The Observer Photojournalist Nicholas Bamulanzeki who was at the scene says a fire gutted a small hut inside the Kasubi Tombs. Source of the fire still unknown but Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson Patrick Onyango says the fire at Kasubi tombs was minor, and had not caused substantial damage.
He adds that the tombs are now safe after fire brigade put out the fire. “The fire broke out at around 1300hours in one of the structures that were meters away from the main tomb. Police were informed and four fire tenders were dispatched to professionally handle the incident,” he says.
He further notes that the fire crew reached and extinguished the fire. Police say they are investigating what could have caused the fire out break We have since established that the fire destroyed “Enyumba ya’balongo” at Kasubi Tombs.
The Kasubi Tombs in Kampala, is the site of the burial grounds for four Kabakas (kings of Buganda) and other members of the Baganda royal family.
As a result, the site remains an important spiritual and political site for the Baganda people, as well as an important example of traditional architecture.
It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 2001, when it was described as “one of the most remarkable buildings using purely vegetal materials in the entire region of sub-Saharan Africa”.
