Mengo — The king's return ends months of commotion and speculation driven by a section of his subjects that led to a diplomatic charade in his place of recuperation in the southern African country of Namibia
Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II returned to the country in the early hours of Monday morning.
The king's return ends months of commotion and speculation driven a section of his subjects that led to a diplomatic charade in his place of recuperation in the southern African country of Namibia.
The Kabaka, clad in a grey suit with matching gold and grey necktie on a white shirt, was received at Entebbe International Airport by a delegation led by the Katikkiro, Owek Charles Peter Mayiga.
The Ethiopian Airlines flight ET338 from Addis touched down at Entebbe airport ten minutes in the dew of midnight and the king was received by the Nnabagereka Sylvia Nagginda in the company Prince Jjunju Kiweewa, Nnaalinnya Lubuga Agnes Nabaloga and Nnaalinnya Victoria Nkinzi.
"Omutanda akomyewo mirembe mu nsi ye. Twebaza Katonda amukuumye ate n'okumuzza okwabobwe. Twebaza abasawo, ate n'abaweereza abaatambula ne Nnyinimu," Mayiga later posted on X, formerly Twitter.
It translates to 'the King has returned peacefully to his world, we thank the doctors and attendants who looked after him.'
Kabaka Mutebi arrived in Namibia on April 14, on a private medical visit. The 69-year-old monarch had been referred to Okonguarri Psychotherapeutic Centre by his German doctors.
The facility in the Outjo area in Namibia's north-western Kunene region was also considered a great place for recuperation.
The kingdom did not reveal the nature of the Kabaka's illness - traditionally the Kabaka does not fall ill - but dispelled rumours he had been poisoned.
However, his extended recuperation in Namibia was cut short by his host government following a series of controversial clamour by the kingdom's subjects.
The cup spilled two weeks ago when 'Bataka ba Buganda', a group of clan elders, travelled to Namibia uninvited ostensibly to confirm that the Kabaka had not been kidnapped.
The commotion that followed led to the Namibian government denying the Kabaka a visa extension.
Tthe Namibian government said subjects of the Kabaka had stooped low by engaging in nefarious actions that maligned the country's image in the international community.
Etienne Maritza, the executive director of Immigration in the Namibian Home affairs ministry, said subjects of the Kabaka made allegations that their king was being illegally detained in Namibia.
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"Some of the unscrupulous subjects of the Buganda Kingdom started organising and having demonstrations at Namibia's Diplomatic Missions around the world, demanding for Namibia to release their King from detention," he said.
"Such malicious allegations were not only meant to tarnish Namibia's respected reputation and standing in the eyes of the international community, but were also meant to undermine the good bilateral relations that exist between the two countries."
Kabaka Mutebi's health had been an issue since around 2021 and the treatment and extended recuperation under the care of specialist doctors in Namibia appears to have been doing the king and his kingdom some good.
However, the what-next will be an issue in the coming days at Bulange Mengo as the Kabaka gets to physically confront the commotion over his medical leave.
Only three weeks ago, the Kabaka had been forced to deliver a pre-recorded video message to his subjects in an attempt to calm the tension in his kingdom.
But the forceful an ill-advised travel to Namibia by the Bataka has now cut short their own's king and, going by President Museveni's take, embarrassed the kingdom and the nation.
