When sober Stella Nyanzi promoted Uganda’s tourism

Stella Nyanzi writes about the day she visited Buganda kingdom’s Bulange for a historical and cultural tour:

I spent the day with my friend Prof. Peter Geschiere. We visited the Kabaka’s Palace at Bulange in Mengo. Before accessing the grounds, I was given a lesu to wrap over my pink trousers because good Baganda women do not walk around in men’s clothes! Badiru, my driver, was delighted to visit the palace for his first time although he is already in his thirties and has lived all his life in Buganda.

It was thrilling to re-learn the history of my kingdom. War, conquest, bloodshed, exile, inheritance, monarchs, martyrdom, betrayal, deportation, treason, murder, poisoned wine, Israel, Tanzania, OAU, migs, torture, rebellion, and gender taboos were common themes in the narrative told by Ndawula our eloquent tour-guide. Costing only Ten United States Dollars, this tour was very much worthwhile.

I was excited to sit astraddle Idi Amin’s Big Cannon and ride it with abandon. I was drawn by the rusting remains of our Ssekabaka’s Bentley, Cardilac, and Rolls Royce cars. I was horrified by Idi Amin’s Torture Chamber comprising five dark dungeons in which thousands upon thousands of people were murdered after torture by water electrocution. Peter, who loves history, was impressed by a photo exhibition that captured key historical moments in the recent politics of power in Buganda Kingdom.