Mourning starts at Kasubi, Nakulabye market closed
Mar 22, 2010
MANY people yesterday turned up at Kasubi on the first day of mourning at the burnt royal tombs. School children, dressed in uniforms, also turned up.
By Jeff Lule
and Juliet Waiswa
MANY people yesterday turned up at Kasubi on the first day of mourning at the burnt royal tombs.
People dressed in black clothes, which included kanzu (white tunic), black t-shirts and gomesi, queued from Kasubi trading centre, about half a kilometre along Hoima Road, as they waited to be checked before entering the historical grounds. School children, dressed in uniforms, also turned up.
Fire gutted the royal tombs, destroying 130-year-old artifacts, royal medals and regalia at the Kasubi tombs. The tombs are also the resting place of the last four kings of Buganda; Muteesa I, Mwanga Basammula, Daudi Chwa and Sir Edward Muteesa II. Their remains were reportedly not damaged by the fire.
Mengo has demanded an independent commission of inquiry into the cause of the fire.
Wiping tears, Maria Kyambadde, 80, said she had come to mourn what had been lost. “This is Buganda’s ancestral home, where all our grandfathers rest. So when it is burnt what do you expect us to do?†she asked.
Fahda Mugisha of Lubiri Secondary School said he was using this chance to visit the tombs. “We never had trips to this place. Now that we were brought to do some work, I can picture what it was like,†he said.
All royals and elders wore kanzu and gomesi with barkcloth waistbands and sashes, a symbol of mourning in the Ganda culture.
The mourners were subjected to thorough security checks before accessing the tombs. Both uniformed and plain-clothes security personnel were seen moving around the place.
At the entrance was a contribution desk where donations and pledges to fund the reconstruction of the historical site were made.
The burnt site was fenced off with railing and reeds. People were not allowed to go closer to the tombs because it is prohibited in the Ganda culture, according to the head of security, Mayanja Ssekiziyivu.
Meanwhile, Buganda kingdom-owned market in Nakulabye near Kasubi, yesterday remained closed and all traders were told to go and mourn for the royal tombs.
Business around the market was paralysed as all shops remained closed and taxi operators were told to shift their stage to the opposite side of the market.
Yassin Kityo, a UTODA official at the Nakulabye stage, said the order to close the market was made by the market authorities.
At the entrance of the market hang a piece of barkcloth with the words, “Ssabasajja Kabaka wa Buganda Ggutusinze.â€
Jane Nabakooza, a milk vendor, said the market was supposed to remain closed until tomorrow. “We were told to go to Kasubi tombs and mourn. We found the market closed in the morning,†she said.
A senior Police officer attached to Nakulabye Police Post, who preferred anonymity, said the market was closed because it belongs to the Mengo government.
However, other kingdom-owned markets in the city that The New Vision visited, carried on business as usual. Some traders dressed in kanzu and black gomesi and the youth wore black T-shirts, in mourning.
Some youth took advantage of the situation and sold black T-shirts with portraits of the four fallen kings at sh2,500, while a kanzu went for sh8,000 and a piece of barkcloth strap was at sh500.
and Juliet Waiswa
MANY people yesterday turned up at Kasubi on the first day of mourning at the burnt royal tombs.
People dressed in black clothes, which included kanzu (white tunic), black t-shirts and gomesi, queued from Kasubi trading centre, about half a kilometre along Hoima Road, as they waited to be checked before entering the historical grounds. School children, dressed in uniforms, also turned up.
Fire gutted the royal tombs, destroying 130-year-old artifacts, royal medals and regalia at the Kasubi tombs. The tombs are also the resting place of the last four kings of Buganda; Muteesa I, Mwanga Basammula, Daudi Chwa and Sir Edward Muteesa II. Their remains were reportedly not damaged by the fire.
Mengo has demanded an independent commission of inquiry into the cause of the fire.
Wiping tears, Maria Kyambadde, 80, said she had come to mourn what had been lost. “This is Buganda’s ancestral home, where all our grandfathers rest. So when it is burnt what do you expect us to do?†she asked.
Fahda Mugisha of Lubiri Secondary School said he was using this chance to visit the tombs. “We never had trips to this place. Now that we were brought to do some work, I can picture what it was like,†he said.
All royals and elders wore kanzu and gomesi with barkcloth waistbands and sashes, a symbol of mourning in the Ganda culture.
The mourners were subjected to thorough security checks before accessing the tombs. Both uniformed and plain-clothes security personnel were seen moving around the place.
At the entrance was a contribution desk where donations and pledges to fund the reconstruction of the historical site were made.
The burnt site was fenced off with railing and reeds. People were not allowed to go closer to the tombs because it is prohibited in the Ganda culture, according to the head of security, Mayanja Ssekiziyivu.
Meanwhile, Buganda kingdom-owned market in Nakulabye near Kasubi, yesterday remained closed and all traders were told to go and mourn for the royal tombs.
Business around the market was paralysed as all shops remained closed and taxi operators were told to shift their stage to the opposite side of the market.
Yassin Kityo, a UTODA official at the Nakulabye stage, said the order to close the market was made by the market authorities.
At the entrance of the market hang a piece of barkcloth with the words, “Ssabasajja Kabaka wa Buganda Ggutusinze.â€
Jane Nabakooza, a milk vendor, said the market was supposed to remain closed until tomorrow. “We were told to go to Kasubi tombs and mourn. We found the market closed in the morning,†she said.
A senior Police officer attached to Nakulabye Police Post, who preferred anonymity, said the market was closed because it belongs to the Mengo government.
However, other kingdom-owned markets in the city that The New Vision visited, carried on business as usual. Some traders dressed in kanzu and black gomesi and the youth wore black T-shirts, in mourning.
Some youth took advantage of the situation and sold black T-shirts with portraits of the four fallen kings at sh2,500, while a kanzu went for sh8,000 and a piece of barkcloth strap was at sh500.