Kasubi Royal Tombs, a Unesco World Heritage Site in kampala, Uganda will soon shine high back to its lost glory with restoration of the site at the roofing stage.
Built in 1882 and converted into the royal burial ground in 1884, the Kasubi Royal Tombs at Kasubi is a cultural site with tombs of Buganda Kingdom’s previous Kings embracing almost 30 ha of hillside within Kampala district.
On March 16, 2010, this site was razed by an unexplained fire. Since then, fundraisers have been conducted to restore the cultural site back to its lost glory.
Thanks to the helping hands, the restoration of the site has taken a visible step having finished the reconstruction of Muzibu-Azaala-Mpanga (main house), renovation of Bujjabukula (gatehouse) and a fire-fighting system.
The new site office is fully kitted with work stations and computers with internet connection. They added documentation (visual and text) of the reconstruction and refinement of the Site Disaster Risk Management Plan that will enhance the heritage conservation aspect to safeguard its Outstanding Universal Values.
By the end of the project, there will be established model farms for thatching grass, reeds and the Misambya (Markhamia lutea) trees.
The Kasubi Royal Tombs of Buganda Kings were inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List in 2001. After the destruction of the site, the site was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger by the World Heritage Committee.
Most of the site is agricultural, farmed by traditional methods. At its core on the hilltop is the former palace of the Kabakas of Buganda, Four royal tombs now lie within the Muzibu Azaala Mpanga, the main building, which is circular and surmounted by a dome.
The site’s main significance lies, however, in its intangible values of belief, spirituality, continuity and identity. With the restoration, the site will soon be taken off the List of World Heritage in Danger by year-end.
David Kyewalabye Male, a member of the committee and Minister of Tourism and Culture in Buganda Kingdom said, “The reconstruction would have been a simple task if all we had to do was to put up an architectural masterpiece.
However, the intangible cultural intricacies (of belief, spirituality, continuity and identity) required utmost attention to values that make Muzibu-Azaala-Mpanga different from other grass-thatched houses. We have respected those values,” Male said.
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