The building to be called LWATTAMU House which is to cost sh58bn, funded by President Museveni, is intended to help Buganda clans get a source of income to improve their welfare, and to have a hub for easier internal communication of the clan heads and their members.
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Buganda government leadership has unofficially boycotted a function where President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni commissioned work for construction of the headquarter building for Buganda Clan heads on a 2.7acre-land he (Museveni) purchased at sh9.3bn
The six storeyed building, projected to house rental business space and offices for the Buganda clan heads, is expected to be constructed within the Bulange-Mengo area, the location close to Buganda Kingdom headquarters.
Despite the fact that the function was held in a stone-throw distance from the Bulange-Mengo, the headquarter of Buganda government, no one among the Mengo leadership or a representative graced it.
From the beginning, Buganda Clan heads were blamed for have gone to State House and lobby for the money to buy the land. However, the clan heads who have proved to be independent from the Mengo leadership headed by the Katikkiro have not listened to the negative talks trying to mudslinging their project.
The building to be called LWATTAMU House which is to cost sh58bn, funded by President Museveni, is intended to help Buganda clans get a source of income to improve their welfare, and to have a hub for easier internal communication of the clan heads and their members.
Representatives of the clan leaders in attendance at the function held on Friday July 25, 2025 along Kabakanjagala Road in Mengo appreciated President Museveni for the gesture they talked of as an avenue of making them self-reliant and a base for developing their clan members.
The head of the ‘Kinyomo’ clan, Samson Nabbimba Nakigoye disclosed that the contractor for the construction work has already been handed the site to kick start the work. The State Minister for Information, Joyce Nabbosa Ssebuggwawo said that every clan leader will have an office on the building with the required gadgets for mobilizing clan members scattered all over the country.
She added that the project will be an asset of added value in the campaign to restore Buganda’s glory and to keep the monarchy on top.
On the importance of the clan heads, Ssebuggwawo said they have been in talks with the government in the bid that saw restoration of the kingdom, and that this is going to greatly facilitate efforts to bridge relations between the monarchy and the central government which he said had dwindled due to politics.
“Therefore, I’m very happy to support Bataka,” said President Museveni.
“We shall organize the sh58 billion needed for the construction of Lwattamu House, and I will send the UPDF Construction Brigade to carry out the work,” he added.
President Museveni also recalled his decades-long relationship with the Buganda Kingdom, tracing it back to 1981 when he met Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi in London.
“As you know, I’m very much part of this system here,” Museveni said.
“I met my young brother, Kabaka Mutebi, in London in 1981 while on a mission to see Gaddafi. I told him then that I saw no problem if we’re clear on who can do what between us—the new forces—and the traditionalists,” President Museveni said.
He recounted his advocacy for traditional institutions, even during the liberation struggle, recalling how he persuaded the National Resistance Army’s council in Gulu to embrace cultural structures rather than oppose them.
“When we were fighting against Idi Amin and Obote, there were Bataka who stood with us, such as Kezrone Ssonko in Luwero, the Balangira, and the Bambejja. Before I went to the bush, I visited Omumbejja Nalinya Ndagire in Lubaga and Omulangira Badru Kakungulu in Kibuli,” H.E. Museveni recalled.
The President reflected on the 1900 Buganda Agreement and how the Bataka were marginalized by colonial policies. He emphasized that restoring kingdoms in the 1990s should have gone hand-in-hand with reintegrating clan leadership into the cultural fabric of Uganda.
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President Museveni praised Hon. Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo, the Minister of State for ICT, for her instrumental role in bridging the gap between Bataka and the central government.
“My sister, Nabbosa Ssebugwawo, came and talked about the Bataka—people like Omutaka Kibaale Nadduli, Omutaka Namuguzi, and Omutaka Kaita—whom I’ve known well. The clan leaders are the bedrock of tradition, whether or not you have kings. Like in Karamoja and Ankole, there are no kings, but clan heads are active,” he noted.
He went on to stress the enduring value of clan systems, both in maintaining cultural identity and promoting genetic diversity through inter-clan marriages.
“Part of our strength as Africans is our culture and our genetics. Clan structures discourage inbreeding and promote diversity. While the government builds roads and electricity, who is preserving our genetics and languages? Clan leaders play that vital role,” he said.
Development support for Bataka and cultural projects:
President Museveni pledged a series of financial and logistical support initiatives aimed at empowering the Bataka: these included Shs 58 billion for the construction of Lwattamu House, a Shs 100 million donation to the Bataka Mutindo SACCO (with over 700 members), and a Shs 22 million cash donation to support a retreat for Balangira and Bambejja.
The President also promised to buy land for Bataka to establish a goat farming project in Nakasongola district.
“I’m happy to see Abalangira abakozi because I’m also a Mulangira Ssewava—but I’m also working. We must use culture, not for exclusion, but as a force of unity, identity, and development,” he said.
He also promised to send an inspection team to assess what is needed to renovate the Masiro (ancestral tombs) in Wakiso and to provide a means of transport for the Bataka.
The head of the Nvuma clan, Omutaka Kyaddondo Kasirye Mbag’elamula, expressed deep gratitude to the President for what he described as unprecedented direct support to the Bataka.
“No President has ever supported us directly apart from you. Your purchase of land at Mengo and backing for the Lwattamu House project is historic. This will be remembered by generations,” said Kasirye.
He also thanked President Museveni for the Shs 200 million previously donated to the Bataka SACCO.
The ceremony was attended by several top government officials and cultural leaders, including Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda (Minister for Presidency), Hajat Minsa Kabanda (Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs), and Hon. Judith Nabakooba (Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development).