Museum must not be demolished
THE East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has opposed the demolition of the Uganda Museum. The MPs have pleaded with the Government to preserve it because it is a source of foreign exchange. But it is much more than a source of foreign exchange.
THE East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has opposed the demolition of the Uganda Museum. The MPs have pleaded with the Government to preserve it because it is a source of foreign exchange. But it is much more than a source of foreign exchange.
As the head of the EALA committee, Mike Sebalu put it, a country without history is a dead one. It is not only the EALA that is opposed to the demolition. The Society of Africanist Archeologists has appealed to President Museveni to rescind the decision to construct a commercial building on the land where the museum stands.
The building on the chopping board was built to UNESCO standards to consider conditions like humidity and heat. Will the trade centre be sensitive to those standards? If the current state of the building is wanting, all it needs is refurbishment and not demolition.
How and where will all the precious collections and documents in the museum be kept when it is demolished? And how will the people’s interests in their heritage be taken care of when the collections are stored away? The project could stall for decades as the precious collections decay. That is a scandal! Uganda does not lack commercial high-rise buildings and they can be built anywhere else.
The museum, on the other hand, is invaluable and unique. It was established in 1908 to conserve, promote and interpret Uganda’s cultural and natural heritage through research collections and documentation.
The first museum in Fort Lugard at Old Kampala was demolished in 2002. Although the bricks of the original fort were reassembled, conservationists say a lot of its original attributes were lost. Give Uganda’s only national museum a chance. This generation owes a duty to posterity.
As the head of the EALA committee, Mike Sebalu put it, a country without history is a dead one. It is not only the EALA that is opposed to the demolition. The Society of Africanist Archeologists has appealed to President Museveni to rescind the decision to construct a commercial building on the land where the museum stands.
The building on the chopping board was built to UNESCO standards to consider conditions like humidity and heat. Will the trade centre be sensitive to those standards? If the current state of the building is wanting, all it needs is refurbishment and not demolition.
How and where will all the precious collections and documents in the museum be kept when it is demolished? And how will the people’s interests in their heritage be taken care of when the collections are stored away? The project could stall for decades as the precious collections decay. That is a scandal! Uganda does not lack commercial high-rise buildings and they can be built anywhere else.
The museum, on the other hand, is invaluable and unique. It was established in 1908 to conserve, promote and interpret Uganda’s cultural and natural heritage through research collections and documentation.
The first museum in Fort Lugard at Old Kampala was demolished in 2002. Although the bricks of the original fort were reassembled, conservationists say a lot of its original attributes were lost. Give Uganda’s only national museum a chance. This generation owes a duty to posterity.