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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A fire has gutted one of the huts in Kasubi tombs, the burial grounds for four former Kings of Buganda Kingdom and other members of the Royal Family.
The minor fire is said to have broken out in the hut located just a distance from the main tomb, a grass thatched-roof mausoleum known as Muzibu Azaala Mpanga, at around 1 pm on Friday. It is still not clear what sparked off the fire according to Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson Patrick Onyango.
He however says that a team of officers from the Directorate of Fire and Rescue Services managed to put out the fire before it could spread to other huts.
The site hosting the Royal Tombs is the major spiritual centre for the Baganda where traditional and cultural practices have been preserved. It is the most active religious place in the kingdom where important rituals related to Buganda culture are frequently performed.
Built-in 1882 and later converted into a royal burial ground for Buganda Kings, the tombs are a masterpiece of human creativity and the most active religious place in the kingdom according to the United Nations Educational Scientific Organisation-UNESCO, which named it a World Heritage Site.
The site is still under construction following a fire that gutted the site in March 2010.
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