- President Museveni condemned Buganda Chiefs for traveling to Namibia without clearance from Buganda Kingdom or the Royal Family
- The group of Buganda Chiefs were arrested by Namibian Police while traveling to the Okonguarri Psychotherapeutic Centre where the king is receiving treatment
- President Museveni described the actions of the Chiefs as 'indiscipline' and urged Ugandans to stop embarrassing the country
President Yoweri Museveni has weighed in on the ongoing furore surrounding the health of the Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.
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Museveni yesterday condemned a group of Buganda chiefs who last week travelled to Namibia to see the king, without getting clearance from Buganda Kingdom or the Royal Family.
The clan chiefs were on Tuesday arrested by Namibian Police while travelling to Okonguarri Psychotherapeutic Centre in Namibia’s northwestern region of Kunene, where the king is receiving treatment.
These were reportedly detained at Outjo Police for over 3 hours, before being released.
Indiscipline
Commenting about the incident on Friday, President Museveni described the actions of the chiefs as “indiscipline.”
“I request all the Ugandans to stop embarrassing Uganda by opportunistically trying to show how much they are for the Kabaka,” Museveni remarked in a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gen Jeje Odongo.
Museveni was responding to an earlier letter from the South African High Commission to the Foreign Affairs Ministry about the arrest of the Buganda Chiefs.
“Apart from the Kabaka himself, the next level of authorization to visit him could be his family or whoever else he has authorized,” Museveni directed.
The Head of State also said that the Ugandan government would have taken action if these “dramas” were not “happening away from our jurisdiction.”
The Buganda chiefs who were detained in Namibia include Eria Buzaabo Lwasi (Ndiga), Kasirye Mbugeramula (Nvuma), Deus Mawesano Kyeyune (Ngaali) Sheba Kakande Kibirige (Ngeye) and Godfrey Katende of Olugave clan.
These were accused by police of trying to access Kabaka Mutebi without any authorisation from the Kingdom.
Buganda Prime Minister Charles Peter Mayiga opposed the request by the chiefs to visit the king on the grounds that it could cause chaos and disrupt his recovery.