Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II at the 25th coronation anniversary at Mengo palace. PHOTO BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
The coronation of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II took place on 31 July, 1993 at Buddo Naggalabi, 10 miles from the city, where Kintu, the first kabaka, subdued the rebel chief Bemba in 1380 and where all subsequent Kings were crowned.
The official program started at 6:00 am. Brandishing sugar-cane spears and banana-leaf shields, the 38-year-old kabaka and the cultural custodians of the hill engage in mock battle, which the kabaka, of course, won.
Parting a ululating throng, he proceeded to a grove of trees and sat himself on the traditional throne, a centuries-old gnarled root draped with bark cloth and leopard and hyena skins. One by one, the elders of the 52 Baganda clans — the Bushbuck, the Pangolin, the Mushroom, the Grasshopper dressed in tweed jackets and long white robes called kanzus, prostrate themselves before him.
Each clan had its traditional role. The Buffalos carried the kabaka when he is on safari. After an hour of empowerment rituals, the Buffalo bearers hoist the crowned King, swathed in a leopard skin, to their shoulders and paraded him around.