Letter to the Katikkiro

Warm greetings and thank you for your service to Buganda Kingdom, and Uganda at large.
Allow me to also wish the Kabaka, a happy 22nd coronation anniversary.
That said,..........
I would like to bring to your attention some little thing about royal guards, and how they treat Kabaka’s subjects, who are also invited to perform their duties, that promote the welfare of the kingdom.

My colleague, a photojournalist with Daily Monitor, Stephen Ouma Wandera, is one unhappy man with how Royal Guards manhandled him on Monday.
Wandera tells me a guard he identifies as Kisitu, tore his shirt and humiliated him publicly.
Reason, the photographer had crossed the line where the Kabaka was due to pass during the groundbreaking ceremony of Mirembe Villas in Kigo.

Wandera, one of the most professional photojournalists in the Ugandan industry, has covered VIP events, and his judgment was positioning himself to take the best photographs of the Kabaka. Every photographer needs to find that special place. They take pride in capturing unforgettable moments. And that is Wandera.
Ow’ekitiibwa Katikkiro, I know you understand this. You know better that photographers don’t take VIP photos from media tents.
However, it looks like your guards are not trained or even sensitised in this. May be, they don’t appreciate the role of journalism in the promotion of the kingdom’s interests.
Mr Wandera, dear Katikkiro, was assaulted by your guards in line of duty. And I have to know that he is not the first one.

When I posted his photograph on my social media platforms, I was greeted with several comments. The comments were not only expressing sympathy for Wandera, but, confessing to having gone through similar experiences with royal guards.
One of them posted, “my dear, some of us already abandoned our duties of covering Katikkiro’s crusades because of those guards. I don’t know why they are too harsh when it comes to journalists?”
And another added, “Shame, shame on the so called Royal guards”. The Baganda say, “Omulya mmamba abeera omu, navumaganya ekika.”

My friend Ssali says, the equivalent of the above proverb is “one rotten tomato spoils the whole basket”. I know the Luganda proverb is deeper than that.
My colleague Wandera hails from the East. I am not sure of his ethnic community (it is not important to know), but he is most likely a Japadhola or Samia.
However, he has been covering Buganda events wholeheartedly.

For him, it is his duty, much as he might not necessarily be sharing Buganda’s interests. He is a journalist who does his work as along as it meets the criteria.
Putting myself in Wandera’s shoes, he might be thinking, Kabaka’s guards need to behave better while doing their work at the same time.

They are guards, but, they need to act in a way that represents the organisation they work for.
Kabaka is the epitome of cultured people. His guards, like all workers in the palace, should reflect that.
And people like Wandera, who come from other communities, will cherish the culture they find in Buganda. They will respect the Kabaka and Buganda norms because they stand for the best in humanity.
Thank you, Ow’ekitiibwa,
God bless you.
Mike Ssegawa
[email protected]