MENGO – KYADDONDO
The Buganda Kingdom Minister for Culture and Traditional Affairs, Oweek. Dr. Anthony Wamala, has met Bannaalinnya — royal women responsible for safeguarding the tombs of Buganda’s past kings — to discuss key cultural and administrative matters.
The meeting was held at the headquarters of the Kingdom’s tourism body in Mengo, where participants deliberated on strengthening the management and protection of royal heritage sites.
Dr. Wamala urged the Bannaalinnya to strengthen leadership structures capable of addressing challenges within their jurisdictions. He also called for the mobilisation of descendants of the Kabakas associated with the respective tombs to return and actively participate in development initiatives on their ancestral land.
He further encouraged the establishment of trusteeship structures to safeguard kingdom land from encroachment and stressed the importance of identifying sustainable ways of utilising land under their care to generate income for the maintenance and development of cultural sites.
The minister also briefed the meeting on his ongoing tour across Buganda’s clans, noting growing concern that many descendants have become disconnected from their heritage, including limited knowledge of their clan identities. He called on the Bannaalinnya to play a central role in mobilising such individuals to reconnect with their roots and take part in cultural and development programmes.
Dr. Wamala revealed that the Kingdom has introduced a new initiative to appoint trustees over all royal tomb land. The move, he said, is intended to curb illegal land sales and protect culturally significant sites from encroachment.
Speaking at the meeting, the Chairperson of the Bannaalinnya Council, Nnaalinnya Beatrice Namikka, expressed appreciation to the minister for convening the session. She said the engagement would help address challenges faced by custodians and reduce conflicts affecting royal sites across the Kingdom.