On Elizabeth II's controversial visit to Uganda. UG's monarchs saw themselves on equal footing w/ Elizabeth. Here we see #Queen in UG in 1954, after the British empire exiled Ssekabaka Muteesa II. The visit was covered extensively in the Luganda press. britishpathe.com/video/VLVADK9Q… 1/9
Here, we see some of the earliest confidential reports regarding @BugandaOfficial on Ssekabaka Muteesa's exile, now housed in the British National Archives. 2/9
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Writers in the Luganda press busied themselves w/ protesting the Queen's visit. Uganda Post reported on 9 January 54 that the Lukiiko demanded the visit be postponed "and that a time of mourning for the deposed Kabaka be declared." 6/9
Ben Kiwanuka authored a scathing article in Ebifa mu Uganda, during which he demanded the Governor halt the Queen's visit immediately (15 January 54). And Uganda Eyogera formally stated that all Ugandans withhold any applause toward the Queen during her visit. 7/9
During her trip, the Lukiiko worked tirelessly to campaign for Muteesa II's return. In this photograph with @britishlibrary James H. Mukasa talked to Elizabeth II outside of Bulange. Mukasa was then a judge on the Buganda Court. 8/9
After an extensive international & regional campaign, Ssekabaka Muteesa II returned in 1955. The Queen's visit continued to be remembered w/ complexity. For some, it signified UG's envied status of imperial citizenship. For others, the visit signified colonial arrogance. 9/9
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On #GoodFriday I am reminded about Namirembe Cathedral's (St. Paul's) complicated past. Today's Cathedral is the fifth. The 1st was too small; 2nd was ruined by strong winds; 3rd was destroyed by termites, & the 4th was destroyed by fire on 23 Sept. 1910. These rare photos 1/5
were taken on the day of the fire. They show how the roof and infrastructure were utterly destroyed within 1 hour. The current Cathedral was rebuilt during the First World War. 2/5
As part of the ongoing discussion following Guweddeko's article on Makerere, here are two of the oldest written proverbs that underscore Makerere's connections w/ 'amakerenda' and 'mulele': Emboozi k'egwe amakerenda: ng'omuyala atuuse we bafumba.'
On #Uganda, #Russia & African Diplomacy. This thread follows @burke_jason's recent article @GuardianAfrica on African responses to #RussiaUkraineWar. It shows how the Muganda diplomat Semakulu Mulumba & I.K. Musazi utilized Soviet networks to advocate for Buganda land rights.
Throughout the 1940s & 1950s, Ugandan writers & diplomats thought deeply about Cold War propaganda. Okot p’Bitek used Wer pa Lawino to complicate Catholic claims that the UPC was merely a communist puppet party. In her lament, Lawino asserted,
‘His brother will bring Communism [so we are told]! [But] I do not know/What this animal is!’ Debates re: Soviet alliances were pronounced in the Catholic press, especially following Pope Pius XI’s encyclical Divini Redemptoris, a lengthy critique on ‘atheistic communism’ (1937).
Did Benedicto Kiwanuka & @DPSecretariat1 set out to destroy the Kabakaship in 1950s Buganda? The KY-UPC alliance rode to power on this claim. But a growing body of photographic evidence shows this was not the case. Kiwanuka & Kabaka Muteesa II were dear friends. 🧵1/15
Throughout the early 1960s, activists in KY and DP were engaged in a pamphleteer war. For their part, KY argued that Kiwanuka sought to eat the kingship. As one pamphlet read: 2/15
"Therefore anything or anybody that tries to alienate the Baganda’s loyalty to his Highness the Kabaka is like the Nnabe (Termite-eater) which invades an ant-hill and drives out or kills not only the Queen but also the termites; the ant-hill becomes empty and desolate. 3/15
BLURB: "Decolonization of knowledge has become a major issue in African Studies, brought to the fore by social movements from #RhodesMustFall to #BlackLivesMatter. 3/7
W/ the passing of Nnamasole Margaret Nagawa Siwoza Muyanja, I express my deepest condolences to @BugandaOfficial. Kitalo nnyo! The Nnamasole was the heir of Nnamasole Sarah Nalule Kisosonkole, the mother of Kabaka Mutebi. 1/
One of the Kabaka's first appearances was at the funeral of his father, during which he was accompanied by the Nnamasole: bit.ly/3ddWAFQ 2/
Much earlier, the army of the Nnamasole had played a key role in the political developments of the 1890s, as the servants of the Nnamasole had for centuries. In his history of Kabaka Mwanga, Apolo Kaggwa recounted that on 'the 20th October Kabaka Chwa sent 3/