Kasubi tombs reconstruction to be completed by 2012
THE reconstruction of Kasubi tombs, which were destroyed by fire on March 16, will be completed in 2012, the Government has disclosed.
By Pascal Kwesiga
THE reconstruction of Kasubi tombs, which were destroyed by fire on March 16, will be completed in 2012, the Government has disclosed.
Addressing a press briefing at the Media Centre in Kampala yesterday, Gabriel Opio, the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, said the Government will ensure that the new site is inaugurated on March 16, 2012.
“It is our expectation that the site will be inaugurated on March 16, 2012, the same date it was destroyed,†Opio read from a statement.
Opio, who is also the chairperson of a Cabinet committee that was appointed by President Yoweri Museveni to probe the cause of the fire, added that the project is estimated to cost over sh2b.
The project, he said, was being handled through a tripartite agreement between the Buganda Kingdom, central government and UNESCO.
The minister, who led a team of the kingdom and Government officials on a trip to Brazil to attend the world heritage committee in July, said Uganda had received overwhelming support from the international community to reconstruct the tombs.
He said the judicial commission of inquiry, which was appointed to investigate the fire, could not commence work because one of its member, Godfrey Lule, had been sick.
Opio said Damiano Lubega, who has been fronted by Mengo to replace Lule, will be sworn in together with the legal team today at the High Court library.
“We are ready to begin investigations once the team is sworn in. We want an independent inquiry,†he said.
Tony Kaggwa, Buganda’s lands minister, who is also the chairman of the technical and building committee of the tombs, said they had so far collected sh500m from the kingdom royalists and well-wishers to reconstruct the tombs, which were declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2001.
“More money is still coming in from within and outside the kingdom,†Kaggwa said.
The money, he said, is being deposited on the kingdom’s bank account that is managed by Pricewaterhousecoopers.
Kaggwa, however, said it was not yet clear when the reconstruction will begin, although works on other structures in the complex had began.
“We thank the Government for its cooperation and we hope its efforts will not be wasted,†Kaggwa added.
The tombs contain the royal tombs of Mutesa I, Mwanga, Daudi Chwa and Frederick Edward Muteesa II, the father of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi.
The royal site was built in 1882 and converted into a mausoleum in 1884 by Muteesa II.
THE reconstruction of Kasubi tombs, which were destroyed by fire on March 16, will be completed in 2012, the Government has disclosed.
Addressing a press briefing at the Media Centre in Kampala yesterday, Gabriel Opio, the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, said the Government will ensure that the new site is inaugurated on March 16, 2012.
“It is our expectation that the site will be inaugurated on March 16, 2012, the same date it was destroyed,†Opio read from a statement.
Opio, who is also the chairperson of a Cabinet committee that was appointed by President Yoweri Museveni to probe the cause of the fire, added that the project is estimated to cost over sh2b.
The project, he said, was being handled through a tripartite agreement between the Buganda Kingdom, central government and UNESCO.
The minister, who led a team of the kingdom and Government officials on a trip to Brazil to attend the world heritage committee in July, said Uganda had received overwhelming support from the international community to reconstruct the tombs.
He said the judicial commission of inquiry, which was appointed to investigate the fire, could not commence work because one of its member, Godfrey Lule, had been sick.
Opio said Damiano Lubega, who has been fronted by Mengo to replace Lule, will be sworn in together with the legal team today at the High Court library.
“We are ready to begin investigations once the team is sworn in. We want an independent inquiry,†he said.
Tony Kaggwa, Buganda’s lands minister, who is also the chairman of the technical and building committee of the tombs, said they had so far collected sh500m from the kingdom royalists and well-wishers to reconstruct the tombs, which were declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2001.
“More money is still coming in from within and outside the kingdom,†Kaggwa said.
The money, he said, is being deposited on the kingdom’s bank account that is managed by Pricewaterhousecoopers.
Kaggwa, however, said it was not yet clear when the reconstruction will begin, although works on other structures in the complex had began.
“We thank the Government for its cooperation and we hope its efforts will not be wasted,†Kaggwa added.
The tombs contain the royal tombs of Mutesa I, Mwanga, Daudi Chwa and Frederick Edward Muteesa II, the father of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi.
The royal site was built in 1882 and converted into a mausoleum in 1884 by Muteesa II.