Kabaka Muteesa discovered dead in his London house

In this fourth part of our series ‘Muteesa: The Last Days’, Faustin Mugabe recounts the circumstances of the Kabaka’s death in a London flat and the immediate events that prompted the family to temporarily bury him in the UK.

On November 22, 1969, unbelievable news begun to filter into Buganda, that something was amiss with the king exiled in London. It was the BBC and Radio Uganda first aired the news about the death of Kabaka Edward Mutesa II.

But the news was immediately dispelled. Buganda propagandists preached that it was President Milton Obote who had circulated the rumours – and that Muteesa was alive and well.

On the other side, however, those who believed that he was dead discreetly exploited the sad news to besmirch President Obote, by claiming that it was him who had assassinated Muteesa by poison. They claimed that the conduit of poison was a Muganda girl sent by Obote; who administered it to Muteesa as he wined on his 45th birthday on November 19, 1969 in London.

It was not until April 4, 1971, when Muteesa was laid to rest at the Kasubi Royal Tombs, that the souls that had become doubting Thomas’s believed the bitter truth that their Kabaka was dead. That notwithstanding, many others to this day do not believe the cause of his death, or of what the autopsy reported.

So what killed Mutesa II?
Before culture changed, Ugandans, like most Africans and Muslims, never believed in post-mortem (Yasser Arafat case excluded). In his book: ‘Memories Uganda’, Dr Albert Cook, the first resident doctor to arrive in East and Central Africa in 1897, wrote of how Ugandans thought he was a cannibal when he first carried out a post-mortem exercise at Mengo Hospital.

He said Africans believed that it was only Olumbe (evil spirit) that takes away or kills people and not shock, alcohol or any other reason. However, after exposure, Ugandans learnt to appreciate the purpose of performing an autopsy.
When Muteesa passed away on November 21, 1969, every effort was made to ascertain the cause of his death. Family members, friends, his subjects as well as the British and the Ugandan governments wanted to know what killed him. An autopsy was performed.

Because there had been rumours that Obote wanted Muteesa dead, the president wanted to clear the reports hovering over his head. Unfortunately, even those who worked hard to have the autopsy conducted so as too clear the government’s image; do not want to be recorded. Some, though aging, are working for the current government.

On November 24, 1969, a post-mortem was performed on Muteesa’s body. When Dr Arthur Gordon Davies, a surgeon who conducted the post-mortem on behalf of the British government, released the results on November 28, the cause of Muteesa’s death was and is still unbelievable to many Baganda.

“I find that the deceased died on the 21 day of November, 1969 at 28 Orchard House, Rotherhithe, from acute alcohol poisoning,” the autopsy report read in part.
Apart from the Uganda Argus and People newspapers of December 1969, no other newspapers detailed the autopsy. Dr Davies said the amount of alcohol found in Muteesa’s body was more than one third higher than what is considered lethal.

He gave the level of alcohol level found in the blood as 408 milligrams per 100 millilitres. The pathologist also said alcohol level of 350 milligrams in his blood, considering Muteesa’s body weight of 139 pounds by 5’6’’ in height, was potentially lethal.
Prof Abdul Kasozi, a veteran Uganda academia, recently authored the book about Muteesa’s life in exile titled ‘The Bitter Bread of Exile’.
On page 218, he wrote: “The psychological pressure on him from many sources slowly turned into depression, which might have increased his desire for the bottle. If this was the case, then the increased amount of alcohol in his blood is understandable.”

He adds: “Any future analysis of the causes of death of Sir Edward Muteesa should include the psychological problems as contributory factors”.

Why was Muteesa first buried in England?
It was largely because of politics and fear that Muteesa’s family chose to have him buried in London. The political tempo in Buganda was too hostile to have a befitting burial for the Kabaka.

From 1966 to 1971, there had been a 6pm to 6am curfew in Buganda. This meant that mourners returning from far destinations would have been arrested for travelling at night.
It was also feared that Obote would have dictated terms for the burial against the Kiganda culture. Besides, dissenting voices from Buganda in exile feared to be arrested once they arrived for the burial.

On December 3, 1969, Muteesa was temporarily buried at Kensal Rise cemetery in London. This was against hope that one day, Obote would cease to be the President of Uganda – and Muteesa would be buried in dignity next to his fore fathers.

On March 31, 1971, as hoped, it happened. Muteesa returned, though not alive, as his tormentor Obote was now a fugitive in Tanzania having been toppled by Idi Amin.
After four days of national mourning announced by the Amin government, on April 4, Sir Edward Muteesa was buried at Kasubi Royal Tombs with full military honours.