a decision that sparked off riots in which at least 27 people were killed.

The poll also reveals that most Ugandans are satisfied with the way the Central Government has handled Buganda Kingdom with which it has clashed over land, money, the role of the Kabaka in politics, and the kingdom’s demand for a federal system of government.

Criticism
The poll was commissioned by Daily Monitor and the Deepening Democracy Programme and conducted between April 19 and May 6 by TNS/Research international, an independent global research company. It is the first published opinion poll on public views about the blocked visit that sparked off the riots, as well as on the way the government is handling Buganda’s grievances.

Asked whether the government was right to block the Kabaka’s visit to Kayunga on the grounds that it was unable to protect him from want-away members of the Banyala community, 42 per cent of the respondents in the survey said “no”. Those who said “yes” were 37 per cent while 17 per cent said they did not know. Criticism of the government’s decision was highest among respondents aged 18-25, among men, and among respondents in the lower income brackets.