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On Tuesday night, Uganda’s 128 year-old royal tombs of the Buganda people were ablaze. This sparked outraged by the tribe who then clashed with riot police overnight. The police shot at the crowds, leading to the reported deaths of two people.
 AFP The tombs, which were UNESCO sites, were the Bugandan people’s link to their heritage. It is the latest skirmish between these people and President Yoweri Museveni.
Reportedly, crowds prevented Museveni from visiting and inspecting the tombs.
Meanwhile, the Buganda people are grief stricken over loss of the resting place of their leaders. Their King, Ronald Mutebi, is calling for a week of mourning.
“We have lost our treasured culture, this is the origin of all the Buganda culture, this is where our ancestors are buried,” said the tomb’s custodian, Fred Mukasa.
The Uganda government believes arson may be the cause of the fire.
“There are people who want to cause harm to this Kingdom. They are keen on destabilizing us and we don’t know whether they’re behind this,” Reuters quoted Buganda regional official Charles Peter Mayiga as saying.
The Buganda Kingdom is one of the four largest in Uganda. It was not established until 1993 by President Museveni, who reinstated it as a cultural institution with no political power.
Last year, there were riots in Uganda’s capital of Kampala over the Kingdom’s relations with the government.
The people of the Rwenzururu Kingdom of Uganda have fianlly crowned their King, weeks after it was recognized by the government.
 AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo On Monday, Charles Wesley Mumbere, age 56, was coronated as the Omusinga of the Rwenzururu, located in western Uganda. The ceremony was attended by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, as well as thousands of people, who were beating drums and wearing their King’s image on their clothes.
“It is a great moment to know that finally the central government has understood the demands of the Bakonzo people who have been seeking very hard for recognition of their identity,” Mumbere told The Associated Press.
The crowning of Mumbere has attracted worldwide attention, as it was recently revealed that he worked as a nurse’s aide in the United States for nearly 25 years. He mentioned that during an interview with The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, upon his July return to his homeland.
Mumbere’s father, Isaya Mukirania Kibanzanga, fought in a secessionist group that was fighting another ethnic group which dominated the Bakongo people, the ones who live in Rwenzururu. Mumbere was taught to be a fighter at age nine, and grew up in the bush, which he described to the AP as “very difficult.”
 AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo When his father died, Mumbere led his people to hand in their weapons. In 1984, he went to business school in the United States on an Ugandan government scholarship. But when that scholarship was dropped after Uganda’s government changed, Mumbere got political asylum and became a nurse’s aide. He said he went into that field because it “was more reliable. Other jobs you can be laid off easily.”
All that changed when Uganda started to restore its traditional kingdoms in the 1980s. Mumbere then lobbied to the King of Rwenzururu, and now he is has been crowned.
But not everyone is pleased. Mumbere was not the only one claiming to the rightful King, even though he said he inherited the Kingdom from his father when Mumbere was 13.
“It is injustice,” one of the men, Swaleh Tibamwenda, said yesterday. “It [the ceremony] is a government project, not a cultural one. The government can’t take over the culture of the people.”
“There is not much I can do,” he said. “You cannot fight it, and I don’t know what really is going on.”
 AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo Some Ugandans have wondered if President Museveni’s move to recognize the Rwenzururu Kingdom was a political one to help him win reelection. His rival, Kizza Besigye, surprised everyone when he unexpectedly showed up at the coronation.
He did not speak during the ceremony, but the President did, giving the Osuminga a warning.
“Don’t mix culture and politics; that will be the end of your kingdom [if you do so],” Museveni said to Mumbere.
These past two days has seen the Ugandan capital of Kampala in turmoil. Ten people are dead, dozens of stores looted, and police posts were set on fire as rioters protested a tribal King’s visit to the capital.
 AP The troubles began when the King of the Buganda – the largest ethnic group in the East African nation – wanted to visit a hostile area near Kampala. Since tribal Kings are mostly figureheads and are not allowed to take part in politics, some Parliament members were uneasy with the King, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, travelling to an area that the New York Times reports is where a different ethnic group lives.
Restrictions were reportedly set up, and some of the King’s officials claimed harassment. That was when the rioting began.
Protesters burned tires and threw rocks at police. Some Ugandans took advantage of the opportunity to loot stores, and then the police and soldiers began to shoot the people.
Although the official count is 2 dead, an Associated Press photographer claims he saw 10 dead bodies of civilians in the streets.
The reason for the unrest may have to do with growing discontent with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Even though there is an election coming up, Museveni supposedly will not step down. He has also accused the Bugandan King of receiving foreign finance.
The Bugandan kingdom is one of four in Uganda. It wasn’t established until the 1990s.
The riots in Kampala are unprecedent. It is normally seen as one of the more peaceful capitals in Africa.
The Ugandan Kingdom of Rwenzururu received news it did not expect to get. During a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the South Rwenzori Diocese at St Paul’s Cathedral in Kasese, President Museveni announced that Uganda officially recognized Rwenzururu as a legitimate Kingdom. Moreover, its Prince, Charles Mumbere, will be crowned as King in October.
“[I] Am now happy to inform you that I have written information that now you all agree on Obusinga, since you agree, I also agree,” the President told those in the cathedral.
With that, worshippers rejoiced. The Kingdom of Rwenzururu had been fighting for recognition from the Ugandan government for years, and now they’ve got that, plus a coronation of their King to look forward to.
President Museveni cancelled a trip to Libya to give the people the news. His reason for recognizing the Kingdom might have political motives, as he is preparing for a 2011 reelection. According to AllAfrica.com, Museveni is losing support in Rwenzururu region to his rival, Dr Kizza Besigye.
The Kingdom is made up of the Bamba and the Bakonzo people in mountainous western Uganda. They have long been wanting Rwenzururu to be accepted by Uganda in order to protect their culture and heritage. There are several recognized Ugandan kingdoms, and now Rwenzururu joins that list.
U.S. civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson was made a prince of a tribe in the kingdom of Sanwi in southern Cote d’Ivoire. The Agni tribe in the village of Krindjabo, was looking for a replacement after Michael Jackson – who was bestowed the title of a dignitary royal back in 1992 – passed away earlier this summer.
 Reuters In a ceremony where he was surrounded by bare-chested women and men covered with sheep’s blood, Reverend Jackson received a crown and a gold specter.
“It’s a joyous occasion and a great honor,” Jackson said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “We are committed to working with the people in the village.”
The Reverend was in Cote d’Ivoire to promote a fair election in the west African nation, which is set to take place later this year.
When asked what he would do with his royal regalia, Jackson replied: “I don’t know what I’d use it for in Chicago. But I’d put it on display at Rainbow/PUSH headquarters.”
When Michael Jackson died, the village requested that the pop singer’s body be brought to Krindjabo for a traditional Agni burial. That request was not fulfilled.
In a ceremony so secret, it is believed any outsiders witnessing the event will be killed, the southern Ethiopian tribe of Boreno, coronated its new King. 
Guyyoo Gobbaa, a 36 year old cattle farmer, is to rule over the Boreno for the next eight years. According to tradition, he was handpicked at birth to be his tribe’s King in a complex rotating system of Boreno’s Kings.
“If you see them exchanging power you’ll die,” said Mohammed Nur, a member of the Borena tribe who is also a local government official. “You’ll spit blood. It is totally sacred.”
Gobbaa is spending his three coronation days eating rich food and meeting with tribal leaders.
His kingship has been accepted by the Ethiopian government.
Traditional rulers exist alongside formal government in many African countries, and their behind-the scenes influence can help or hinder vital national interests.
Gobbaa plans to fix his 1 million people’s ailing economy by improving access to livestock markets and patching up relations with other tribes.
“My main aim is to uphold this traditional culture,” he said. “Not only for Borena. For the whole of Ethiopia.”
The Borena claim their monarchial system dates back 550 years.
But there are some talks of changing it.
“I don’t know,” Mohammed Nur said when asked about the future. “Maybe we won’t want the traditional power. Maybe we’ll want the democratic one.”
She’s a staunch anti-monarchist, but that didn’t stop Liz Busch to be hailed as the new Queen of the Ewe tribe in Ghana. 
The 59-year old grandmother received the privilege on December 27th, after moving to the West African country to do humanitarian work for the Ewe people in 2006.
Busch said she felt honored but a bit embarrassed at the same time.
“I’ve been an anti-royalist all my life so it’s a bit weird but I couldn’t turn it down – they didn’t ask me, they just said that’s what’s going to happen,” she said.
“They have loads of kings and queens in Ghana, more than we have and we have got one too many.”
During the ceremony, Busch received a throne, a sash, royal garb, and some jewelry. She even gets to join the tribal leaders in decision making.
She also got a new name – Nana Dansuwa I. “Nana” means Queen, and Dansuwa was a tribal chief who was known for his works with developing the Ewe tribe.
“As far as I know it’s completely unusual for a white woman to be chosen,” Busch said.
“People bow to me but I think it’s just because it’s new. I find it a bit embarrassing.”
Busch grew up in Wimbledon, and is the divorced mother of three. She got involved in the needs of the people in the Volta mountainous region in 2006. She decided to start a life there after completing a six-week volunteer outreach project in the nearby town of Santrokofi.
“I was so touched by the people I met and so desperate to help the children that I knew it was the place for me.
“Since I moved, I have set up four childrens’ centers and we help teach the children to read and write, encourage them to play games, draw and generally enjoy their childhood.
The new African Queen hopes her high profile role will draw more attention to her cause.
“There are children here who share a pen in school because they can’t afford to have a pen each.”
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