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| Muteesa I
1835-1884 |
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Muteesa I was
born around 1835 and was crowned in 1856. He established his palace at
Kasubi in 1882, as did his father, Kabaka Suuna II. He was so afraid of
a rebellion that he imprisoned all his brothers in a great trench, where
many died. Muteesa became a very powerful Kabaka, and had more wives
than any of his predecessors. He was also the first Kabaka to be
influenced by foreign cultures. He adopted some Islamic religious
practices, learned from ivory and slave traders who traveled inland from
Zanzibar. He also showed interest in Europe after hosting John
Hannington Speke, who was the first European visitor to Buganda in 1862.
When the explorer Henry Stanley visited him in 1875, he requested
teachers of European learning and religion. At this time, European
countries, particularly England and Germany, were seeking the
territories at the source of the Nile. Although Muteesa allowed his
Muslim and Christian guests to compete with each other for converts
among his royal staff , he never let them threaten his authority. He
died in 1884 and his body was buried, whole, at his palace in Kasubi. He
had decreed that his jawbone should not be removed from his body. He
thus broke two traditions; first, being buried whole, and second, being
buried at his former palace in Kasubi. |
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| Mwanga II
1867-1903 |
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Mwanga II
succeeded his father in 1884, and was the last monarch of an independent
Buganda. In 1886, many of Muteesa’s subjects who had converted to
Christianity or Islam were burned to death. Mwanga’s leading Christian
and Muslim chiefs became worried and combined their forces to overthrow
him. Mwanga II joined the resistance against the British colonial forces
in 1897. He joined forces with Kabalega, the king of Bunyoro-Kitara
kingdom, but they were defeated and captured on 9th April 1899. Both
kings were exiled in the Seychelles Islands. Mwanga II, who had, by
then, been christened Daniel, died there in 1903. His remains were
brought back in 1910 and buried at Kasubi tombs. This again broke the
old tradition of burying Kabakas at different sites, thus making Kasubi
an important burial site for the Kabakas of Buganda. |
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| Daudi Chwa
II 1896-1939 |
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Mwanga II was
succeeded by his son, Daudi Chwa II in 1897 at the age of one. He ruled
with the help of a regency of 1 Catholic and 2 Protestant chiefs until
the age of 18. Daudi Chwa II died in 1939. He too was buried at Kasubi
tombs, like his two predecessors. This strengthened further the cultural
value of the site |
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| Muteesa II
1924-1969 |
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Daudi Chwa II was
succeeded by his son Edward Muteesa II in 1939. In 1953, a conflict
developed between Muteesa II and the then Governor of the Uganda
Protectorate, Sir Andrew Cohen, over changes in the Buganda Agreement of
1900. Muteesa II was exiled in England until 1955. When Uganda attained
independence from the British on 9th October 1962, Muteesa II became the
constitutional President of Uganda. However, tensions soon developed
between him and the then Prime Minister Apollo Milton Obote which
culminated in the storming of the Kabaka’s palace in May 1966.
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In 1967, Obote abrogated the 1962 Federal Constitution and
introduced a Republican Constitution with himself as President. This change
abolished the kingdoms of Uganda. The Ugandan government repressed the
tribal Kingdoms, which were perceived as a threat to the national interest.
The palace of Kabaka Mutesa II was attacked by government troops led by Idi
Amin, and the Kabaka forced into exile. This presaged 20 years of repression
of the Kingdom that was brought to an end by President Museveni. Mutesa II
died in London in 1969, but his son Ssabasajja Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Kimera
Mutebi II returned from exile and was crowned in 1993. This coronation has
helped catalyse a cultural renaissance amongst the Baganda, many of whom had
little awareness of Ganda traditions.
Hence with four succeeding Kabakas of Buganda being buried in the same tomb,
the Kasubi tombs site has become an important shrine. Each prince and
princess who is a descendant of the four Kabakas is also buried at Kasubi
tombs behind the main shrine. Consequently, the site has also become
culturally important as the cemetery of the royalty of the Buganda kingdom. |
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