Colonial era Ham Mukasa home is new tourist site

In the heart of Mukono Town, somewhere in Nasuti, is the country home of one of Buganda’s renowned chiefs, Ham Mukasa.

The home has two prominent buildings. The exterior walls of the main building are painted in cream, while the poles are painted grey.

Inside the main house
Once inside the main house, the first thing that captures one’s sight are the portraits on the walls of one of the rooms. The pictures, which are mostly in black and white, are of Ham Mukasa, his children, associates and some of the Buganda kings, including a youthful Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.

“Ssekabaka Daudi Chwa ne Ssekiboobo Ham Mukasa e London Mu 1913,” reads the caption on a portrait of young-looking Mukasa wearing a robe and a round cap. Another captivating picture is of Alexander Mackay, one of the pioneer missionaries in Uganda.
“Some of the pictures on this wall were taken by Mukasa himself, while others were taken by other photographers.

The reason why Mackay’s picture hangs here is because he had a great influence on Mukasa as he taught him how to read and write,” explains Dr Ham Mulira as he guides a group of tourists. The former minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a grandson of Ham Mukasa. He also reveals that the portraits were collected by his grandfather from different periods.
In the compound, adjacent to the main house is an old and rusty abandoned green car with white patches. It neither has seats nor tyres.

“That was Ham Mukasa’s car that he would use to drive himself, wife and children,” Dr Mulira says.

The second house
The other house with one huge room was Mukasa’s home office. It has mostly different old musical instruments, including a piano and xylophones, a mirror and a huge table inscribed with an “H.M” signature and date as 8.4.1922.

According to Dr Mulira, the musical instruments were played by Mukasa during his free time and while entertaining guests. The different items were bought from Britain.

The library, whose entrance is located at the lower end of the main building, comprises all sorts of literature, including newspapers, magazines and journals. It is Mukasa’s own collection, including a diary he recorded about his journey to England when he accompanied Sir Apollo Kaggwa to the coronation of King Edward VII of Great Britain in 1901.

Some of his other writings are being used by institutions such as Makerere University and Uganda Christian University Mukono libraries.

Why the home is being maintained
Dr Mulira explains that the family is continuing to preserve such places so that the current generation understands the history of those who lived before them.
“We want people who come here to get a feel of not only how he, [Ham Mukasas] but also how other people lived in the past,” he says.

The premises, he says, are open to members of the public on any day of the week. They will be taken on a guided tour. No payment is required.

“We have not found a reason to charge our visitors yet because they purposely come here to look at the portraits and read the books in the library,” Dr Mulira says.
He says this may, however, change in the near future as money is required to maintain the place for generations to come.

“There is someone in charge of the place whose responsibility is making sure that everything is in order, as well as taking people around.”

The home, located about 1km on Bugerere road in Mukono District, is a protected heritage site registered under the Buganda historical tourism establishments.

THE TOUR

The tour was organised by Uganda Tourism Board, the Buganda Miss Tourism cluster, in conjunction with Crystal Models under the “Be My Tourist” Valentine themed domestic campaign. Participants included Miss Tourism finalists, Buganda kingdom officials and local leaders from Mukono District.

Ms Barbara Nakiwolo, the 2014 Miss Tourism first runner up from Buganda region, told Saturday Monitor that this particular visit was to attract more Ugandans to appreciate the tourism wonders in Mukono District.
“This event is aimed at forging partnerships in growing domestic tourism in the country, as well as open a window to work closely with local governments in order to popularise all the attractions in the country,” she stated.

Christopher Sebuliba, the executive director of Buganda Heritage and Tourism Board, states that the Ham Mukasa home has a great tourism potential because it has a rich history about one of Buganda’s renowned leaders.

“The books alone stocked in the library that he wrote himself are educative about this country’s past,” Sebuliba says.

Dr Mulira adds that the home is an ideal place to not only learn about Mukasa’s descendants but also about Buganda and Uganda as a whole.

In order for the place to become a great tourism site, Sebuliba believes that members of the public need to be educated more about it through different platforms such as the media.

WHO IS HAM MUKASA?

Ham Mukasa (right) was born in 1871 to Zakaria Sensalire and Nyakazana. He was one of the first young boys to be taught how to read and write at Nateete in Kampala by the first missionaries in Uganda led by Sir Alexander Mackay.

During his adult years, Mukasa, previously known as Rwamujonjoza, became one of Buganda’s chiefs.

He contributed a lot towards the modernisation of the kingdom and Uganda as a whole, including donating land to Church of Uganda where Uganda Christian University stands.

In 1894, Mukasa married Hannah Mawemuko. They had four children. One of them is grandmother of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II. When Mawemuko died in 1919, Mukasa married Sarah Nabikolo and had 10 children.

In 190, he became the private secretary of Katiikiro of Buganda, Sir Apollo Kaggwa. He retired in 1935 as Ssekiboobo of Kyaggwe County, having been the longest-serving Ssaza chief in the history of Buganda. He died on March 29, 1956, and was buried at Namirembe Cathedral Church of Uganda.

Source: Ham Mukasa
Foundation archives

[email protected]