Kings Can’t Survive In A Republic
By Patrick Ocaido
As monarchial extremists continue to raise eye brows considering the government’s move to streamline cultural institutions, Presidential Press secretary has warned that traditional leaders are not a sovereign power and can be dealt with anytime.
Presidential mouthpiece Tamale Mirundi yesterday told this paper that the traditional leaders are bound to collapse if they continue to mix their virtual values with politics.
This comes after Minister of Gender and Social Development Mary Karooro Okurut last week subjected traditional institutions to submitdifferent traditional titles and names that their leaders should carry, a move that has been looked by extremists as a way of plotting to oust their kings.
In response, non-conformist muganda Tamale Mirundi who at one time said that the ‘Kabaka does not pay his children’s school fees or feed him’, said that the government made an evil mistake when they promised to restore cultural institutions after they were abolished by Milton Obote 1 government in 1967.
“The government deceived these people that they are restoring cultural institutions. Restoring means taking something back to its former or original state. Now the people have failed to interpret these terminologies,” Mirundi said.
Tamale Mirundi emphasized that traditional institutions should bear in mind that their existence is almost negligible in this republican government.
”A kabaka emerges and is not born. Nobody is born as a kabaka, but as a human being,” he said adding that these cultural leaders have no absolute powers in a republican state, a reason they do not attend UN or AU conferences.
“Traditional leaders should know that they derive their powers from the constitution. And no traditional leader shall have political and judicial powers that are comparable to that of an LC1 chairperson,” Mirundi said.
“Kabaka is therefore not sovereign as compared to King Mswati of Swaziland. We cannot have a king in a republican government.”
He said that mixing cultural values with politics has resulted into the collapse of strong monarchial states like Ethiopia, Ghana, and Egypt among others.
He cited Britain as an immediate example where kingdom’s were restored, but led to the shift of executive powers from the queen to the Prime Minister. “So the Kabaka who does not accept changes cannot survive in these modern times.” Mirundi said.
Muirundi further accuses cultural leaders of being conservative to democratic ideas by committing the same mistakes of Kabaka Mutesa II, who had also rejected every move to democratise Buganda.
The president’s backing dog blamed Kabaka’s foremen for misleading him (Kabaka) by working with blackmailers who have selfish interests.
“Kabaka is surrounded by very ambitious and young people who only think about making money and have no respect for the monarchy. A man like Makubuya, Mayiga are conniving with the likes of Kabushenga simply because he will give them media coverage and cover up their dirt. But they don’t know that Kabushenga can collapse that kingdom in less than two days.,” Mirundi said.
The Sniper 