Joyce Namugambe
The Japanese Embassy has toured the Kasubi Masiro Tombs to check on the progress of the reconstruction work, and find out what more is needed for the work to be completed, so that the Tombs get back to its normal state of tourism attraction in the country.
This comes at a time when UNESCO, one of the sponsors of the Tombs reconstruction wants to make sure that the Tombs get back to its normal structure so that it can be removed from the list of the endangered heritage sites in the region.
The 21 member states of the world’s heritage committee meeting is to be held this month of September from10 – 25 2023 in Saudi Arabia, and one of the moves to be looked at during this meeting, is the removal of the Tombs on the list of the endangered heritage sites.
When the Japanese Deputy Head of Mission from the Japanese Embassy Tomotaka Yoshimura got to Kasubi Tombs, he started his tour at the main house of Muzibuazalampanga, and then proceeded moving around the water sources and fire extinguisher, to findout how the fire team operates the machines incase of the fire outbreak, which the team demonstrated to him.
Tomotaka was pleased by the work progress going on in the Tombs and noted that the relationship between Japan, Uganda and UNESCO in terms of culture is what pushes them to work together to protect the cultural heritage of Uganda. He commended the fire extinguisher team in the Tombs and all the people working on the reconstruction for the work well done to ensure that the reconstruction moves on smoothly.
Minister in charge of heritage, palaces, Tombs, tourism and security in Buganda Kingdom Owek. Anthony Wamala noted that when the Tombs caught fire, the Japanese Embassy was the first to come out to support the reconstruction and revealed that they the kingdom has hope that by the end of this year, much of the work of the reconstruction will have been done. He commended Japanese government for financing the fire fighting equipments, and expressed hope that by the end of the world’s heritage committee meeting, Kasubi Masiro Tombs will be removed from the list of the endangered heritage sites.
The Assistant Commissioner of Museums and Monuments in the ministry of tourism Jackeline Nyiracyiza Besigye mentioned that as a way of joining hands for the progress of the reconstruction work of the Tombs, the ministry of tourism assigned a site manager to represent the site in UNESCO and follow up what is being done and see where more assistance is needed.
She added that they are still working together to see that whatever needed for the work of the reconstruction is availed. She Commended the cooperation between Buganda kingdom and the central government during the work of the reconstruction. However, she appealed to the fire fighting team always to be alert incase of any outbreak so that they can save the Tombs any time need be, to avoid any other danger that may happen to the Tombs.
The Electrical Engineer in the Tombs David Kibirango noted that the job of making sure that the fire extinguisher functions automatically has been done jointly with companies such as Gloria fire protection in charge of fire protection, Triple Ds technical services in charge of supplying power and lighting of the area, and cornerstone in charge of construction of the underground water tank. He noted that they have fully trained the team to understand the equipment so that they can use them successfully incase need be.
