Muwenda Mutebi II of Buganda

Ronald Edward Frederick Kimera Muwenda Mutebi II (born 13 April 1955) is the reigning Kabaka of the Kingdom of Buganda, a constitutional kingdom in modern-day Uganda. He is the 36th Kabaka of Buganda.

Claim to the throne

He was born at the Mulago Hospital, Kampala.^[1] He is the son of Edward Frederick William David Walugembe Mutebi Luwangula Muteesa II, Kabaka of Buganda, who reigned between 1939 and 1969. His mother was Abakyala Sarah Nalule, Omuzaana Kabejja, of the Nkima clan.

Muwenda Mutebi II, Ireland, 1966

He was educated at Budo Junior School, King's Mead School in Sussex and Bradfield College, a public school in West Berkshire. He then entered Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he read social anthropology and law but was rusticated before he earned a degree.^[2] At the age of 11, he was appointed as Heir Apparent by his father on 6 August 1966. While in exile with his father, he reportedly worked as a double-glazing salesman in the United Kingdom,^[3] and as a journalist, was Associate Editor of the magazine African Concord and a member of the Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC) in London.^[1] On 21 November 1969, upon the death of his father, he succeeded as the Head of the Royal House of Buganda.

He returned to Uganda in 1988, following the removal of the Obote II regime and the military junta that briefly replaced Obote II. He was proclaimed at Buddo on 24 July 1993 upon the restoration of the Ugandan Kingdoms. On 31 July 1993, he was crowned at Buddo. He assumed the style of "His Majesty". He maintains his capital at Mengo.

Married life

Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II is married to one wife, whom he wedded on 27 August 1999. The official title of the Kabaka's wife is the Nnabagereka. Her full name and title is Sylvia Nagginda, the Nnabagereka, daughter of John Mulumba Luswaata of Nkumba, Kyaddondo, a member of the Omusu clan and Rebecca Nakintu Musoke who currently lives in New York. She is the granddaughter of George William Musoke and Nora Musoke of Nazzigo, Kyaggwe; and Omutaka Nelson Nkalubo Sebugwawo and Catherine Sebugwawo of Nkumba. The royal wedding was held at Saint Paul's Cathedral Namirembe, in Kampala, on 27 August 1999.^[4] Together, they have one daughter, Sarah Katrina Mirembe Ssangalyambogo Nachwa, born on 4 July 2001 in London, United Kingdom.

Children

The children of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II include the following:^[5]

1. Prince (Kiweewa) Jjunju Suuna, whose mother is Vénantie Sebudandi. He was born in London, United Kingdom in 1986. He attended King's College, Budo, before moving to England for further studies.
2. Princess (Omumbejja) Joan Nassolo.
3. Princess (Omumbejja) Victoria Nkinzi.
4. Princess (Omumbejja) Katrina Sarah Kirabo Ssangalyambogo. She was born in London, UK, on 4 July 2001. She attends private school in Kampala, Uganda. She is an excellent swimmer and has won awards at competitions in East Africa, within her age group.^[6]
5. Prince (Omulangira) Richard Ssemakookiro, born in July 2011. On 17 January 2012 the Katikkiro (Prime Minister) of Buganda Kingdom at that time, Engineer John Baptist Walusimbi, confirmed that Prince Semakokiro′s mother is a Muganda lady from the Enseenene (Grasshopper) clan. Later, the prince's mother was revealed as Rose Nansikombi, who hails from Luweero District in Buganda (Central Uganda).^[7]

His reign

Since the restoration of the Ugandan Kingdoms, the Kabaka's position is as Ssabataka (Head of the Clans) and as the cultural leader of the 10 million Baganda both in Buganda and in the Diaspora. Most of the Kabaka's time and efforts since his crowning have been directed at restoring Buganda's institutions, customs, cultural practices, and behaviors. He has played a leading role in inspiring the confidence of his subjects not to abandon the practices that have made the Kingdom endure over the last 800 years.

Although constitutionally barred from participating in Ugandan politics, the Kabaka has been at the forefront in reminding the Central Government to live up to the letter of the law and not trample on the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the Baganda to own land, travel and trade with their neighbors and with foreigners, to express their political views openly, without duress or undue influence and to practice their religious faiths as they choose.

Contentious issues with the central government remain, primarily in three areas:

• The return of the Kingdom assets, seized by the central government in 1967
• Harmonization of the land tenure system in the whole of Uganda. Currently, Buganda has different land ownership mechanisms that are missing in other areas of the country where land is communally owned.
• The creation of a Federal system of government for Uganda. The majority of the Baganda support Federo, while many of the smaller ethnicities fear that with Federo, Buganda will unfairly advance economically, leaving the rest of the country behind.

Other responsibilities

On 15 April 2011, he was installed as the first chancellor of Muteesa I Royal University. The university was founded in 2007 and named in memory of Muteesa I of Buganda, in recognition of his foresight in promoting education in Buganda and Uganda and in his superior diplomatic skills in juggling the influences of the British, the French, and the Arabs in the late 1800s.^[8]

Patronages

• Patron and Chief of the Trustee Buganda Cultural and Development Foundation [BUCADEF] (since 1996).
• Patron of the Kabaka Foundation.
• Patron of the Buganda Development Agency (BDA).
• Patron of the Monkton Foundation.
• Chairman of Rexba Ltd.

Honours

National Honours

• Sovereign of the Order of the Shield and Spears.

Ancestry

References

External links

• Genealogy of the Kabakas of Buganda
• List of The Kings of Buganda
• Patterns of Marriage Among Baganda Kings
• Photo of Royal Wedding of Kabaka Mutebi and Lady Sylvia Nagginda 29 August 1999