Ssemwogerere leaves a legacy of success
Dec 28, 2005
WITH deep regret, I inform the people of Buganda that negotiations between the Government and the kingdom of Buganda on the federal status have broken down.â€
By Joshua Kato
WITH deep regret, I inform the people of Buganda that negotiations between the Government and the kingdom of Buganda on the federal status have broken down.â€
“I am happy to inform you that we have agreed with the Central Government on most of the key issues.â€
Both statements were made by the Katikkiro of Buganda, Joseph Mulwanyamuli Ssemwogerere, at the height of the talks between Buganda and the Central Government over the Federal system of Government (federo).
Both of them were in response to questions about the progress of talks between the Government and the kingdom at Mengo.
At the time, Ssemwogerere cut a confident figure, the figure of a person working hard to achieve something for Buganda, a person who had the backing of most Baganda.
When he achieved the agreement, among other things, granting a regional tier, creating Mengo municipality in order to accommodate Buganda’s cultural institutions, he thought he had achieved something. But his detractors thought differently.
In the statement announcing his resignation recently, he said some members of the cabinet had requested to be allowed to resign to take part in politics.
“I have resigned because of long service to the kingdom,†he added. Although the Katikkiro did not give internal pressure as a reason for his sacking or resignation, many perceive it as the main cause.
Events of the few weeks preceding his resignation indicate that what he achieved was not what a section of Baganda wanted. The events smell of intrigue and back-stabbing by some officials, both from the Mengo cabinet and Bataka against the performance of the Katikkiro and some members of his cabinet.
Some have even labelled him a traitor for having failed to convince President Yoweri Museveni to grant Buganda federo, but above all, accepting to have an elected Katikkiro!
There are reports that the Kabaka has been under pressure from circles of Buganda leadership to appoint a new Katikkiro. When the Kabaka finally bowed to this pressure, the entire cabinet decided to resign with Ssemwogerere in solidarity.
“They betrayed us before Museveni. They are not patriotic,†a member of the Bazzukulu ba Buganda charged soon after the Katikkiro presented to the Lukiiko what had been achieved from the talks.
This kind of discontentment spread among sections of the Lukiiko and the Abataka, which is a very influential body of traditionalists. It is mainly composed of clan leaders.
The Bataka demonstrated over the agreement in November 2005, and Police dispersed them with tear gas.
The Katikkiro and his cabinet’s resignation is just the peak of the finger-pointing that has been going on in Mengo since the agreement was signed. Some of the Bataka and Bazukulu ba Buganda labelled Ssemwogerere a softie. Others called him Museveni’s agent. However, in his wisdom, he explained.
“The discussions were not simple,†he told the Lukiiko. He added that they needed patience and calculated decisions, but his detractors did not understand this.
Ssemwogerere always argued that radicalism was not the way forward for Buganda. Talking over issues was his mode of operation.
“The best we can do is talk with those who have what belongs to us. When we meet, we should ask them to give us our property,†he used to counsel his subjects.
However, even as he acrimoniously bows out of Buganda, Ssemwogerere is not leaving behind a legacy of failure. On the contrary, it is a legacy of success.
He has been Katikkiro for 11 years. His reign has seen some of the most dramatic developments in Buganda, such as the return of most of Buganda’s property that former President Milton Obote took in the 1960s.
These include the Lubiri, Bulange and other palaces through Buganda. In the past few months, he has been traversing Buganda while receiving more property from districts. Buganda’s projects like CBS FM were also started and matured under his counsel.
Of all developments, however, the Kabaka’s wedding still ranks among the most hectic, but the Katikkiro executed it with zeal and determination. As a result, his perceived failure to string out the real federo for Buganda should not taint his legacy.
“I think those who are calling him a traitor do not appreciate the situation. How many people went to talk with Museveni and got as much as the Katikkiro did?†wonders an old man, who is a member of the Bataka and sits in the Lukiiko.
When he was appointed in 1994, Ssemwogerere became the first Catholic to serve as Katikkiro of Buganda. Some traditionalists were, of course, not happy at this. It is said that fighting him started there and then.
However, because he had the Kabaka’s confidence, he lived on through the 11 years. The old man argues that Buganda is a very difficult kingdom to lead.
“People expect so much on one hand. On the other hand, they engage in a lot of back-stabbing and intrigue, which subsequently undermines their own leadership,†he says. This Mzee’s comments portray a very divided Lukiiko.
Ssemwogerere’s leadership abilities are deeply-rooted. He is an administrator and banker and a graduate of law, management science and economics from the Universities of Dar-es-Salaam, Bradford, Strathclyde (UK) and the Development Banking Centre of India.
Born at Mitala Maria Hospital in Mawokota County, the young Ssemwogerere had his early education at Kitovu, Bukalasa, Department of Science & Mathematics at the Uganda Technical College and Uganda College of Commerce.
As a revolutionary university student at Dar es Salaam, Ssemwogerere took advantage of the many liberation movements, at that time headquartered in Tanzania, to express his ardent solidarity with the struggle to emancipate Africa from political and economic colonialism. It was during this time in the 1970s that he first met President Museveni.
Ssemwogerere was the managing director of Sembule Investment Bank, which has since changed its name to Allied Bank International, and was also the chairman, board of directors at Nile Complex and Uganda International Conference Centre. This was before being appointed by the Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, to the highest and esteemed office of the Katikkiro of Buganda in 1994.
Ssemwogerere was first employed in the now defunct East African Community in Dar-es-Salaam as an officer-in-charge of organisation and methods. He later joined the Management Training and Advisory Centre and Makerere University as a lecturer. He was appointed by Museveni as a district administrator (now resident district commissioner) in Masaka in 1988.
He worked with the Commercial Bank of Africa and Bank of Uganda. After a stint at the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, he joined Uganda Development Bank. During part of this period, he was attached to the African Development Bank in Abidjan. He also served as honorary secretary to the respected Uganda Institute of Bankers for over five years.
He also has a hand in business, in which capacity he is a member of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda. He is the proprietor of Hotel La Nova in Masaka. He is also the Executive Chairman of a holding company known as Masaka Investments Limited. He is also a farmer.
Ssemwogerere was born to Yasenti Mulwanya and Bernadeth Nantale Mulwanya of Nzizi Kasaana, Buddu County, Masaka District. He got his respect for his tribe from his father. The late Mulwanya was a retired civil servant who had worked for 35 years in the Kabaka’s government.
Ssemwogerere belongs to a lineage of the legendary Sebwana Ggere of Malanga, Ssese, who, for a long time, presided over the Kingdom of Buganda during the turbulent years when Buganda did not have a substantive Kabaka.
He is married to Lady Letitia Mbalabye Kawere Ssemwogerere, granddaughter of Stanislaus Mugwanya (RIP), a former powerful Chief Judge in the Kingdom of Buganda.
WITH deep regret, I inform the people of Buganda that negotiations between the Government and the kingdom of Buganda on the federal status have broken down.â€
“I am happy to inform you that we have agreed with the Central Government on most of the key issues.â€
Both statements were made by the Katikkiro of Buganda, Joseph Mulwanyamuli Ssemwogerere, at the height of the talks between Buganda and the Central Government over the Federal system of Government (federo).
Both of them were in response to questions about the progress of talks between the Government and the kingdom at Mengo.
At the time, Ssemwogerere cut a confident figure, the figure of a person working hard to achieve something for Buganda, a person who had the backing of most Baganda.
When he achieved the agreement, among other things, granting a regional tier, creating Mengo municipality in order to accommodate Buganda’s cultural institutions, he thought he had achieved something. But his detractors thought differently.
In the statement announcing his resignation recently, he said some members of the cabinet had requested to be allowed to resign to take part in politics.
“I have resigned because of long service to the kingdom,†he added. Although the Katikkiro did not give internal pressure as a reason for his sacking or resignation, many perceive it as the main cause.
Events of the few weeks preceding his resignation indicate that what he achieved was not what a section of Baganda wanted. The events smell of intrigue and back-stabbing by some officials, both from the Mengo cabinet and Bataka against the performance of the Katikkiro and some members of his cabinet.
Some have even labelled him a traitor for having failed to convince President Yoweri Museveni to grant Buganda federo, but above all, accepting to have an elected Katikkiro!
There are reports that the Kabaka has been under pressure from circles of Buganda leadership to appoint a new Katikkiro. When the Kabaka finally bowed to this pressure, the entire cabinet decided to resign with Ssemwogerere in solidarity.
“They betrayed us before Museveni. They are not patriotic,†a member of the Bazzukulu ba Buganda charged soon after the Katikkiro presented to the Lukiiko what had been achieved from the talks.
This kind of discontentment spread among sections of the Lukiiko and the Abataka, which is a very influential body of traditionalists. It is mainly composed of clan leaders.
The Bataka demonstrated over the agreement in November 2005, and Police dispersed them with tear gas.
The Katikkiro and his cabinet’s resignation is just the peak of the finger-pointing that has been going on in Mengo since the agreement was signed. Some of the Bataka and Bazukulu ba Buganda labelled Ssemwogerere a softie. Others called him Museveni’s agent. However, in his wisdom, he explained.
“The discussions were not simple,†he told the Lukiiko. He added that they needed patience and calculated decisions, but his detractors did not understand this.
Ssemwogerere always argued that radicalism was not the way forward for Buganda. Talking over issues was his mode of operation.
“The best we can do is talk with those who have what belongs to us. When we meet, we should ask them to give us our property,†he used to counsel his subjects.
However, even as he acrimoniously bows out of Buganda, Ssemwogerere is not leaving behind a legacy of failure. On the contrary, it is a legacy of success.
He has been Katikkiro for 11 years. His reign has seen some of the most dramatic developments in Buganda, such as the return of most of Buganda’s property that former President Milton Obote took in the 1960s.
These include the Lubiri, Bulange and other palaces through Buganda. In the past few months, he has been traversing Buganda while receiving more property from districts. Buganda’s projects like CBS FM were also started and matured under his counsel.
Of all developments, however, the Kabaka’s wedding still ranks among the most hectic, but the Katikkiro executed it with zeal and determination. As a result, his perceived failure to string out the real federo for Buganda should not taint his legacy.
“I think those who are calling him a traitor do not appreciate the situation. How many people went to talk with Museveni and got as much as the Katikkiro did?†wonders an old man, who is a member of the Bataka and sits in the Lukiiko.
When he was appointed in 1994, Ssemwogerere became the first Catholic to serve as Katikkiro of Buganda. Some traditionalists were, of course, not happy at this. It is said that fighting him started there and then.
However, because he had the Kabaka’s confidence, he lived on through the 11 years. The old man argues that Buganda is a very difficult kingdom to lead.
“People expect so much on one hand. On the other hand, they engage in a lot of back-stabbing and intrigue, which subsequently undermines their own leadership,†he says. This Mzee’s comments portray a very divided Lukiiko.
Ssemwogerere’s leadership abilities are deeply-rooted. He is an administrator and banker and a graduate of law, management science and economics from the Universities of Dar-es-Salaam, Bradford, Strathclyde (UK) and the Development Banking Centre of India.
Born at Mitala Maria Hospital in Mawokota County, the young Ssemwogerere had his early education at Kitovu, Bukalasa, Department of Science & Mathematics at the Uganda Technical College and Uganda College of Commerce.
As a revolutionary university student at Dar es Salaam, Ssemwogerere took advantage of the many liberation movements, at that time headquartered in Tanzania, to express his ardent solidarity with the struggle to emancipate Africa from political and economic colonialism. It was during this time in the 1970s that he first met President Museveni.
Ssemwogerere was the managing director of Sembule Investment Bank, which has since changed its name to Allied Bank International, and was also the chairman, board of directors at Nile Complex and Uganda International Conference Centre. This was before being appointed by the Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, to the highest and esteemed office of the Katikkiro of Buganda in 1994.
Ssemwogerere was first employed in the now defunct East African Community in Dar-es-Salaam as an officer-in-charge of organisation and methods. He later joined the Management Training and Advisory Centre and Makerere University as a lecturer. He was appointed by Museveni as a district administrator (now resident district commissioner) in Masaka in 1988.
He worked with the Commercial Bank of Africa and Bank of Uganda. After a stint at the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, he joined Uganda Development Bank. During part of this period, he was attached to the African Development Bank in Abidjan. He also served as honorary secretary to the respected Uganda Institute of Bankers for over five years.
He also has a hand in business, in which capacity he is a member of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda. He is the proprietor of Hotel La Nova in Masaka. He is also the Executive Chairman of a holding company known as Masaka Investments Limited. He is also a farmer.
Ssemwogerere was born to Yasenti Mulwanya and Bernadeth Nantale Mulwanya of Nzizi Kasaana, Buddu County, Masaka District. He got his respect for his tribe from his father. The late Mulwanya was a retired civil servant who had worked for 35 years in the Kabaka’s government.
Ssemwogerere belongs to a lineage of the legendary Sebwana Ggere of Malanga, Ssese, who, for a long time, presided over the Kingdom of Buganda during the turbulent years when Buganda did not have a substantive Kabaka.
He is married to Lady Letitia Mbalabye Kawere Ssemwogerere, granddaughter of Stanislaus Mugwanya (RIP), a former powerful Chief Judge in the Kingdom of Buganda.