By Frank Kamuntu
The Ngwenyama (king) of Eswatini, His Majesty Mswati III who was on a state visit to Uganda, spent his second day (Thursday 15th August 2024) in Busoga Kingdom, visiting and appreciating cultures and several key development initiatives.
His Majesty Mswati III flanked by his wife, Queen Inkhosikati Make Lamashwama and a high-level delegation from the Kingdom of Eswatini visited the Kingdom of Busoga and was welcomed by the Kyabazinga, His Majesty William Wilberforce Kadhumbula Gabula Nadiope IV and Queen Jovia Mutesi, the Katukiro (Prime Minister) of Busoga, Dr. Joseph Muvawala.
Other dignitaries who welcomed the Eswatini King included; the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Affairs, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, the Minister for Presidency, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda, the Minister for Works and Transport, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, the Minister for General Duties- Office of the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon Justine Kasule Lumumba, among others.
King Mswati III held fruitful discussions with his host to further strengthen their relationship.
“We would like to say that our coming here is also to strengthen cooperation, to build ties between ourselves because as members of the African Union which is in dire need of improving lives of our people, our obligation is to work together through several areas of cooperation. We are here to look at the possible opportunities on both sides of the two kingdoms and to work together,” said His Majesty the King of Eswatini adding that his visit was to not only reciprocate the visit paid by the Kyabazinga recently but also to celebrate strong cultures.
“I’m very happy on behalf of the people of the kingdom of Eswatini to be here to pay a visit. I’m happy that when I come here to see the king, we are well received by all of you and you’re showing us the cultures of Busoga kingdom. When the king came to the kingdom of Eswatini, we also showed him a little bit of our culture of what Eswatini is and he told me that he was so happy to see that. I was myself looking forward to coming and seeing this particular culture that you have prepared for us,” His Majesty noted after witnessing the different cultural norms and their meaning.
King Mswati also thanked President Museveni for the invitation to come for a state visit which he said will go a long way in furthering the good relations between Uganda and Eswatini.
“I’m happy to come here and very pleased to be received by His Majesty the Kyabazinga and his delegation. Thank you very much for the hospitality and warm reception. We have really enjoyed our stay here and we will take many happy memories of this place,” King Mswati stated.
On the other hand, His Majesty Mswati called upon their subjects on both sides to always welcome and appreciate rain as a blessing to prosperity but not a disturbance to such ceremonies.
“We are so happy that when we come here, we can see that our ancestors and our God Almighty are with us. I’m glad that coming with rain is a sign that there will be prosperity because when you have enough rain that’s a sign of prosperity. We’re talking about food security where we need rain especially to irrigate our crops. So, when I see this rain here, it makes me very happy that the Busoga kingdom will definitely have a lot of blessings,” he stated.
At the same function, His Majesty Mswati III gifted land to the Kyabazinga in Eswatini to keep the cattle he was given last month upon his maiden visit.
“When the king visited us, I gave him a gift of Eswatini cows to strengthen our brotherhood. But when I come to Busoga, I realise he’s coming from very far away. So, I invite him to Eswatini so that I can get him land to keep his cattle,” King Mswati said.
On his part, the Kyabazinga of Busoga His Majesty William Wilberforce Kadhumbula Gabula Nadiope IV welcomed his guest and the royal family of Eswatini kingdom at Igenge royal palace and conveyed greetings of the people of Busoga kingdom. He expressed gratitude to President Museveni for creating a strong bond between Eswatini and Uganda.
“Today is a special day in the history of Busoga as we continue to strengthen our relationship with the mighty kingdom of Eswatini through embracing unity of purpose, brotherhood and safeguarding the present and future generations through promoting our culture and heritage. I thank the President of Uganda, H.E Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for establishing strong bilateral relations between our two countries; Uganda and the kingdom of Eswatini from which we can tap important brotherly and cultural relationships that have got great potential of uniting us as Africans and for the development of our people,” the Kyabazinga noted.
In a special way, he commended the King of Eswatini for honouring his invitation-on short notice to attend the grand Busoga Royal wedding in November 2023 by sending a 10-man powerful delegation to represent him. This was led by Eswatini princes Sicalo Dlamini and Bandzile Dlamini, both sons of King Mswati III.
In the same vein, the Kyabazinga thanked King Mswati for the hospitality during their 4-day official visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini in July 2024 where he attended the esteemed Ingwenyama Cup gala, also known as the King’s Cup, a prominent annual football competition in Eswatini.
“Your Majesty, the people of Busoga kingdom whom I lead have great admiration and good wishes for your kingdom. And in particular your exemplary and steadfast leadership that has preserved the original African culture and heritage,” the Kyabazinga stated, adding that, the two kingdoms have a lot in common like having a predominantly young population, the respect and love for culture and heritage, reliance on agriculture, tourism and a lot more but also diversity which gives greater meaning to brotherhood which has culminated into opportunities that the two kingdoms shall pursue and have joint development programs through unity of purpose.
The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Affairs, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga appreciated King Mswati III for accepting to visit Uganda and Busoga Kingdom in particular.
“We want to thank our king (the Kyabazinga) for building the bridges and visiting Eswatini. We thank you (King Mswati) for hosting him because this was the beginning of our long journey which we hope will be a fruitful one and a long relationship between the people of Busoga and the kingdom of Eswatini,” Rt Hon. Kadaga who is also the Woman MP for Kamuli said.
The ceremony was also graced by Members of the royal family of the kingdom of Eswatini and Obwa Kyabazinga bwa Busoga, members of the Chiefs’ royal council comprising of the chiefs from the 11 chiefdoms of Obwa Kyabazinga bwa Busoga, clan leaders, Members of Parliament, service chiefs, Political leaders, Civil servants, among others.
King Mswati visits Kiira vehicle plant:
Earlier in the day, His Majesty Mswati III and his delegation paid a courtesy visit at Kiira motors corporation and was taken on a guided tour by the Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer – Mr. Paul Isaac Musasizi to witness what happens at East Africa’s first state of the art manufacturing plant for electric cars.
His Majesty was happy to learn of a project of this magnitude being undertaken in Africa that is 100% owned, driven, and operated by Africans using the latest technology. He assured Uganda of a ready market for electric buses in Eswatini.
“We can work together because when you manufacture buses like this, we see that you’ll not only supply the market here in Uganda but also the whole of Africa and we brought the Kingdom of Eswatini as the location for distribution of these buses in the region,” King Mswati assured Uganda.
The King’s visit to Kiira Vehicle plant located at Jinja Industrial and Business Park comes at a time when Kiira Motors Corporation just delivered a batch of eight 8-Meter Kayoola electric vehicle (EVS) buses, bringing the total stock of Electric Buses produced in Uganda to fifteen 15.
King Mswati III, his delegation and the Ugandan delegation had the opportunity to be driven around the Kiira vehicle plant in the 2024 8-Meter Kayoola EVS which is a fully electric city bus with a nominal range of 200 kilometres on a full charger and a capacity of over 56 passengers.
The vehicle plant whose construction commenced in 2019 is currently at 95% completion.
King Mswati III also welcomed a proposal for a partnership between Uganda and Eswatini towards localising the manufacture of vehicle components by African nations to make Africa a global automotive hub. While at the plant, His Majesty planted a tree as a show of commitment towards environmental sustainability.
His Majesty Mswati III arrived in Uganda on Wednesday for a three-day State Visit at the invitation of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni which marks a significant milestone in the diplomatic engagement between Uganda and Eswatini.
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