Bwanika House at Naggalabi Coronation SiteSet Ablaze

Bwanika cultural house at Naggalabi coronation site, Buddo was razed to the ground by fire in the early hours of Wednesday 8th August, 2012.

The cause of fire which reduced the highly cultural house where coronation ceremonies of Buganda Kings take place to ashes has at the moment not been ascertained.

 

Nagalabi coronation site is located at Buddo in Busiro, Wakiso district along Kampala-Masaka Road a few meters past Kings College Buddo. The site is of great significance to Buganda Kingdom because it’s where every King in Buganda is crowned to the throne, a purpose it has served for the last 700 years. It is also considered as the historic heart of Buganda as all the history of the Kingdom at the dawn of the 14th century rotates around it. It is where Kintu defeated his rival brother Bemba and declared himself the first Kabaka of Buganda creating the historical attachment that all the coronations of the Kings of Buganda are conducted here.

The fires come at a time when the Kingdom has just concluded celebrations to mark 19 years of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II’s reign who was also coroneted as King of Buganda at Naggalabi in 1993.

0n 16th March 2010, Kasubi tombs were set ablaze by unknown people and government is yet to release the report on what caused the fire which destroyed the most significant cultural site of the Kingdom where four past Kings lie.

Meanwhile, Katikkiro Eng. J.B. Walusimbi has instructed the caretakers at Naggalabi coronation site to make a record of all the items that were destroyed in fire that gutted Bwanika house at the site.

Katikkiro who had visited the site to establish the extent of the fire was saddened to see that the entire house had completely been destroyed by the fire.

He remarked that Naggalabi coronation site will be immediately restored as soon as possible since it has no strings attached like in the case for Kasubi Tombs.

The Ssemanobe told Katikkiro that they failed to stop the fire as it came from all sides of the house which made it very difficult for them to stop.

Katikkiro therefore ordered the Ssemanobe and his deputies to make a record of everything that has been in the house and submit it to his office to enable the Kingdom start on the reconstruction of Bwanika house at Naggalabi.

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