2023-08-29 15:36:52
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This removal from the list of heritage in danger – justified by the reconstruction of the site of Kasubi, in southern Uganda – would constitute, according to Unesco, a strong symbol: 50% of the sites appearing on this list are on the African continent.
France Télévisions – Culture editorial staff
Published on 08/29/2023 15:36
Reading time: 2 min.
Artisans fix the circular rings to the ceiling of one of the buildings belonging to the Kasubi Royal Tombs in Kampala, Uganda, on June 13, 2023. (STUART TIBAWESWA / AFP)
Unesco on Monday (August 28) recommended that the site of Kasubi, home to tombs of rulers of Buganda, a traditional kingdom in southern Uganda, damaged by fire in 2010, be removed from the list of heritage in danger after being rebuilt .
Located on the hills of the capital Kampala, this set of circular buildings of wood, reeds and thatched roofs has been listed since 2001 as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). This recommendation will be submitted to the 21 Member States of the World Heritage Committee which is meeting from September 10 to 25 in the Saudi capital Riyadh. This removal from the list of heritage in danger would constitute, according to Unesco, a strong symbol, given that 50% of the sites on this list are on the African continent.
International funding
The Kasubi site was rebuilt with the help of international funding, after a fire in March 2010 which largely destroyed the main building, called Muzibu-Azaala-Mpanga, housing the tombs of four “kabakas” (kings) of Buganda, the first of the country’s customary kingdoms. This former palace of the “kabakas”, built in 1882 and converted into a royal sepulcher in 1884, constitutes “an outstanding example of the architectural style developed by the powerful kingdom of Buganda from the 13th century”according to UNESCO.
A guard stands in front of one of the buildings belonging to the Kasubi Royal Tombs in Kampala, Uganda, on June 13, 2023. (STUART TIBAWESWA / AFP)
The 2010 fire had caused great emotion among the Baganda, subjects of the kings of Buganda and one of the main ethnic groups of Uganda. The disaster had occurred at a time of strained relations between the government and the Baganda after a travel ban imposed on their monarch in September 2009, which sparked massive riots around Kampala, killing at least 27 people. After the fire, at least two people were killed by fire from Ugandan security forces against “kabaka” supporters who were protesting against the visit of President Yoweri Museveni to the devastated site.
Artisans fix the circular rings to the ceiling of one of the buildings belonging to the Kasubi Royal Tombs in Kampala, Uganda, on June 13, 2023. (STUART TIBAWESWA / AFP)
Very influential economically and politically, the Baganda are viscerally attached to their royalty and revere Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, symbolically restored to his rights in 1993 by President Museveni. Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986 after the bush war, which he won with the support of Buganda. Many Baganda despised Yoweri Museveni’s rival, former President Milton Obote, for outlawing tribal kingdoms and forcing the “Kabaka” into exile.
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