According to an official press release by the Kabaka’s Government, the Lion of Buganda, Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II has chosen to cerebrate his 55th birthday with the various theatrical groups in Uganda.

According to the committee chairperson, Minister Mohamood Thobani, celebrations will be held on 13th April 2010 at Theatre Labonita where theatrical groups will be hosted among other guests to celebrate with their King.

Thobani explained that this has been done to appreciate the artists for their tremendous efforts in promoting the cultural norms and values of Buganda through talents.

He added that “most times, artists have supported the Kingdom and therefore there is no better way to thank them than to let them cerebrate Kabaka’s birthday with him”.

He further elaborated that this year’s celebrations under the theme “Obuwangwa bwaffe n’obukozi ge maanyi” will also include bringing the youth closure to their cultural background.

In this regard, Kabaka Mutebi will visit Kibuli Senior Secondary School where many young people will gather to cerebrate Kabaka’s birthday.

Celebrations will begin with general prayers at Kibuli Mosque, thereafter, Kabaka will visit Kibuli hospital to extend his sympathies to those in pain from where he will head to Kibuli Senior Secondary School. The day’s cerebrations will be crowned by a cocktail party to be hosted at Theatre Labonita.

This year’s organizing committee includes among the following, Mohamood Thobani as the chairperson, Ahmed Bamweyana, Ahmed Lwasa, Hajati Mariam Mayanja, Kayima Stephen Nawuba Rajin Tailor, Samlie Mwanje, Nakimuli Leticia, Omulangira David Wasajja, Muganga John Herman, Huruna Njuki and Nalinnya Nabanakulya.

The United State government sent a clear signal recently that it recognizes the Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II and his government as a critical power centre in East Africa when the US Ambassador Jerry P. Lanier trekked to Banda Palace to meet the Lion of Buganda. On February 18, 2009, Ambassador Lanier ignored the NRM’s claims that the Kabaka and Buganda nation are ancient and dying cultural institutions without any political power. He held extensive discussions with His Majesty on matters of mutual interest to the two nations of Buganda and United States of America.

The meeting was attended by Katikkiro, J.B. Walusimbi, the Attorney General, Owek. Apollo Makubuya.

Ambassador Jerry P. Lanier is a career diplomat with 26 years of service in the Department of State. Prior his appointment as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Uganda, he served as the Foreign Policy Advisor for U.S. Africa Command headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.  Previously, he was the Director of the Office of Regional and Security Affairs in the Africa Bureau at the State Department.  Mr. Lanier has also served in the Philippines, Kenya, Thailand, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Ghana.

American National Public Radio (NPR) has produced a special program on the current state of affairs in Uganda. In the program His Majesty, Kabaka Muwenda Mutebi II, Nnabagereka Sylvia Nagginda and Owek. David Mpanga articulately speak about Buganda hopes and aspirations. Mr. Tamale Mirundi, one of Mr. Museveni’s closest advisors and confidants, responds to Kabaka Mutebi and Buganda on behalf of the NRM government.

Clearly unaware of the concept of the fundamental human right to self-determination,  Tamale Mirundi says in Luganda English: “Federalism means Buganda, all of the kingdoms, were sitting down and they create a central government. This is arrogance. Where do they get to mandate, dictate or not? Where do they get the mandate?”

Click here to listen to the NPR special program.

You can also read the text of the broadcast here.

The president of the NRM occupation government in Uganda is stubbornly continuing with his tour of Buganda despite increasing rejection by the citizens of the kingdom. After getting embarrassingly small and hostile crowds in Kyaggwe, Butambala, Buddu and Bugerere counties, the Ugandan dictator decided to take his tour to Busiro, where he fought much of the guerrilla war that brought him to power. But his statehouse decided to change tactics after getting reports that, even there, Baganda were plotting to embarrass him by not attending his functions or with tough questions about CBS PM Radio.

A source close to the presidential protection brigade has informed our stringer in Entebbe that Museveni’ s new tactic for the rest of his Buganda tour will be to avoid big public venues and direct contact with politically bold Baganda peasants. The focus is now to be put to reaching as many places as possible but in impromptu meetings at family homes where even if only 30 people come it is not bad. As part of this tactic, state house will arrange for the president to inspect farms and businesses where it is easy to claim that the purpose was not to get big crowds. It is also much harder for the villagers to ask Museveni challenging questions about CBS FM radio or Kabaka when only a few people are around.

Our source also said that Museveni’s new tactic helped him avoid a major embarrassment in Kakiri, Busiro, two days ago. According to the source: “Museveni made a blunder of going to Kakiri, where Kabaka got crowds of tens of thousands of people only a few months ago. State house found out late that the people could be too few so they arranged for him to visit a few farmers and a widow. They also hurriedly arranged for him to stop at Masulita Secondary School and pretend that he went there to open a building, although it had not been on the original program. Obviously they also got the big crowd of the students.”

The source claims that Museveni will not abandon his Buganda tour again, as he did late last year, because he is not willing to allow Kabaka Mutebi or Baganda to determine what happens at the 2011 elections or after. He said: “Museveni will continue with the tour and continue giving bribes to grass roots people, researching why people love the Kabaka, and collecting information on NRM opponents. And they will only have rallies in places where they can bring in people. You are not likely to see too many photos or TV video even in government owned papers and stations because people will automatically compare to Kabaka Mutebi’ s huge crowds.”

According to sources in Kampala, the  Banyankore owned Luganda daily paper Kamunye, is now an important part of the NRM’s program to spread anti-Buganda and anti-Kabaka propaganda. This week Kamunye published a story claiming that president Museveni of the Uganda occupation government had decided to go and pay a visit to Kabaka Mutebi at his Banda palace, to extend an olive branch, since the Lion of Buganda has been unresponsive.

A Kampala based Muganda analyst with close links to Mmengo sent an email which dismissed the story as silly and typical of NRM tactics of creating kavuyo (confusion). He said: “Now Museveni thinks that Baganda will forget the damage he has done to our kingdom and give him votes simply because he visited Kabaka? This is what they call a trial balloon and I hope that Katikkiro Walusimbi is not part of this one. The Kabaka must not be exposed to the hooligans anymore.”

Kamunye is a sister paper to the Red Pepper which also recently printed another Nagenda planted story saying the NRM government was going to take over Bulange. Red Pepper was originally sponsored by Salim Saleh and is often used by the NRM to leak both true and fake stories. Many of its current reporters are known to be ISO and ESO spies.