Jamaican dancehall Queen Spice has visited the Katikiro of Buganda Kingdom, Charles Peter Mayiga, at Bulange Mengo, as part of her week-long cultural immersion programme in Uganda.
The visit was organised by Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) and Buganda Kingdom ahead of her maiden concert in Uganda, slated for Saturday, at Lugogo Cricket Oval.
The visit also forms part of UTB’s deliberate strategy to position cultural tourism at the heart of Uganda’s destination brand.
At Bulange, Spice was welcomed by the Katikiro of Buganda, Charles Peter Mayiga.
As part of the ceremonies, Spice was bestowed the Kiganda clan name Nankula, placing her within the Enkula (Rhino) clan of Buganda Kingdom, a deeply symbolic honour that connects the dancehall queen directly to the very animal whose conservation her concert proceeds will support.
UTB Chief Executive Officer Juliana Kagwa declared at the occasion that Spice is the first international artist to formally explore Uganda before performing here and announced that this would be the standard for all international artists visiting Uganda.
“We are making history here today. Spice is the first international artist to accept the invitation to truly explore Uganda, to walk through the Kasubi Tombs, to sit with the Buganda Kingdom, and to name a rhino at Ziwa. We must implore all international artists to explore Uganda before they leave. We will make it standard for every artist who performs on our soil.” Kagwa revealed.
Buganda is one of the oldest and most storied kingdoms in Africa, with origins that stretch back to the 14th century.
Founded by Kabaka Kato Kintu, who unified several clans around the northern shores of Lake Victoria, the kingdom grew over the following five centuries into one of the most powerful cultural institutions in the Great Lakes region of East Africa.
The Kasubi Tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, serve as the burial ground for four revered Kabakas of the Buganda Kingdom: Muteesa I, Mwanga II, Daudi Chwa II, and Sir Edward Muteesa II. Originally built as a royal palace by Muteesa I in 1882, it was converted into a burial site after he died in 1884.
“I welcome our sister from Jamaica to the seat of the Buganda Kingdom, a kingdom that is over 900 years old and whose story is your story too.
You are on the continent of your ancestors’ kingdoms, and this place holds that memory for you. Winston Churchill called Uganda the Pearl of Africa, and he was right. Beyond the Boda Bodas and the traffic, Uganda is one of the most beautiful countries on this continent and in this world. But the world needs to know more about our wildlife, our cultural way of life, our food and our music.
These are among the most outstanding attractions on earth. Uganda’s cultural tourism is unique, and the Kingdom of Buganda is its living heart,” Owek. Mayiga said.
The Katikiro also reflected on the power of music to transcend colonial history and geographic distance, noting that the presence of a global Jamaican artist at the seat of Africa’s oldest kingdoms is itself a homecoming of profound meaning.
Spice described the visit as deeply personal. “It gives me great pleasure to be here. I have been taking in the awe of everything I have seen in Uganda, and what I feel most of all is love. I feel it everywhere I go. I feel at home. There is a bond here, a comfort I did not expect and cannot fully explain. I am so grateful to explore your culture, because I want to explore all of it.
The food is amazing, the culture, the warmth of the Ugandan people, the way this country loves dancehall it is an honour to be accepted here. And now to be given a name, to be placed in a clan, I am no longer just visiting Uganda. I belong to it.” Spice revealed.
The Bulange visit also deepens UTB’s commitment to what it calls the Kabaka Trail, a cultural tourism corridor that takes visitors through Uganda’s royal heritage, connecting the Kasubi Tombs, the Buganda Kingdom at Bulange, the Uganda Martyrs Shrine at Namugongo, and other sites of historic and spiritual significance.