Can heritage buildings hold off growing threat?

Uganda’s architectural heritage is facing a renewed existential threat, with a perfect storm encouraging the demolition of old buildings with historical value.

There are growing fears that the heritage sub-sector will be negatively impacted not least because many developers in the country overwhelmingly favour construction of new buildings over the repurposing of old ones.

“It is really important that we trace back our history, which is manifested in historical buildings and historic property,” Mr Fredrick Nsibambi, the deputy executive director of the Cross Cultural Foundation of Uganda, tells Monitor, adding that—much like conservation areas—heritage is to be found in the country’s architectural wealth, which “can be turned into tourism centres, places of entertainment and very important events can be organised around historic buildings.”

The message of conservation specialists, however, appears to be falling on deaf ears not just in the capital Kampala but also in major cities like Jinja. Famed as a tourism hub, signs of creeping gentrification are evident in Jinja. 

Some of the city’s unique and eclectic architectural heritage has also been lost to mismanagement and petty squabbles. A case in point is Ripon Hotel, which was Queen Elizabeth II’s abode during her visit to Uganda in 1954. It nowadays squats rather awkwardly in a cornfield, the victim of a property row. 

The city’s authorities are, nevertheless, determined to jealously guard its historic architecture from either a building boom or disputes such as the one that has diminished the once palatial hotel that towered over Jinja Sailing Club on Nile Crescent.

“Preservation of these old structures … gives you a blend of beauty and authenticity, making us very unique and different from other cities,” Mr Simon Kaita, the city’s tourism development officer, notes.

Beating the odds
Mr Charles Nampendho, Jinja City’s physical planner, says it will continue to be home to “many historic buildings with unique architectural designs, [a] well planned network of roads, [and] existing public open spaces like the oldest Busoga Square.” 

The square, he adds, is “seated on two to three acres of land and has the World War II monument.”
Jinja particularly takes great pride in the Madhvani building on Main Street that gives the city a classical skyline. The first storeyed building to be erected in Jinja City, such was the acclaim it once enjoyed that it once featured on postage stamps. 

“It holds personal significance because it served as the first family home for Muljibhai Prabhudas Madhvani, an MBE who lived between 1894 and 1958,” Mr Emmanuel Rwabose, the Madhvani property manager in Jinja, says, adding that the patriarch of the family “lived upstairs and conducted his business on the ground floor.”
Today, the building on Plot 25 Main Street serves as the head office of Muljibhai Madhvani & Co Ltd (MMCo).

LISTEN NOW: Why historic buildings must be protected

Located smack in the centre of Jinja City, the historic building is where MMCo manages business interests in agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing (sugar, confectionery, packaging products, sanitary products and steel), insurance, security services, aviation, power generation, property management, distillation, tourism and hospitality, and philanthropy.

The building received a fresh coat of paint in 2011, but the repair works were careful to respect its historical status. The architecture and materials were, for instance, preserved in their original form. 

This, some observers in Jinja City insist, was important not least because historic buildings are tangible representations of the past, reflecting the architectural styles, craftsmanship, and societal values of the time.  
“If you look at it, you cannot believe it was constructed in 1919, but it is among the oldest structures that are still standing,” Mr Rajab Kitto, Jinja City’s public relations officer, says of the Madhvani building   

Gentrification 
While Jinja still teems with historic buildings, the same cannot quite be said of the Ugandan capital. This is, thanks to the refurbishing and retrofitting older properties in Kampala. 

In 2016, the arts and culture fraternity vehemently rejected a government move to demolish the National Theatre. The government wanted the colonial constructivist masterpiece to be demolished to pave the way for a 36-storey modern mall.

Back in 2007, demolition of the then 55-year-old Shimoni Demonstration Primary School and Shimoni Core Primary Teachers College commenced. The government made clear that a five-star hotel was going to be erected on the prime piece of land located a stone’s throw away from the National Theatre. 

This was ahead of the staging of the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala. It wasn’t until May of 2019 that the ribbon on Kingdom Kampala, a shopping mall, was cut.

Despite such developments, which are hardly unusual, Kampala still plays host to a number of historic buildings. 

The Bahai temple, which was constructed in 1958 before being dedicated in 1961, still stands.
“This building is historical in the sense that it was the first Bahai house of worship to be built in Africa,” Mr Charles Anglin, the temple’s caretaker, says.

Picture in Mbarara
Mbarara City also teems with rich history and heritage sites such as the Mugaba palace atop Kamukuzi hill. Despite being a Unesco heritage site, the palace is in a dilapidated condition. 

“That palace, you will find walls built without cement but rather bricks with clay as a way of preserving our culture and the heritage” Mr Didas Tabaro, the Mbarara District chairperson, describes how Mugaba’s architectural designs are being preserved.

Atop Ruharo hill in Mbarara are St James Cathedral, the home of the Ankole Diocese, and Mbarara High School, the birthplace of scouting in Uganda. The former’s building was erected a little over 100 years ago. Little wonder, it hosts the East African Revival Museum. 

Ankole Bishop Sheldon Mwesigwa says the building was used by the Christian Missionary Society around the 1930s. It has also been the home of the past five bishops of Ankole Diocese.  

“This building is very historical. This house was not only used by all the bishops before me, but also the Christian missionaries,” Bishop Mwesigwa says, adding that he is perturbed by the fact that many Africans do not appreciate the need to preserve history and records.

Legal provisions 

Ms Jackie Nyiracyiza, a commissioner for museums and monuments in the Tourism ministry, says a nation without a past is a dead nation. She adds that Uganda has nearly 700 historic sites profiled to be safeguarded and promoted.

The fourth target of Sustainable Development Goal 11 calls for the strengthening of efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage. 

To effectively do this, the government, through the Tourism ministry, came up with the Museums and Monuments Act that President Museveni assented to in June.

Ms Nyiracyiza says the law is timely and will enable government to work with current custodians of such places to protect and preserve them. 

The Act has a list of sites, including graves, worship areas, monuments, houses, and others, which are not owned by the government, but will now be run as preserved sites under the law. 

It provides for, among others, compulsory acquisition of private museums thought to be mismanaged by the owners. The commissioner says the Tourism ministry will soon come up with regulations to enable proper enforcement of the law and guide any redevelopment of any historical structures.

Ms Nyiracyiza says the law is to develop the country and not to antagonise or fight private owners of such facilities. She, however, hastens to add that it is not the law that preserves such facilities but rather people. This underscores the importance of collaboration with all stakeholders.