Dr. James Billington: It's a great pleasure
to welcome Her Royal Highness to the Library
and to this very special program.
And it's my pleasure and really honor as the Librarian
of Congress to introduce her.
This afternoon, we really have a wonderful opportunity to learn more
about the Bugandan culture, especially about the role
that the Nnabagereka -- I hope I got
that right -- plays in modern Buganda.
The Library has an outstanding collection of materials about Africa
in general and about the history and culture of the Buganda people.
In particular, our East African field office in Nairobi,
with its network of bibliographical representatives in countries --
in Uganda and other countries of the region, has ensured the acquisition
of quite a volume of important contemporary materials
in all formats, books, maps, music, newspapers, pamphlets and much more.
We encourage you all to visit the Africa
and Middle Eastern Division reading room, a special reading room just
for those parts of the world, in LJ 220 in this building.
It's open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,
to explore the Africana collections are the library.
Our area specialist for East Africa, Joanne Zellers,
will be happy to meet with you, any of you who wish
to discuss your research interests, and of course is here all the time
for anyone that you may know who wants
to make use of these collections.
And, also she can help you plan your own exploration
of these outstanding collections.
I wonder if Ms. Zellers would just please stand
so we can all recognize her.
She's there and she's very well informed.
[applause] I should say that in addition to the collections,
really the curators are one of the great treasures of this institution,
so it's an honor -- I speak for my colleagues here
who will see her here, and subsequently, in saying how pleased
and honored they are, Your Royal Highness, to have you here.
Now, it is my honor to introduce Her Royal Highness, Queen of Buganda,
Nnabagereka, Sylvia Nagginda, who is a modern woman
in a traditional culture and leadership role.
She was born in the United Kingdom
of Bugandan parents and raised in Uganda.
The Queen earned her Master's Degree in Corporate Communications
from the New York Institute of Technology.
Queen Sylvia worked as a management and communications consultant
in New York, at the United Nations, and in Washington, D.C. So,
she's no stranger to us in America.
In 1999, the Royal Highness married the Kabaka, the King of Buganda,
Muwenda Mutebi II, the traditional
and cultural leader of the Buganda people.
In 2000, Her Royal Highness founded the Nnabagereka Development Trust,
a charitable non-governmental organization
to address public health and development concerns
with an emphasis on the needs of children and women.
After the Queen speaks,
a short video will be shown about this organization.
Queen Sylvia is currently on a tour of the United States to raise funds
for the Nnabagereka Development Trust -- I'm getting there;
I'm still a slow learner --
to promote the conservation of the Buganda cultural heritage.
We are a world library and we take a very special interest
in the cultures of the world, which is what, in a sense,
we represent here in many ways, at the heart of Capitol Hill
and the heart of our capital.
So, it is a great honor to introduce a modern Queen
from a great traditional culture.
Nnabagereka Sylvia Nagginda, Her Royal Highness, it is our pleasure
to welcome you and to turn this podium
over to our very distinguished and esteemed visitor.
[applause] H.R.H. Sylvia Nagginda: Thank you very much.
Dr. James Billington, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to start
by expressing, on behalf of the Kingdom of Buganda,
by expressing our deepest sympathy and solidarity
of the American people on the tragedy caused
by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
I convey our heartfelt condolences to the families of all those
who lost loved ones, who have been injured or left homeless in Alabama,
Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.
It is a pleasure and honor for us to be with you today at the Library
of Congress, about which we have heard so many --
we have heard so much from afar.
William Shakespeare is one of -- in one of his plays, he wrote,
"My library was a dukedom large enough."
That was a long time ago.
If he wrote today, we are informed he would refer to the Library
of Congress as an empire large enough, not only in terms
of its physical size, but also and even more importantly
because of the enormous amount and the sophistication
of the information and knowledge it houses.
We thank you for welcoming us at this edifice of knowledge.
The remarks we are going to make are summarized under the title,
"The Role of Libraries in Preserving
and Invigorating the African Heritage."
By African -- by heritage, we mean a legacy, the inheritance
from the past, which we leave with today,
and what we transmit onto future generations.
We will argue that, under the impact of globalization,
African indigenous cultures are rapidly becoming an
endangered species.
They need to be rescued urgently before they completely disappear.
In this process, the traditional or hereditary leaders,
and indeed the libraries and modern technology,
should have a big role to play.   Africa is a complex continent.

It is often assumed that all Africans are the same in customs,
language and almost in everything.
But, nothing would be far from the truth.
Africa is very complex.
But, within the territorial boundaries of each African country,
even in a small one like Uganda,
there are many different ethnic nations
of people possessing distinctive cultures,
speaking different languages, each shaped to a common mold
by many generations of history.   So, we are many nations in one.

The Kingdom of Buganda, for example, is over 700 years old,
and has had dynasties of 36 kings, what we refer to as the Kabaka,
going as far back as 600 or 500 hundred years.
When in search of the source of the River Nile, H. M. Stanley
and John Speke reached the Palace of King Mutesa I in 1875
to discover what they referred to as the Dark Continent.
However, he was shocked to find a fully functioning state.
Buganda had its own king and great [unintelligible]
as its supreme parliament, based on a decentralized system of chiefs
and sub-chiefs, as well as an effective tax collecting system.
Buganda today is the central region of the Republic of Uganda
and has a population of about 7 million people, which is 25 percent
of the country's population.
Customs and traditions play a great role of the life of the Baganda.
The Buganda are the indigenous people of the Kingdom of Buganda
and the Baganda are socially organized
under what anthropologists describe as the patrilineal plans,
which means that we trace our biological decent
through the male line.
The Baganda belong to clans which have different totems,
and it is forbidden for a Muganda to eat one's totem,
and marriage between people
of the same clan is also unthinkable, and its taboo.
The Kabaka, a secular, not a divine monarch,
is a head of the political hierarchy of chiefs as well
as of the social pyramid of clan leaders.
So, the Royal House, therefore, occupies a central position
in the political and social structure of Buganda.
Now, the school and the homestead.
Today, going to school is one of the most important activities
in which young people engage.
Of the 25 million people of Uganda, 7 million,
or 25 percent of the population are children attending
elementary schools.
Education is associated with schools and what teachers do.
It is often thought that education starts and ends at school.
It is too often forgotten that schooling is not synonymous
with education, and that whatever goes
on in schools nowadays is not necessarily and solely education.

In pre-colonial Buganda, and indeed, in all pre-literate societies,
there were no formal schools, but this did not mean
that our children were not educated.
Through observation and doing, they learned the skills
and values they needed in order to function as adult members
of society, and observed the rules and mores that govern the Baganda.
The wisdom and philosophy of the Baganda is wrapped up in myriads
of proverbs, sayings, riddles and puzzles.
While the mothers prepared the evening meal
after a long working day, the grandparents told children stories
and puzzles, which kept them awake and spellbound.
Now, through those stories, the youngsters learned the wisdom --
that wisdom is more powerful than physical strength,
that good should be rewarded and evil banished,
and that humility is more to be admired than ostentation.
The children were taught the histories of their clans, nation,
and the laws of their people.
More advanced social education beyond the individual homestead was
carried on in the homes of chiefs,
and the Kabaka Palace was the pinnacle,
or let's say the university, of the traditional education system.
This is why we say in Luganda [speaks Luganda] which means
that one who frequents the chief's court learns how to be wise.
However, ladies and gentlemen, let it not appear
that there is any attempt on our part to glamorize
and romanticize the past and advocate to a return of bygone days.
Traditional education was limited in scope,
and since there was no writing, learning by rote was encouraged
and there was little room for criticism, inquiries, innovations,
discovery or documentation.
There was very little room for all those, let alone archiving.
Children were to be seen rather than to be heard.
Men were men and women were women.   There was no gender equality.

But on the other hand, we must point
out that traditional African education thought first and foremost
to instill value and skills
of community life and mutual cooperation.
On the whole, traditional education produced leaders and ordinary men
and women who put the interests of the group
above their personal interests,
and whose hearts were warm towards the members
of their family and their kinsfolk.
Now, the role of traditional leaders in national development.
There are many ethnic nations,
each with its own social structures and traditional heads.
This pluralism and culture diversity, however,
is not a weakness, but a source of strength
to the modern Republic of Uganda.
The clan consciousness of one part of the country can be invoked
to promote social stability, economic and social development.
The cultural sites in one part of the country, music and dance,
arts and crafts of another area, can be used not only to promote local
and international tourism, but also to weave the cultures
of the new nation-states.
The Kabaka of Buganda is held in high esteem
and commands great respect and authority,
which he uses to mobilize people for development.
Historically, the Kings of Buganda have always been involved
in the improvement of the social and economic conditions of the people.
As far back as the 1800s, during the reign of Kabaka Mutesa I,
when he introduced Christianity in Uganda
and supported the establishments of the first churches,
school and hospitals, among other important institutions.
In addition, it was the Kings and Chiefs of Buganda
who invited experts from various disciplines to come to Uganda
and impart their knowledge to the people.
Although the traditional leaders no longer command political,
legislative or military power, they continue to play an important role
in national and social development, because they, or should we say we,
are an enduring and continuing source of inspiration to our people.
For example, the Preamble to the UNESCO Constitution states,
and I quote, "Since wars begin in the minds of men and women,
it is in the minds of men and woman that the defenses
of peace must be constructed."
Traditional leaders can and do help to turn the modern instruments


Uganda has witnessed one of Africa's most effective campaigns
against HIV/AIDS, and in the fields of immunization,
promotion of gender equity,
promotion of universal primary education,
especially for the girl child,
and addressing the special needs of marginalized groups.
Now this progress has been made possible because of,
among other things, the close cooperation there is
between the central government of the Republic Uganda
and the traditional leaders.
So, it pays great dividends to know that cooperation
between traditional leaders
and the modern state authorities is an asset rather than a liability.
We are partners, rather than rivals, with modern politics
or political state power.   The impact of globization.

Under the impact of modern technologies
and mass media's promotion of globalization, with its emphasis
on individualism and cutthroat competitiveness,
indigenous cultures throughout the world face the threat
of total extinction.
Indigenous languages are being discarded and regarded as inadequate
to convey sophisticated ideas and concepts, and therefore as useless.
The education of children is being left entirely to the schools,
which often stress formal academic and theoretical knowledge,
to the neglected skills, values and attitudes which are not examined.
It has been rightly said that every -- sorry.
Sorry, excuse me.
Today we live in a complex and rapidly changing world
in which science and technology are becoming more important as forms
of national wealth than the natural physical resources such as land,
minerals and agriculture products, and even manufactured goods.
Consequently, global wealth is concentrating more and more
in the industrialized countries, which have easier access
to modern scientific and technological knowledge.
The less industrially developed countries are becoming poorer
and poorer and, like Alice in Wonderland, they have to run as fast
as possible only to remain in one place, and sometimes recede
into the shadow of globalization.
Can education help to improve the quality of life in Africa,
and to narrow the North-South gap and the wide gulf
between a few wealthy individuals and the poor masses living
on less than one dollar a day?
Can limited resources tackle massive problems and make a difference?
What British writer and historian H. G. Wells predicted has never been
truer than it is in Africa today.
I quote, "Human history becomes more and more of a race
between education and catastrophe."
Indeed, to cite the wisdom of Malcolm X,
"Education is our passport to the future."
Helping other people to help themselves.
It is because of the challenges that are facing our country and the whole
of Africa that we are here, ladies and gentlemen, to make friends
who can help us help ourselves.
The harvest is plentiful, but the harvesters are few.
And now the Nnabagereka Trust, which is also referred
to as the Nnabagereka Development Outreach here in the U.S.,
as well as the Kabaka Foundation,
through which we operate our autonomous
non-government organizations.
The Trust is concerned with accelerating the pace of social
and economic development in Buganda Kingdom and Uganda
through selective interventions to complement those being provided
by the government of Uganda.
The objectives of the Trust are, among others, to develop an archive
that makes women's contributions to nation-building visible,
to promote the education of all children,
and catering to their health, to uplift the status of women
so that they can develop their potential to the full in order
to contribute optimally to national development,
to work with young people as the primary beneficiaries,
to address issues of health,
particularly regarding reproductive health --
for example, early marriages, early pregnancies, HIV/AIDS --
and with issues of education, particularly of the girl child
and early childhood development.
The Kingdom of Buganda has established a university,
Mutesa I University, which would greatly benefit
from technical assistance from the Library of Congress
and other libraries in the great nation.
Uganda has a national museum, but it is not sufficient
to accommodate all would-be collections
from all parts of the country.
The Nnabagereka Development Trust and the Kabaka Foundation would
like to establish archives to preserve indigenous materials,
which are now fast disappearing.
In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, by saying that --
in the global village in which we now live, it is a good idea
to look beyond one's national borders for mutual cooperation,
collaboration and assistance.
Fortunately, there is a long history of pioneering work and spirit
of philanthropy and mutual interdependency in this country.
Indeed, almost 200 years ago, the greatest American President,
Abraham Lincoln, a man whose image is revered throughout the world,
declared that his troubled nation could never survive,
let alone prosper, half slave and half free.
Now, when we all live in one global village
and the world is more sophisticated and more technically advanced,
is it logical to expect that the human race can survive half literate
and half illiterate, half sighted and half blind,
or half abundantly fed and half starved?
If the answer is in the affirmative, then we all labor in vain.
Cultural pluralism and diversity is not a liability, but an asset.
We need to build bridges between the different cultures of the world
and the new phenomenon of globalization.
Thank you Dr. Billington, distinguished ladies and gentlemen,


[begin video] [music] Male Speaker: The Kingdom of Buganda is
over 700 years old, with each King, Muwenda Mutebi, the ruler,
presiding over six million people,
a quarter of the total population of Uganda.
For 27 years, until 1993, the Baganda had no king.
The Kingdom and the King restored in 1993 as a rule of ensuring unity
and development of Buganda
through uplifting the people's social and economic well being.
The Kabakaship heralded the genesis of a new Buganda.
It gave the Baganda a new sense of purpose and a vision
to what towards a common future.
[music] Male Speaker: On August 27, 1999,
Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi married Lady Sylvia Nagginda.
Her Royal Highness assumed the title Nnabagereka, the Queen.
She is the traditional and cultural leader of the people of Buganda,
and to most, she is referred to as Mama, meaning mother.
She is the first Nnabagereka in the history of Buganda to set
up an office, the first Queen to assume a prominent role
in communities, complimenting ongoing development work
by the Kingdom and the country.
H.R.H. Sylvia Nagginda: Given the many challenges facing our society
today, the difficulties that many women and children are facing,
particularly in the areas of health and education, it is important
that most of us play a role in addressing these issues.
I personally found myself in a position
where I could make a difference and I had the desire to do so,
and therefore I founded the Nnabagereka Development Trust.
Through the Trust, we carry out activities
that help people's efforts in uplifting their well being
by engaging them in poverty reduction.
Male Speaker: Through the Nnabagereka Development Trust,
Her Royal Highness has carved out a role as an excellent example
of what leadership means.
Female Speaker: The Nnabagereka Development Trust is a
non-governmental organization set up in 2002.
The founding member is Her Royal Highness,
Sylvia Nagginda of Buganda.
She's actually the person behind the NGO.
Male Speaker: Under the Nnabagereka Development Trust,
we have an institutional setup that consists of the Board of Trustees
and the Board of Directors.
The Board is reached with personalities
from different disciplines, lawyers, medical doctors,
professional engineers, entrepreneurs, diplomats
and other people from various disciplines.
Below the Board of Directors are two committees
that consist of the board members.
One is the programs and resource mobilization committee,
and the other is the finance and administration committee.
The committees operate through the secretariat, which is headed
by an executive director.
The executive director oversees the day-to-day operations
of the secretariat and operates three functions of the secretariat.
One is the accounting function,
the other is the administrative function,
and the other is the program project management function.
All these officials are in place at the secretariat and they help
in the day-to-day management of the activities at the secretariat.
Below these offices are other field staff, volunteer staff,
and group employees that we normally work
with in executing our activities.
H.R.H. Sylvia Nagginda: Our mission is to promote social
and economic developments through support of formal
and non-formal education, promotion of self-employment initiatives,
community welfare, and positive culture [unintelligible].
Male Speaker: The Trust's current programs are in child welfare,
education for the girl child, [unintelligible] creation
for the youth, agriculture for food security,
and sexual reproductive health.
Female Speaker: As far as the Trust is concerned,
the focus are women, youth and the children.
As far as women are concerned, the Trust wants
to see the economic status the common women in the central region,
but in Uganda as a whole, and this will be done
through economic empowerment.
Then the second, which the Nnabagereka [unintelligible] the
youth are the majority of the country.
We are churning out so many children from primary schools
to secondary schools and the universities,
but most of them are job seekers.
So, as far as the youth are concerned,
she is trying to target vocational skills training.
H.R.H. Sylvia Nagginda: Without adequate education for all children,
social and development will not become a reality.
In our education programs, we emphasis
or stress quality education, enrollment increase and reduction
in school dropouts, especially for the girl child.
Currently we have a program [unintelligible]
where we're supporting about 50 girls in various districts.
These are all disadvantaged girls, and we're supporting them
by providing scholastic materials and toiletries,
and these help the girl children who stay in school.
Male Speaker: The identified beneficiaries are girls who come
from very poor families, are orphaned by HIV or other causes.
Every beginning of the school term,
officials from the Nnabagereka Development Trust deliver uniforms,
books, pens, pencils, textbooks and sanitary pads to the beneficiaries
in 10 primary schools in seven districts of Uganda, namely,
Kampala, Kayunga, Makuno, Mubende, Rakai, Sembabule and Wakiso.
Female Speaker: My name is [inaudible].
I thank Mama Nnabagereka for giving me these things.
I love so much Nnabagereka.
Female Speaker: Our school is very lucky because it was one
of the schools which was chosen by Mama,
Her Royal Highness, the Nnabagereka.   Mama has helped us so much.

She has given us a lot.
We have a bunch of projects which she funds in this school.
As of now [inaudible].   She also gave us two heifers.

We have a tree project where she gave us about a hundred fruit trees,
and they are all planted around the school compound.
What she wants is to see that our children get good nutrition.
I remember on April 4 of this year,
she officially [unintelligible] projects.
She came here and she brought so many things.
She brought beans, rice, sugar, all those things are here
because of those children,
because she wants those children to be fed well.
So, she's boosting our feeding.
H.R.H. Sylvia Nagginda: Poor health remains a serious barrier
to school attendance and to poverty alleviation efforts.
In this area, in collaboration with the Minister of Health,

I have carried out advocacy and social mobilization
to increase the use of immunization at schools within the region.
These services exist; however, they are not being used.
I've worked with UNFPA to contribute to increased commitments
by cultural leaders, community leaders, decision makers,
on matters of sexual reproductive health and HIV/AIDS.
Male Speaker: Her Royal Highness works passionately
to champion the cause of the disadvantaged.
This visit to the Kampala School
for the Physically Handicapped is testimony to this.
Female Speaker: On behalf of the school community,
I warmly welcome you to this school.   Thanks for loving us.

May God richly bless you.
[applause] Male Speaker: She tours a dormitory building
at the school whose construction the Trust is funding.
H.R.H. Sylvia Nagginda: This is the dormitory
that the Trust fund is constructing for convalescents.
The funds that we are using
to construct the dormitory were made available by Dr. [unintelligible]
from Germany, and we are very grateful for his kindness.
And actually, in addition to this project, we also have one,
[unintelligible] Hall, and again,
the funds were made available by the doctor.
We are very grateful for his kindness.
Female Speaker: There are many things we have benefited
as a school.
There are quite a number of children, I think about 14 children,
who have a sponsorship, four of them directly
by the Nnabagereka Development Trust Fund, 10 of them recently were taken
over by Vision for Africa, which was a contact given by the same office.
We have quite a number of children who have got wheelchairs
over that time through the office, and now we are eagerly waiting
and looking forward to the finishing of this dormitory, which is really,
really going to be a relief, not only to the school -- [applause] --
not only to the school, but I would say to the nation at large.
Because, today as I speak, we have an enrollment of 95 children.
With the 95 children, we actually have a long waiting list.
And if you went and peeped in the dormitories, you are going to find
that they are congested, not because we want the children to sleep
that way, but the demand is very high,
to the extent that some parents literally cry when you tell them,
"Sorry, we cannot take on your children."
However, we've promised quite a number of them
that the Nnabagereka is building a dormitory for us,
and next we hope we are going to take on many of you.
H.R.H. Sylvia Nagginda: I would
like to thank you very much for your warm reception.
Thank you very much for loving me,
and I have to tell you that I love you so much.
I'll keep on coming.   I'll never get tired.

Male Speaker: The Trust occasionally organizes workshops
with stakeholders in its areas of concern.
Here the Nnabagereka is officially opening the reproductive health
and quality of girl child education workshop for head teachers.
H.R.H. Sylvia Nagginda:
Girl's education is a core development issue.
Every year a girl is in school is a progressive step toward eliminating
poverty, advancing sustainable human development, and stopping the spread
and mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS.
Progress in girls education or its lack is directly related
to other areas of concern with children,
such as overall health status,
stunted development, exploitation and abuse.
Literacy is a necessary condition for development,
and is an essential determinant of women's participation
in productive areas of the economy and in decision making processes
at various levels of government.
Male Speaker: The Nnabagereka worked with and encouraged women to set
up model banana plantations to post food security.
Environmentally sound methods
of agriculture are emphasized in the program.
Female Speaker: [speaks Luganda] Male Speaker:
The development challenges in Uganda are enormous after years
of economic and social decline.
Several of her initiatives are at proposal level,
awaiting resources for implementation.
Female Speaker: Our proposed vocational training at our school
to be set up [unintelligible] will offer vocation training
and employment skills to school leaders,
as well as promote self-employment.
Through the cultural information center, also [unintelligible],
we will promote and preserve our culture, our rich cultural heritage,
as well as in that particular place we hope to create employment,
and it will also serve as an education
and information center for the youth.
Our proposed ECD center, an early childhood development center,
will provide early childhood care and development services
to the community [unintelligible] Kampala.
Male Speaker: In July 2002, Her Royal Highness -- [skip in audio] --

international program which locates and develops talents of children
and adults with mental retardation through sports.
In March 2003, the Nnabagereka Fund enabled 40 Ugandan children
with mental retardation to participate -- [skip in audio] --
Special Olympics World Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland.
Male Speaker: However, we have heard some humble achievements thanks
to the support we get from our local
and international support agencies and donors.
However, the demand for -- [skip in audio] --
We have these projects in the pipeline, and we are sure
that these will be able to reach out to support some
of those needy people out there.
We need lots of your assistance to be able to implement these projects
that we think are ambitious.
We shall needs lots of funds to implement them.
We shall need technical support.   We shall need material support.

We shall need any kind of support.
That will help us to implement all the projects
that we have in the pipeline.
The humble appeal is, please donate all you can to our projects.
It could be money.   It could be in-kind items.

We shall be happy to receive them.   It could be technical support.

We shall be happy to take it.   Thank you very much.

[end video] [applause] Michael Grunberger: Thank you.
My name is Michael Grunberger.
I am Acting Chief of the Africa and Middle Eastern Division.
I would like to just add our gratitude and appreciation
to the Queen for her visit today, and also add our hope
in the Division that we will be able
to fashion cooperative projects together
and work together in the years to come.
It's now my pleasure to introduce Dr. Aloyisius Lugira,
an Adjunct Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College,
who will speak to use of the history and culture


[applause] Dr. Aloyisius Lugira: Your Royal Highness,

Queen Sylvia Nagginda, King, Dr. James Billington,
and Ms. Johan [inaudible], ladies and gentlemen.
I am faced with a challenge, and the challenge is as expressed
by a little boy to his mother.
And the little boy says, "Mommy, today I am going
to have my meal beginning with dessert."
Now, what does this challenge mean to me?
It means the order of the procedure for today.
My remarks were mainly to stand in as a soup for a meal.
But I think now they are standing as a dessert.
So, I will face the challenge and address your Royal Highness
and ladies and gentlemen.
Now, the title of my brief remarks is, "The Buganda African Queen
in Light of the Contemporary Time," and this is intentionally chosen
for purposes of corroborating what I am saying with the general theme
of this session, which is a modern queen in a traditional role.
Relative to the spirit of the session, the general title may call
for some amplification and even amelioration, and this can be
in the form of the following questions and answers.
Question one.
What is the kingdom for which our Royal Highness is Queen?
Question two.
Is the King of Buganda a traditional leader?
In asking such questions,
one intends to elucidate the situation Buganda Kingdom happens
to be in by being faced with the challenges of time.

When I speak about time, we refer to the past, we refer to the present,
and we refer to the future.
And in those terms, we speak about other times.
We speak about modern times, and we also speak about today.
We speak about even post-modern times.
Where does Buganda fall in?
As far as I'm concerned, Buganda falls squarely and especially
within the area of contemporary time.
And it is this contemporary time that should give us the kind
of lead towards or in understanding what Buganda Kingdom is
for which our Royal Highness is Queen.
Our Royal Highness Nnabagereka Sylvia Nagginda is the Queen
of Buganda.
Buganda has been around, as we have already heard, for about 700 years.
And this Buganda is a nation kingdom, which claims a heritage,
as we have already heard, a heritage 36 kings.
It is a kingdom which houses people who are identified as Muganda
in the singular, Baganda in the plural, whose language is Luganda,
and whose heritage is epitomized in all Buganda in Uganda.

Second, His Majesty Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II is the King
of Buganda.
At one time, the King of Buganda, given the challenges of time,
would be described as the absolute ruler of Buganda.
With the 1955 written constitution of Buganda,
the Kabaka became a Constitutional Monarch.

By some kind of colonialist hangover,
some people describe the Kabaka as the traditional leader.
The term tradition, in its form of traditional,
tends to be a loaded terminology.
Much as it may appear to be a value-free word, its application
to the heritage of Buganda is bound to require some updated explanation.

"Traditional" has being associated with traditions in relation
to illiteracy, anthropologically, ethnologically, and sociologically.
Illiteracy has been made to be cognate to terminologies like tribe,
like fetishism, like witchcraft, like magic, and so on and so on.

And, these applications with the implied meaning
of being "less than."
In that sense, one can conjecture why,
in light of the Buganda heritage,
the description "traditional leader" calls for appropriate portrayal.

His Majesty the Kabaka of Buganda is a heredity leader.

His very personality is there
for the promotion of the Buganda heritage.
A leader is not necessarily the person who, by himself,
does all the great things expected in society.
It is the person who inspires the people.
He lives to do right things.
This is what His Majesty Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II is
in the course of his reign.
And, he has proved to be that for Buganda and Uganda.
On the occasion of his [unintelligible], that is,
a supreme elder of elders, he made it categorically clear
that his reign was going to be the era of working
to develop Buganda and Uganda.
On May 24, 1996, His Majesty the Kabaka made a memorable declaration
saying that, "Let us rise up and build,"
and punctuated the declaration with a pledge, saying,

"The Mutebi reign will be one of reconciliation,


These were not only words.   They were not mere words.

His Majesty has taken a lead in tree planting
to save the Buganda environmental heritage.
He has gotten himself actively involved in the immunization
of children to save the coming generations.
He is involved in many other showcasing activities of work
for the development of Buganda and Uganda.

The Baganda philosophical heritage has it that [speaks Luganda],
meaning, the wife who works with [unintelligible]
as her husband will not be considered a lazy wife.
So is the case with Her Royal Highness Nnabagereka Sylvia
Nagginda, the Queen of Uganda.
She is the wife of His Majesty Kabaka Muwenda Mutebi II,
the King of Uganda.
To answer the call made by His Majesty King Mutebi II,
Queen Sylvia Nagginda, five years ago,
founded the Nnabagereka Development Trust,
through which a lot has been achieved in empowering a good lot
of people of Buganda and Uganda,
and I'm sure you have heard it yourselves from her own speech,
and we have seen it ourselves from the projection of activities
that take place under the Nnabagereka Development Trust.
As far as I can conclude, and as far as I have heard from her own speech,

I would not be speaking the truth if I didn't say that what we have heard
and what we have experienced is proof
of the altruism contained in [speaks Luganda].
Thank you.   [ end of transcript ]