Mutesa II of Buganda
Sir Edward Mutesa II, KBE (November 19, 1924 - November 21, 1969) was the thirty-sixth kabaka (king) of Buganda from 1939 until his death, and the first President of Uganda from 1963 to 1966, when he was deposed and forced into exile by the Prime Minister, Milton Obote. Earlier, the two men had formed an alliance that had swept them into power in the 1962 election. A year later, when Uganda became a republic, Mutesa was appointed non-executive President. After 1966, Obote, who appointed himself President assumed more or less absolute power. From 1953 until 1955, Mutesa was exiled when the British tried to place his older half-brother on the throne. Mutesa was demanding an independent Buganda, which endangered British plans to grant Uganda's independence as a unitary state including Buganda. Immensely popular, the British had no choice but to negotiate terms for his return.
His full name was Sir Edward Frederick William David Walugembe Mutebi Luwangula Mutesa. He was often referred to as King Freddie in the foreign press, a nickname that was never widely used in Uganda. As king he was also leader of the Baganda people, the largest of the many ethnic groups in Uganda. Obote, who was the acknowledged leader of the independence movement, had needed Mutesa's support at the time but once in power set out to dismantle both the traditional kingships and the autonomy of provincial governments. Buganda had only joined the state on condition that it enjoyed a large degree of autonomy.
Biography
Mutesa was educated at King's College, Budo, a prestigious school in Uganda. He became the King of Buganda in 1939 upon the death of his father, King Daudi Cwa II. He attended Magdalene College, Cambridge in England where he joined an officer training corps and was commissioned as a captain in the Grenadier Guards. At that time, Buganda was part of the British protectorate of Uganda. The British in Uganda ruled through many of the traditional chiefs or kings. The kingdom of Buganda had permanent representation on the Legislative Council, an appointed chamber whereas for most of the colony's history, the North had no representation.[1] Obote was from the north.
The years between 1945 and 1950 saw widespread protests against both the British Governor's and King Mutesa's governments. In the early 1950s the British Government floated the idea of uniting British East Africa (Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika) into a federation. Africans feared that this would lead to their coming under the control of Kenya's white settler community, as had happened in Rhodesia. The Baganda, fearing they would lose the limited autonomy they had under British rule, were particularly opposed. Mutesa opposed the proposal, and thus came into conflict with the British Governor, Sir Andrew Cohen. Cohen deposed and exiled the Kabaka in 1953, creating massive protest among the Baganda. After two years in exile Mutesa was allowed to return to the throne under a negotiated settlement which made him a constitutional monarch and gave the Baganda the right to elect representatives to the kingdom's parliament, the Lukiiko. Mutesa's standing up to the Governor greatly boosted his popularity in the kingdom.
Mutesa returned to Uganda and his throne in 1955. In 1962 Uganda became independent from Britain under the leadership of Milton Obote. Under the country's new constitution Buganda Kingdom was a semi-autonomous part of a federation. The federal Prime Minister was Obote, leader of the Uganda People's Congress, which was in a governing coalition with the dominant Buganda regional party, Kabaka Yekka. The post of Governor General was abolished in 1963 and replaced by a non-executive president, a post that Mutesa held.
The coalition between Mutesa and Obote's parties collapsed in 1964 over the matter of a referendum which transferred two counties from Buganda to Bunyoro.
In 1966 Mutesa's estrangement from Obote merged with another crisis. Obote faced a possible removal from office by factional infighting within his own party. He had the other four leading members of his party arrested and detained, and then suspended the constitution and declared himself President in February 1966, deposing Mutesa. The Buganda regional Parliament passed a resolution in May 1966 declaring that Buganda's incorporation into Uganda had de jure ended with the suspension of the constitution and asking the federal government to vacate the capital, which is in Buganda. Obote responded with an armed attack upon the King's palace, sending Mutesa into exile in Britain, and a new constitution in 1967 which abolished all of Uganda's kingdoms, including Buganda.
While in exile Mutesa wrote a published autobiography, "The Desecration of My Kingdom."
Family
Mutesa married several times. On November 9 1948, he married Abakyala Damali Catherine Nnakawombe. In 1950 he married Omubitokati Beatrice Kabasweka, of Toro and Kate Ndagire. In 1954, he married Abakyala Sarah Nalule. His fifth marriage was to Nesta M. Rugumayo, his sixth to Kaakako Rwanchwende, a princess of Ankole followed by Winifred Keihangwe, also a princess of Ankole. He had eleven sons and six daughters by various wives. He appointed Prince Ronald Mutebi as his successor, whose mother was Sarah Nalule.[2]
Death
Mutesa died of alcohol poisoning in his London flat in 1969. Identified by the British police as suicide, the death has been viewed as assassination by those who claim Mutesa may have been force-fed vodka by agents of the Obote regime. Mutesa was interviewed in his flat only a few hours before his death by the British journalist John Simpson, who found that he was sober and in good spirits. Simpson reported this to the police the following day on hearing of Mutesa's death, although this line of enquiry was not pursued.
Mutesa's body was returned to Uganda in 1971 after the overthrow of Obote and given a state funeral. Ironically, the new President who ordered the state funeral was Idi Amin, who as Army Commander had led the assault on Mutesa's palace in 1966.
Legacy
The monarchy was restored in 1993, with Muteas's, son Ronald Mutebi as king. He was appointed heir by Mutesa in 1969.[3]
Honors
Mutesa II was created a Knight Commander of the British Empire on the New Year's honors list 1962. In 1953, he attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. He held honorary rank as Captain in the Grenadier Guards from 1947 until 1963, when he was promoted to Lieut-Col. From 1963 he was also a Major-General in the Ugandan Army. Other honors include the Grand Commander of the Orders of the Phoenix of Greece, and the Queen of Sheba of Ethiopia, and the Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar 1st class
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Kavuma, Paulo. 1979. Crisis in Buganda, 1953-1955: the story of the exile and return of the Kabaka, Mutesa II. London: Rex Collings. ISBN 9780860360988
- Lemarchand, René. 1977. African kingships in perspective: political change and modernization in monarchical settings. Cass library of African studies : General studies, no. 155. London: Cass. ISBN 9780714630274
- Mulira, E. M. K. 1971. Sir Edward Mutesa, first President of Uganda and former Kabaka of Buganda: his life in pictures. OCLC 8277604
- Mutesa. 1984. Desecration of my kingdom. London: Constable. OCLC 10980121
- Mutibwa, Phares Mukasa. 1992. Uganda since independence: a story of unfulfilled hopes. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press. ISBN 9780865433564
External Links
ory:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
- History of the Kingdom of Buganda.
- PBS program on Buganda.
- footage of Mutesa II's coronation ceremony.
| House of Buganda Born: November 19 1924; Died: November 21 1969 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Regnal Titles
| ||
| Preceded by: Daudi Cwa II |
King of Buganda November 22, 1939 – November 21, 1969 |
Vacant Title next held by Muwenda Mutebi II |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by: Sir Walter Coutts as Governor General |
Head of State of Uganda as President October 9, 1962 – March 2, 1966 |
Succeeded by: Milton Obote as Prime Minister |
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- ↑ Mutibwa, page 10.
- ↑ The Abalasangeye Dynasty: Genealogy. Royal Ark. Retrieved December 20, 2008.
- ↑ [http://www.gandaancestry.com/general/muwendamutebi.php Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.] Ganda Ancestry. Retrieved December 20, 2008.
