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Subnational kingdom
Flag of Buganda
Anthem: Ekitiibwa kya Buganda
Buganda is shaded red on this map
Buganda is shaded red on this map
Country  Uganda
Capital Mengo
 • Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II
 • Total 61,403.2 km2 (23,707.9 sq mi)
Elevation 1,200 m (3,900 ft)
Population (2002 census)[1]
 • Total 6,575,425
 • Estimate (2011) 8,465,400
 • Density 110/km2 (280/sq mi)
Time zone EAT (UTC+3)
Person Muganda
People Baganda
Language Luganda
Country Buganda
Kabaka Palace in Kampala

Buganda is a subnational kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Ganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda, comprising all of Uganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala. The 6 million Baganda (singular Muganda; often referred to simply by the root word and adjective, Ganda) make up the largest Ugandan ethnic group, representing approximately 16.9% of Uganda's population.[2]

Buganda has a long and extensive history. Unified in the 14th century under the first king Kato Kintu, the founder of Buganda's Kintu Dynasty, Buganda grew to become one of the largest and most powerful states in East Africa during the eighteenth and 19th centuries. During the Scramble for Africa, and following unsuccessful attempts to retain its independence against British imperialism, Buganda became the centre of the Uganda Protectorate in 1894; the name Uganda, the Swahili term for Buganda, was adopted by British officials. Under British rule, many Baganda acquired status as colonial administrators, and Buganda became a major producer of cotton and coffee.

Following Uganda's independence in 1962, the kingdom was abolished by Uganda's first Prime Minister Milton Obote in 1966. Following years of disturbance under Obote and dictator Idi Amin, as well as several years of internal divisions among Uganda's ruling National Resistance Movement under Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda since 1986, the kingdom was officially restored in 1993. Buganda is now a kingdom monarchy with a large degree of autonomy from the Ugandan state, although tensions between the kingdom and the Ugandan government continue to be a defining feature of Ugandan politics.

Since the restoration of the kingdom in 1993, the king of Buganda, known as the Kabaka, has been Muwenda Mutebi II. He is recognised as the 36th Kabaka of Buganda. The current queen, known as the Nnabagereka, is Queen Sylvia Nagginda.


Buganda's boundaries are marked by Lake Victoria to the south, the River Nile to the east, Lake Kyoga to the north and River Kafu to the northwest.[3] To the west, Buganda is bordered by the districts of Isingiro, Kiruhura, Kyenjojo, Kibale, Hoima and Masindi.

The following are the officially recognized counties (amasaza) of Buganda:



The Luganda language is widely spoken in Uganda, and is the most popular second language in Uganda along with English.[4] It is also taught in some primary and secondary schools in Uganda and at Makerere University, Uganda's oldest university and it has an exhaustive dictionary. The Luganda language was also used as a means of instruction in schools outside the region of Buganda prior to Uganda's Independence in 1962.

In literature and common discourse, Buganda is often referred to as Central Uganda. [5] It may be argued that this nomenclature does not refer to Buganda's geographical location, but to its political prominence, and to the fact that Kampala, the nation's capital, is located in Buganda

Geography and environment[edit]


History of Buganda[edit]

Main article: History of Buganda

The kingdom of Buganda is situated in swampy hillsides which served as a refuge for those escaping rivalries in neighboring Bunyoro. One faction fleeing Bunyoro, under the leadership of Prince Kimera, arrived in Buganda toward the last quarter of the 14th century. The prince molded the already existing refugees in the area into a unified state and became the third Kabaka (ruler) of Buganda.


The journalist Henry Morton Stanley visited Buganda in 1875 and provided an estimate of Buganda troop strength. Stanley counted 3,000 troops and a fleet of war canoes. At Buganda's capital, Lubaga, Stanley found a well-ordered town surrounding the king's palace, which was situated atop a commanding hill. A tall cane fence surrounded the palace compound, which was filled with grass-roofed houses, meeting halls, and storage buildings. Thronging the grounds were foreign ambassadors. seeking audiences, chiefs going to the royal advisory council, messengers running errands, and a corps of young pages. He estimated the population of the kingdom at 2,000,000[6]:152,156,164







Attempted secession in Kayunga[edit]

In September 2009, some of the Baanyala tribe announced that Bugerere had seceded from the Kingdom of Buganda. The Kabaka of Buganda, was prohibited by the Ugandan government from travelling to Bugerere, leading to riots and the killing of 30 people.[8]


Social structure[edit]




A blind Buganda harpist c. 1911





Clans of Buganda[edit]



The oldest clans trace their lineage to Bakiranze kiva Bulaya, who are supposed to have ruled in the region from about 400 AD until about 1300 AD. These seven clans are referred to as the Nansangwa, or the indigenous:[10]

  1. Lugave (Pangolin)
  2. Mmamba (Lungfish)
  3. Ngeye (Colobus monkey)
  4. Njaza (Reedbuck)
  5. Ennyange (Cattle egret)
  6. Fumbe (Civet cat)
  7. Ngonge (Otter)

Kintu migration[edit]


Thirteen clans are purported to have come with Kintu:

  1. Ekkobe (Liana fruit)
  2. Mbwa (Dog)
  3. Mpeewo (Oribi antelope)
  4. Mpologoma (Lion)
  5. Namuŋoona (Pied crow)
  6. Ngo (Leopard)
  7. Ŋonge (Otter)
  8. Njovu (Elephant)
  9. Nkejje (Sprat)
  10. Nkima (Vervet monkey)
  11. Ntalaganya (Blue duiker)
  12. Nvubu (Hippopotamus)
  13. Nvuma (Pearl)

Kimera migration[edit]


These eleven clans are:

  1. Bugeme
  2. Butiko (Mushrooms)
  3. Kasimba (Genet)
  4. Kayozi (Jerboa)
  5. Kibe (Fox)
  6. Mbogo (Buffalo)
  7. Musu/Omusu (Edible rat)
  8. Ngabi (Bushbuck)
  9. Nkerebwe (Jungle Shrew)
  10. Nsuma (Elephant-snout fish)
  11. Nseenene (Edible grasshopper)

Other clans[edit]

Since Kabaka Kimera twenty further clans have either immigrated to Buganda, or been created internally (largely by kings). These clans are:

  1. Abalangira(Descendants of male Royalty from Buganda)
  2. Babiito (Descendants of male Royalty from Bunyoro)
  3. Basambo
  4. Baboobi (Millipede)
  5. Kasanke (Finch with black wings and white chest)
  6. Kikuba (A pad used to brush aside morning dew when walking through tall grass)
  7. Kinyomo (Type of ant)
  8. Kiwere (Purple dye plant)
  9. Lukato (Stiletto or awl)
  10. Mbuzi (Goat)
  11. Mpindi (Cowpea)
  12. Mutima muyanja (Heart)
  13. Mutima musajji
  14. Nakinsige (Brown grass finch)
  15. Ndiga (Sheep)
  16. Ndiisa (small basket used for coffee berries)
  17. Ŋŋaali (Crested crane)
  18. Njobe (Marsh antelope)
  19. Nkebuka (Red finch)
  20. Nkula (Rhinoceros)
  21. Nsunu (Kob)
  22. Nte (Ox or cow)
  23. Nswaaswa (Monitor lizard)



See also[edit]


Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

  • Media related to Buganda at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 0°19′55″N 32°25′05″E﻿ / ﻿0.33194°N 32.41806°E﻿ / 0.33194; 32.41806