First it was Robert Kabushenga the then CEO of Vision Group whose paper ran a story that Mengo had mortgaged the Bulange land title to former Foreign Affairs minister Sam Kutesa. After the backlash generated by the story, Kabushenga went to Mengo and mended fences with Buganda.
Years later, the Chief Justice Alphonse Owiny-Dollo rushed to Mengo accompanied by Olara Otunnu. He had gone to offer his apologies after he attacked Buganda, claiming at Jacob Oulanyah’s vigil that even Kabaka Mutebi had been a beneficiary of government medical aid.
Last month, the family of the late Tamale Mirundi, with the tails between their legs, went to Mengo to apologise over Mirundi’s vitriolic statements against the kingdom and its leaders. They profusely regretted Mirundi’s stance against Mengo.
Yesterday, Frank Gashumba, a self-styled political critic ate humble pie and sought forgiveness from Mayiga, whom he had once labelled a “Mufere” (conman).
In all the above instances, the kingdom has forgiven its former provocateurs and worked closely with them in some cases thereafter.
Yet the question is: Why are people, who previously viciously attacked Buganda or its leaders now seeking to be in Mengo’s good books?
There could be a number of reasons.
The most obvious one is that Buganda under Charles Peter Mayiga’s tenure as katikkiro has regained its past glory and influence.
Therefore, for people like Gashumba who are mobilisers of a political outfit, the wise thing is to apologize because you never know when you will need Buganda’s support.
While traditional institutions are supposed to be apolitical, there is no doubt that Mengo wields a lot of political influence. If you are going to seek the support of people in Buganda, you had better be in good books with Mengo.
Related to the above is the fact that the kingdom seems to have settled much of its scores with the central government. Therefore, those who seek to hurt it have nowhere else they can seek refugee unlike in the past where the central government was very welcoming of Mengo’s critics. The people apologizing don’t want to face this double isolation.
Historically, Buganda has always been accommodative. For centuries, Buganda has been a haven for people fleeing from injustice or violence. That is the reason Buganda was the epicenter of the NRA bush war. Even when you hurt them, Baganda are forgiving people.
Lastly is the fact that some actors could have realized that apologizing is a sign of maturity and civility not weakness. It takes a lot of soul-searching to apologize to anybody or an institution like Buganda where people cherish the values and customs of the kingdom.
