Asantehene in Uganda for Kabaka of Buganda 25th anniv

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, arrived in Uganda yesterday for the 25th anniversary of the coronation of the Kabaka of Buganda, Roland Muwenda Mutebi II.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu is the guest of honour at the event, slated for tomorrow which will attract a number of dignitaries from Uganda and around the world.

Buganda is recognised in Uganda as a constitutional monarchy, with an operational parliament.

Every year, the Kabaka attends two parliamentary sessions, one being the opening of the first session and the other the closing of the last session of the year.

While in Uganda for five days, the Asantehene will hold a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni at the Presidential Palace in Kampala, among other activities.

Arrival

Otumfuo Osei Tutu, who is accompanied by a number of chiefs, including the Juabenhene and Chairman of the Council of State, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, was welcomed at the Entebbe International Airport by the Prime Minister of Uganda, Mr Charles Peter Mayiga, and officials of the Buganda Kingdom.

In a brief speech to welcome the Asantehene, Mr Mayiga said the Kabaka and his people were delighted to have the Asantehene in their kingdom.

"We are very hopeful that his stay will be a pleasant one and cement the relations between the two kingdoms," he said.

Ahead of the anniversary, the Ugandan media had given prominence to the participation of the Otumfuo in it.

The Sunday Vision, in its edition of yesterday, hailed the Kabaka for bringing the Asante King to Uganda.

The Buganda Kingdom

The Buganda Kingdom, which is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in Uganda, is made up of the Baganda people and has been in existence for over 1,000 years.

Kabaka Mutebi, the 36th Kabaka of Buganda, was enthroned on July 31, 1993.

The power the Kabaka wielded in Ugandan national affairs came crashing in 1969 during the reign of Kabaka Mutesa II.

That was when then President Milton Obote abolished the kingship because he thought the Kabaka had assumed too much power in the East African nation.

But the monarchy was restored in 1993 by President Yoweri Museveni, with Mutesa II’s son, Mutebi II, as the new Kabaka.

Asante-Buganda relations

The 31st Kabaka, Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II, was captured in April 1899 by the British and exiled to The Seychelles after he had led Buganda in a war against the British forces, while the 13th Asantehene, Prempeh I, was also captured after the 1901 Anglo-Asante War, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa War, which Asante lost, and exiled to The Seychelles.

It was in The Seychelles that Mwanga II and Prempeh I struck relations.

In 2008, Kabaka Mutebi II visited Kumasi on the invitation of Otumfuo Osei Tutu.