Jamaican dancehall Queen Spice has visited the seat of
Buganda Kingdom at Bulange Mengo today in one of her week long cultural immersion
programme in Uganda. The immersion was organized by Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) and
Buganda Kingdom ahead of her maiden concert in Uganda slated for 9th May, 2026 at Lugogo
Cricket Oval.
The visit, which forms part of UTB’s deliberate strategy to position cultural tourism at the heart
of Uganda’s destination brand, had Spice welcomed by the Katikiro of Buganda, Owek.
Charles Peter Mayiga into a Kingdom. At a ceremony held in her honour at Bulange, 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.
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 visit 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, to name a rhino at Ziwa. In
the name of Explore Uganda, 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. Today, the
kingdom’s 14 million people represent approximately 27 percent of Uganda’s population, and
Buganda remains the largest of the country’s traditional kingdoms.
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.
In his remarks, the Katikiro drew a direct line between Spice’s music and the enduring,
unbreakable spirit of African culture. He reflected on the power of music as a force that
transcends 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, who has spent the week traversing Uganda’s cultural and natural landscape with visible
awe, 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 that I did not expect
and that I 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.
Today’s visit to Bulange 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.
Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) is a statutory organization established in 1994. UTB is mandated to promote and market
Uganda domestically, across the region and internationally, promote quality assurance in tourist facilities through
training, grading and classification, promote tourism investment, support and act as liaison for the private sector in
tourism development.
