Mwanga II
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Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II Mukasa (3 June 1868 – 8 May 1903)D. A. Low
''Fabrication of Empire: The British and the Uganda Kingdoms, 1890-1902''
Cambridge University Press, 2009, p. 210, note 196.
was the 31st Kabaka of
Buganda Buganda is a Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda, Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the List of current non-sovereign African monarchs, traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Ug ...
who ruled from 1884 until 1888 and from 1889 until 1897.


Claim to the throne

He was born at
Nakawa Nakawa is an area in the city of Kampala, Uganda's capital. It is also the location of the headquarters of Nakawa Division, one of the five administrative divisions of Kampala. Location Nakawa is located on the eastern edge of the city of Kamp ...
on 3 June 1868. His father was Muteesa I of Buganda, who reigned between 1856 and 1884. His mother was ''Abakyala'' Abisagi Bagalayaze, the 10th of his father's 85 wives. He ascended to the throne on 18 October 1884, after the death of his father. He established his
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
on Mengo Hill.


Reign

Mwanga came to the throne at the age of 16. He increasingly regarded the greatest threat to his rule as coming from the
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
who had gradually penetrated Buganda. His father had played-off the three religious traditions –
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
s,
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
s, and
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s – against each other and thus had balanced the influence of the powers that were backing each group in order to extend their reach into Africa. Mwanga II took a much more aggressive approach. On his orders, the
Uganda Martyrs The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 22 Catholic Church, Catholic and 23 Anglicanism, Anglican converts to Christianity in the History of Buganda, kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda, who were executed between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887 ...
, a group of 22
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and 23
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
converts to Christianity in the kingdom of Buganda, now part of
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
, were executed between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887. The deaths took place at a time when there was a three-way religious struggle for political influence at the Buganda royal court. The episode also occurred against the backdrop of the "
Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...
" – the invasion, occupation, division, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers. These murders and Mwanga's continued resistance alarmed the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
, who backed a rebellion by Christian and Muslim groups who supported Mwanga's half brother and defeated Mwanga at Mengo in 1888. Mwanga's brother, Kiweewa Nnyonyintono, was elevated to the
throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...
. He lasted exactly one month and was replaced on the throne by another brother, Kabaka Kalema Muguluma. However, Mwanga escaped and negotiated with the British. In exchange for handing over some of his
sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
to the
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, the British changed their backing to Mwanga, who swiftly removed
Kalema Kalema is a settlement in Kenya's Rift Valley Province Rift Valley Province () of Kenya, bordering Uganda, was one of Kenya's eight provinces, before the 2013 Kenyan general election. Rift Valley Province was the largest and one of the most ...
from the throne in 1889. Mwanga later converted to Christianity and was baptized as a Protestant.


Final years

On 26 December 1890, Mwanga was to sign a treaty with
Lord Lugard Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British soldier, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator. He was Governor of Hong Kong (1907 ...
, granting certain powers over revenue, trade and the administration of justice to the
Imperial British East Africa Company The Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) was a commercial association founded to develop African trade in the areas controlled by the British Empire. The company was incorporated in London on 18 April 1888 and granted a royal charter by ...
. These powers were transferred to the crown on 1 April 1893. On 27 August 1894, Mwanga was forced to accept Buganda becoming a Protectorate. As a result, on 6 July 1897, he declared an anti-colonial war on the British and launched an attack but was defeated on 20 July 1897, in
Buddu Buddu is a county (Ssaza) of the kingdom of Buganda in what is now Uganda. Location Buddu lies on the northwest shore of Lake Victoria in the Central Region of Uganda. Buddu is divided from the rest of the kingdom of Buganda by the wide and swa ...
(in today's Masaka District). He fled into
German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; ) was a German colonial empire, German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Portugu ...
(modern-day
Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
), where he was arrested and interned at Bukoba. He was deposed ''
in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...
'' on 9 August 1897. Tenacious and anti-imperialist as he was, he escaped and returned to Buganda with a revolutionary army that was determined to free Buganda of colonial influence, but was again defeated on 15 January 1898. He was captured, tortured and in April 1899 was
exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
d to the
Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
. While in exile, he was coerced into the
Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
by way of forced baptism and was given the name Danieri (Daniel). He spent the rest of his life in exile but his anti-imperialist resolve was never broken. He remained deeply resentful about the conquest of his own people by the British and urged them to keep up the struggle against a European rule. He died in the Seychelles on 8 May 1903, aged 34 or 35 as a result of torture by British soldiers and starvation. On 2 August 1910, his remains were repatriated and buried at Kasubi.


Married life

Mwanga is on record as having married 17 wives: # Damali Bayita Nanjobe # Naabakyaala Dolosi Mwaan'omu Bakazikubawa # Esiteri Nabunnya # Naabakyaala Eveliini Kulabako, Omubikka # Naabakyaala Loyiroosa Nakibuuka, Kaddulubaale # Naabakyaala Samali Namuwanga, Sabaddu # Nabweteme # Nakijoba Nabulya (Elizabeeti Oliva Kyebuzibwa born of Mwanje Bikaali) # Bezza Batwegombya # Naabakyaala Ntongo, Kabejja # Naabakyaala Nabisubi, Omuwanga # Namirembe # Lakeeri Mbekeka # Nalwooga, Omuyigiriza # Elizaabeeti Buteba # Nattimba Binti Juma # Amalemba Tutsi


Issue

Mwanga II fathered several sons and daughters from his 16 wives including Daudi Chwa II of Buganda: # Prince (''Omulangira'') Kagolo, whose mother was Damali Bayita Nanjobe. He was killed by his uncle Kalema, in 1889. # Prince (''Omulangira'') Mulindwa, whose mother was Nabweteme # Prince (''Omulangira'') Nganda, whose mother was Lakeeri Mbekeka # Prince (''Omulangira'') Abdallah Mawanda whose mother was Lakeeri Mbekeka. Perceived as a potential agitator during the reign of Chwa, he was appointed as one of the British Agents to Kigezi in South Western Uganda. # Daudi Chwa II of Buganda, who reigned from 1897 until 1939. His mother was Eveliini Kulabako. # Prince (''Omulangira'') Yusuufu Suuna Kiweewa, whose mother was Esiteri Nabunnya. He was born at
Mengo, Uganda Mengo is a hill in Rubaga Division, Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. The name also applies to the neighborhood on that hill. Location Mengo is bordered by Old Kampala to the north, Nsambya Hill to the east, Kibuye to the south- ...
on 16 February 1898 and was educated at Mengo High School and
King's College Budo King’s College Budo is a mixed, residential, secondary school in Central Region, Uganda, Central Uganda (Buganda). Location The school is located on Budo hill, Naggalabi Hill, in southern Wakiso District, off the Kampala-Masaka Road. This loc ...
. Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in October 1914. He served in the Great War from 1915 until 1919. Promoted to
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
in the 7th Territorial Battalion on 25 May 1939. He served in the
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in
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and in
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, from 1939 until 1940. Retired on 18 March 1940. He was implicated in the Buganda riots of 1949 and exiled to the Ssese Islands, where he died in 1949. # Prince (''Omulangira'') Tobi, whose mother was Nabisubi # Prince (''Omulangira'') Nayime?, whose mother was Loyiroosa Nakibuuka # Princess (''Omumbejja'') Najjuma Katebe, whose mother is not mentioned # Princess (''Omumbejja'') Anna Nambi Nassolo, whose mother was Samali Namuwanga # Princess (''Omumbejja'') Mboni Maliamu Kajja-Obunaku, whose mother was Nattimba. She was educated at Saint Monica's School in
Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...
.


Quotes

"I do not want to give them my land. I want all Europeans of all nations to come to Buganda, to build and to trade as they like." * Mwanga's message to Euan Smith, British Consul in Zanzibar, 1890 "I am Mutesa's son, and what Mutesa was in Buganda that I will also be, and against those who will not have it so I shall make war." * Mwanga to Karl Peters, 1890 "The English have come; they have built a fort; they eat my land; they have made me sign a treaty; they curtail my powers; and I get nothing from them in return." * Mwanga after signing treaty with Captain
Frederick Lugard Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British soldier, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator. He was Governor of Hong Kong (1907 ...
, 1890 "''Abalangira timba buli afuluma amira munne.''" rinces are like pythons they swallow each other.* Mwanga after defeating the Muslim faction, 1893 "When I die it will be the end of the kingdom of Buganda. Europeans will take over (eat) this country of mine." * Mwanga before joining forces with Kabalega, 1898


Quotes about Mwanga II

"To his (Mwanga's) distorted view the missionaries were men banded together for the undermining of his authority, for sapping the affections and loyalty of his subjects and for ultimately occupying the whole of Buganda." *
Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author, and politician famous for his exploration of Central Africa and search for missi ...
, ''In Darkest Africa'', 1890 "... there was, however, much good feeling and even tenderness in his character when he could be kept from bad habits and was free from evil influences." * John Roscoe, ''Twenty Five Years in East Africa'', 1921 "Mwanga was a jovial, friendly person who had many friends." * Batolomewo Zimbe, ''Buganda ne Kabaka'', 1939, p. 53. "Mwanga fought to free himself and his country of the intruders for all his reign. He did not like or want them; he was impressed by their power, but not interested in their ideas. He could not recover the old way of life nor adapt himself to the new, and in his perplexed and unhappy groping in the gap between he seems to me to deserve some sympathy." * Kabaka
Mutesa II Sir Edward Frederick William David Walugembe Mutebi Luwangula Mutesa II (19 November 1924 – 21 November 1969) was a Ugandan royal and statesman who served as the first president of Uganda from 1962 to 1966, when he was overthrown by Milton O ...
, ''Desecration of My Kingdom'', 1967 "He had wanted to be master in his own house, but unfortunately for him and for the monarchy, chieftainship triumphed over royal authority in a manner that had never happened before." * MSM Kiwanuka, "Kabaka Mwanga and His Political Parties", 1969 "When Mwanga was brought to the capital as a captive the administration expected the people to be happy now that the enemy of their peace and religion was going into exile. On the contrary, people wanted him pardoned." * Fr. John-Mary Waliggo, The Catholic Church in Buddu, 1976 "Mwanga ... was demonstrably unequal to the task of controlling the foreigners who were subverting his kingdom under his very nose. He did not have the experience or the prestige that had enabled his father to keep foreigners in their place within his kingdom." * Samwiri R. Karugire, ''A Political History of Uganda'', 1980 "Mwanga was quite right to seek to be the master in his own kingdom just as his forefathers had been, all his excesses and fault of character notwithstanding. Some of his predecessors had been guilty of worse acts of cruelty and injustice and nothing drastic had befallen them. In other words even if all the charges levelled against Mwanga by his numerous Christian and Muslim detractors were true, he was still right to claim supreme authority in the kingdom of his forefathers." * Samwiri R. Karugire, ''A Political History of Uganda'', 1980 "... Mwanga struck them (Ganda elders) as being kinder and gentler than Mutesa had been while a youth. For sheer tyranny, Mwanga II was easily outclassed by his father, grandfather and great grandfather, each of whom was remembered in Ganda tradition at the time of the British colonial take-over as having become uncontrollable at some stage during their respective reigns. This is something Mwanga never became." * Morris Twaddle, ''Kakungulu'', 1993 "No Kabaka of Buganda had ever faced the challenges that Mwanga faced, dealing with mighty religious parties which eventually drove him from the throne and his kingdom." * Samwiri Lwanga Lunyigo, ''Mwanga II'', 2011, page 4Lwanga-Lunyiigo, S. (2011). ''Mwanga II: Resistance to Imposition of British Colonial Rule in Buganda, 1884-1899''. Kampala: Wavah Books "Mwanga II should be judged within the context of nineteenth century Buganda, where kings had absolute executive, legislative, judicial, military and even economic power. To see him through the lenses of his foes, those who took away the sovereignty of his country and their local collaborators is to miss him. He cannot be understood through the fairy tales of his enemies who denounced him." * Samwiri Lwanga Lunyigo, ''Mwanga II'', 2011, p. 35


Social media trend

In early 2023, a social media trend emerged in Uganda and worldwide, featuring the name 'Kabaka-Mwanga.' The trend originated from a video shared on Ugandan social media platforms, in which a young boy from the suburbs of Uganda used the phrase as an exclamatory statement. This trend sparked renewed interest in the historical figure of Mwanga. The phenomenon captured the attention of both older Ugandans familiar with Mwanga's legacy and younger generations who were previously unaware of him.


See also

*
Kabaka of Buganda Kabaka is the title of the monarch, king of the Buganda, Kingdom of Buganda.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, According to the traditions of the Baganda, they are ruled by two kings, one spiritual and the othe ...
*
Uganda Martyrs The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 22 Catholic Church, Catholic and 23 Anglicanism, Anglican converts to Christianity in the History of Buganda, kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda, who were executed between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887 ...
* Muteesa I of Buganda * Kimera of Buganda


References


Further reading

*Ashe, R. P. (1889). ''Two Kings of Uganda: Or, Life by the Shores of Victoria Nyanza''. S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington. *Brierley, Jean, and Thomas Spear. “Mutesa, The Missionaries, and Christian Conversion in Buganda.” The International Journal of African Historical Studies 21, no. 4 (1988): 601–18. https://doi.org/10.2307/219743. *Griffiths, Tudor. “Bishop Alfred Tucker and the Establishment of a British Protectorate in Uganda 1890-94.” Journal of Religion in Africa 31, no. 1 (2001): 92–114. https://doi.org/10.2307/1581815. *Kaggwa, Sir Apollo K,
Basekabaka be’Buganda
' ranslated by MM Semakula Kiwanuka Nairobi: East African Publishing House, 1971. *Kiwanuka, M. S. M. (1969). "Kabaka Mwanga and his political parties." ''Uganda Journal, 33(1)'', 1-16. *Low, Anthony. “The British and the Baganda.” International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-) 32, no. 3 (1956): 308–17. https://doi.org/10.2307/2608109. *Lwanga-Lunyigo, Samwiri (2011). ''Mwanga II : Resistance to Imposition of British colonial rule in Buganda, 1884-1899''. Wavah Books. *Rowe, J. A. “The Purge of Christians at Mwanga’s Court: A Reassessment of This Episode in Buganda History.” The Journal of African History 5, no. 1 (1964): 55–72. http://www.jstor.org/stable/179768. *Twaddle, Michael. “The Muslim Revolution in Buganda.” African Affairs 71, no. 282 (1972): 54–72. http://www.jstor.org/stable/720363.


External links


List of Kings of Buganda

The vilification of Kabaka Mwanga
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mwanga 02 Of Buganda 1868 births 1903 deaths 19th-century Ugandan LGBTQ people 19th-century Ugandan people 19th-century monarchs in Africa Anti-Christian sentiment in Africa Converts to Protestantism from pagan religions Kabakas of Buganda LGBTQ royalty Critics of Christianity Persecution of Christians Ugandan chiefs Ugandan Protestants 20th-century Ugandan LGBTQ people 20th-century Ugandan people Ugandan traditional rulers and monarchs