The Observer (Kampala)
3 January 2008
As the dispute between President Museveni's government and the Kingdom of Buganda over land heats up, the latter has hired leading Internet search company Google to "search and map" all the kingdom's land in Buganda.
The move follows claims by Uganda government officials that Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi does not know his kingdom, implying that his land claims might be kiwani (fake). The Buganda Kingdom, for its part, accuses the Museveni government of attempting to steal its land.
Among other disputed claims, the Buganda Kingdom is demanding from the central government the "return" of 9,000 square miles of land. But government officials say that no one knows where the claimed land is located.
"Those 9,000 square miles must be in the heads of Mengo officials or on mars. We haven't seen them anywhere in Uganda, let alone Buganda. Even if you brought the Son of God, Jesus Christ, He wouldn't show you even a square inch of this land," a government spokesman, Mr. Tamalaako Mulundi, told The Analyst.
The Buganda kingdom is hoping to use Google to prove the Uganda government wrong. "We have decided to produce bwino concerning our land. With its search, mapping and satellite technologies, Google will be able to pinpoint Buganda's land, and the government will not have any more excuses for not returning it," a source close to the Kabaka told The Analyst.
Apart from its wildly popular search engine, Google also offers a service called Google Maps that helps to locate various natural and man-made landmarks on a map of a given geographical area. Through its Google Earth service, it can provide high-resolution images of the same landmarks.
"Google can even get you a picture of a mulalo urinating on the Kabaka's tree or a government official forging the kyapa [title] to the Kabaka's land. So all that monkey business - with due respect to the nkima clan - will be no more," the Mengo source told The Analyst.
Government spokesman, Mr. Mulundi, was however adamant that nothing Buganda did would change government's position on land.
"They can bring Google or Giggle... The Uganda government will stick with the peasants who, quite honestly, don't know what is going on," he said.
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I lived in Uganda for many years. I admire his royalty "The Kabaka". One of my son's (orphans I raised in Uganda took languish lesson in school to speak the right "Buganda". His majesty and his wife do very much for the people in Uganda. What dose the government do????????????
Yes I believe the land is Kabaka's and the Government should give it back… [Read Full Text]
Hey you guys thats nice you will save us from these thieves who want to still our heart in fact land is my heart you cant leave without land. That guy Tamala Murundi am sorry to say so but he doesn't know where he belongs they came on water like fellys. So please you guys continue with that sacrifice you v shown to map and show those Banyarus were they belong i hope they don't know what is happening in Kenya, But on land is different stuff thank you so much.
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