L'Uganda promuoverà il turismo internazionale attraverso i suoi musei

Negli anni scorsi mi sono occupata più volte della questione dell’Uganda National Museum che rischiava di essere abbattuto per fare posto ad un grattacielo. 

Ora sembra che l’Uganda abbia finalmente voltato pagina e si stia dedicando a valorizzare il patrimonio culturale, in particolare quello ancora poco conosciuto, proprio per mezzo dei propri musei. Anzi, se ne vorrebbero creare ancora altri con la convinzione che un maggior impulso al turismo culturale aiuterebbe non solo a preservare il patrimonio culturale ma anche a creare opportunità di sviluppo locale. La richiesta di costruire nuovi musei non è un’idea velleitaria, ma una necessità reale.

Attualmente, infatti, l'Uganda ha solamente quattro musei funzionanti: tre sono statali, l’Uganda National Museum, a Kampala, il Karamoja Museum di Moroto  e il Kabale Museum; uno è un museo privato, l’Igongo Museum a Mbarara Town.

Si ritiene che proprio la mancanza di musei sia la causa dei problemi legati alla conservazione del patrimonio culturale locale e della poca presenza attiva della comunità nel settore del turismo. Un altro problema importante, però, è la mancanza di personale qualificato nei musei dato che non esistono istituzioni preposte alla formazione e all’aggiornamento dei professionisti museali. E questo è un ostacolo da superare se si vorranno istituire altri musei. Si sta cercando, pertanto, di attivare delle collaborazioni internazionali, per esempio con il Museo Etnograficodell'Università di Zurigo che darà l’opportunità agli amministratori locali di interagire con gli esperti dei musei svizzeri.

Igongo Museum

Secondo Raphael Schwere dell’università di Zurigo, che collaborerà con l’Igongo Museum, si dovrà iniziare valorizzando le specificità locali. L’Uganda, forse non tutti ne sono al corrente, è un grande produttore di latte (ne produce più di un miliardo di litri all’anno) e dei suoi derivati, come il Ghee che è un latte fermentato tipico di queste zone. 

Il latte rappresenta una voce importante nell'economia ugandese 
Foto tratta da http://www.newvision.co.ug/newvision_cms/newsimages/file/Jesa-28.jpg

Esiste una ricca documentazione riguardo le tecniche di produzione del latte da parte dei mandriani ugandesi e tutto questo può rappresentare un motivo di interesse per quei musei che tratteranno questi argomenti, valorizzando le tipicità e le tradizioni locali.

Anche Miss Uganda, Leah Kalanguka, alle prese con la mungitura!
Foto tratta da http://modernfarmer.com/2014/11/miss-uganda-beauty-contest-demands-contestants-milk-cow/

“L'Uganda ha un vasto patrimonio culturale” – ha dichiarato Schwere – “ma non è conosciuto”. Le agenzie governative per il Turismo internazionale non dovrebbero concentrarsi solo sulla promozione delle più note bellezze naturalistiche, ma anche di quel patrimonio meno conosciuto che è situato in aree poco frequentate dal turismo internazionale e che necessitano di politiche adeguate. I musei potranno aiutare a farlo conoscere. 

Davide contro Golia

Continua la guerra per salvare il Museo Nazionale dell'Uganda

( ENGLISH TRANSLATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE)

Attraverso questo blog abbiamo dato voce varie volte alla causa di Ellady Muyambi, il direttore esecutivo dell’Historic Resources Conservation Initiative (HRCI) che ormai ben conosciamo, che sta cercando di salvare il Museo Nazionale dell'Uganda dalla demolizione decisa dal Governo ugandese. Oggi ho ricevuto da lui un'e-mail cui ha allegato un interessante articolo del giornale ugandese The Observer, firmato da Edris Kiggundu. Lo pubblico con piacere nel mio blog, augurando a Ellady Muyambi di vincere la sua battaglia che non è soltanto una questione di principio ma è una vera e propria azione di coraggio anche contro la corruzione e lo strapotere politico che, purtroppo, non è soltanto una questione ugandese. Spero che anche i lettori di questo blog vogliano supportare questa causa nel modo migliore, cioè facendola conoscere il più possibile. Grazie fin d'ora per quanto vorrete fare.

Caterina Pisu 

Infuria la guerra sul Museo dell’Uganda

di  Edris Kiggundu

tratto da The Observer 

L'annuncio del governo ugandese, il gennaio dello scorso anno, di demolire l’unico Museo Nazionale dell’Uganda per dare il via alla costruzione di un centro commerciale di 60 piani, ha comprensibilmente causato scalpore.

Attivisti culturali, politici e molta gente comune si sono opposti strenuamente al progetto governativo ed il governo è stato addirittura portato in tribunale. Sedici mesi dopo, la battaglia infuria ancora ma come andrà a finire? Edris Kiggundu analizza gli argomenti pro e contro la demolizione della storica struttura museale. 

Circa un metro e cinquantasette di altezza, Ellady Muyambi non incarna le sembianze di qualcuno che può sostenere una lotta. Tuttavia, una sera, davanti a una bottiglia di soda e tirando un pugno al suo portatile, l'attivista per i diritti culturali dai grandi occhi, era in agitazione.

"Non possiamo permettere che ciò accada. Che cosa diremo ai nostri figli e nipoti?" così rispondeva Muyambi, interrogato in relazione all'imminente demolizione del Museo Nazionale dell’Uganda per fare posto al grattacielo dell’East Africa Trade Centre.

Muyambi è il direttore esecutivo dell’Historic Resources Conservation Initiative (HRCI), un'organizzazione civile che ha come finalità la conservazione della cultura e della natura. E non è un caso che il nostro incontro si svolga presso il Museo dell’Uganda, un luogo che è diventato una sorta di seconda casa per lui.

Lavorando a stretto contatto con altre organizzazioni come la Cross Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU), l’Historic Building Conservation Trust (HBCT) e persone illustri come il giudice della Corte Suprema in pensione, il giudice George Kanyeihamba, Muyambi ha letteralmente messo in gioco la sua vita per salvare il museo.

Questo ha ottenuto a lui e alle altre organizzazioni coinvolte nella causa, il supporto mediatico nazionale e internazionale. I loro sforzi hanno anche catturato l'attenzione della United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), l'organismo delle Nazioni Unite che sovrintende il patrimonio culturale. Nel mese di aprile 2011, quando la campagna aveva acquistato slancio, Francesco Bandarin, Assistant Director-General for Culture presso l'UNESCO, ha scritto a Kahinda Otafiire, attuale ministro ugandese del Turismo, Commercio e Industria, chiedendo al governo di abbandonare il progetto di demolizione del museo e di trovare alternative per costruire altrove.

"Come sapete, il Museo Nazionale dell’Uganda è il museo più grande e più antico del Paese. Le sue mostre sulla cultura tradizionale, l’archeologia, la storia, la scienza e la natura, sono tra le più importanti in Africa Orientale... Alla luce di tali considerazioni, vi saremmo grati se poteste farci conoscere la posizione ufficiale del vostro governo per quanto riguarda la sorte del Museo Nazionale dell’Uganda", così ha scritto Bandarin il 15 aprile 2011.

Allo stesso modo, l'anno scorso, Merrick Posnansky, che è stato curatore del museo tra il 1958 e il 1962, ha scritto sul The Independent, una rivista settimanale ugandese, che trasferire il contenuto del museo in modo sicuro sarebbe un’impresa difficile.

"Ho visto altri musei limitati dai piani di un edificio multipiano: in genere non funzionano. Un museo ha bisogno di varie sale per mostre diverse; due piani ne limiterebbero i movimenti” ha scritto Posnansky.

Ma la loro lotta resta disseminata di sfide che si alternano a battute d'arresto non facili da superare. Ad esempio, nell'aprile di quest'anno, Muyambi e la sua organizzazione hanno subito un duro colpo quando la Corte ha respinto, per motivi tecnici, le motivazioni della causa intentata contro la demolizione. A quanto pare, durante la presentazione del caso, i loro avvocati non avevano inoltrato una notifica al governo, come richiesto in questi casi. Ma gli attivisti non si sono scoraggiati.

Nel mese di giugno, hanno presentato un ricorso presso la Corte di Appello e l’udienza si svolgerà in tempi brevi.
"Il Museo Nazionale dell’Uganda è un istituto storico che dovrebbe stare da solo, in un suo spazio, e la distruzione è un crimine culturale che equivale a distruggere l'anima stessa dell’Uganda", ha detto la settimana scorsa Muyambi.

Il Governo continua ad inviare segnali contrastanti sulla sua intenzione di demolire o no il museo. Quando gli attivisti hanno citato in giudizio il governo, l'anno scorso, il vicesegretario presso il Ministero del Turismo, James Byenjeru, ha dichiarato che il centro commerciale dovrebbe essere costruito “vicino” e non al posto del museo.

"So che il governo intende costruire l’East Africa Trade Centre accanto all’edificio che ospita il museo e, pertanto, non ha intenzione di demolire il museo", ha detto Byenjeru.

Successivamente, il governo ha detto che il museo sarebbe stato trasferito e avrebbe occupato due piani del centro commerciale, precisando: questo spazio è pari a 6.000 metri quadrati, dieci volte più grande dello spazio che occupa attualmente (600 metri quadrati). Più tardi, Otafiire ha annullato tutto questo quando ha detto al Parlamento che il museo "must go", definendo "arretrati" quelli che si oppongono alla sua demolizione. 

Patrimonio culturale 

Il Museo Nazionale dell’Uganda, che occupa 3.359 ettari (circa 13 ettari), situati sul Plot 5, strada Kira in Kamwokya, ha un disperato bisogno di un lifting. Sebbene sia evidente che l'esterno ha recentemente avuto una mano di vernice, un certo numero di problemi devono ancora essere risolti. Per esempio, le panchine del giardino sono fatiscenti, mentre il parcheggio deve essere ampliato e ripavimentato.

Il museo è stato fondato nel 1908 ed espone manufatti della cultura tradizionale, di archeologia, storia e scienza. Ha varie sezioni interessanti piene di artefatti che animano i diversi aspetti storici della società ugandese. Per esempio, nella sezione “Età della Pietra”, si è in grado di osservare gli strumenti utilizzati dagli uomini dell'età della pietra. Questi strumenti includono pietre, ossa e legno utilizzati per il taglio, la rottamazione e la scheggiatura, e si mostra come si sono evoluti fino agli strumenti moderni che utilizzano gli ugandesi oggi, o che hanno utilizzato nel recente passato.

E’ possibile anche vedere l’evoluzione umana dalla preistoria, cominciando dalle scimmie fino agli esseri umani. La storia è raccontata con immagini, reperti, teschi e ossa che illustrano la storia che si impara a scuola e che così sembra più reale.

Il passato multiculturale e colorato dell’Uganda diventa vivo, così, come se si partecipasse a un viaggio. La sezione sulla Storia e l'età del Ferro descrive i modi tradizionali di vita durante i diversi regni, delle tribù e delle comunità ugandesi. Qui sono esposti suggestivi abiti tradizionali (per lo più confezionati con corteccia e pelle di animale), e si possono vedere le attività di caccia, la storia dei trasporti, la pesca, l’agricoltura, la guerra, la religione, ed anche come i nostri antenati passavano il loro tempo libero (ricreazione tradizionale).

Di notevole interesse è la vetrina che descrive come era amministrata la giustizia in Uganda molti anni fa. Senza codice penale, forze di polizia o dipartimenti investigativi, così come si usa oggi, come si poteva dimostrare chi aveva commesso un crimine e quale pena infliggere? Si viene a sapere che il Madi e il Lugbara erano vasi divini utilizzati per valutare l'innocenza degli imputati.

Tuttavia, nonostante il valore di questo ricco patrimonio culturale, il governo ritiene che il museo sia diventato un peso, non essendo riuscito a generare un fatturato significativo. Un centro commerciale nello stesso luogo, per il Governo, sarebbe molto meglio. Ma il Governo deve anche prendersi parte della colpa, dopo aver costantemente sottofinanziato il museo. Ad esempio, per l'esercizio finanziario 2011/12, sono stati assegnati soli 50 milioni di scellini ugandesi, soldi che certamente non sono sufficienti per soddisfarne le esigenze.

Nel corso degli anni, la gestione del museo ha cercato di trovare dei modi innovativi per aggirare la crisi del finanziamento. Ha, per esempio, concesso in leasing una parte della sua area all’Uganda Wildlife Authority, che ha istituito degli uffici gli sviluppatori privati ​​come il ristorante Ibamba. Tuttavia, le fonti ci hanno detto che il museo non ha alcun controllo diretto sulle risorse generate da queste iniziative.

Per quanto riguarda la gestione delle tariffe ai fini di un aumento delle entrate, fino all'inizio degli anni 2000, gli ugandesi in visita al museo non pagavano nulla, mentre oggi gli adulti pagano Shs 1000 per entrare e i bambini, Shs 500. Il biglietto per gli stranieri è di Shs 3000 per gli adulti e di SHS 1500 per i bambini. I visitatori che hanno fotocamere e videocamere pagano rispettivamente ulteriori SHS 5.000 e 20.000. 

Una causa persa? 

Tuttavia alcuni analisti ritengono che laddove un governo ignora il pubblico sentimento e, in particolare, trattandosi di demolizione di una proprietà pubblica, gli attivisti culturali stanno combattendo una causa persa. Nel 2006, per esempio, il governo ha dato l'assenso alla demolizione della Shimoni Demonstration School per lasciare spazio alla costruzione di un albergo, nonostante le proteste provenienti da varie parti della comunità ugandese.

Gli attivisti sono consapevoli di questo e, per ora, hanno riposto le loro speranze sul fatto di dover essere ancora ascoltati dalla Corte d'Appello. Il vero spettacolo, dice Muyambi, inizia adesso.

War over Uganda museum rages on

by Edris Kiggundu

The announcement by government in January last year that it would demolish the Uganda museum to give way for the construction of a 60-storey trade centre understandably caused a stir. Cultural activists, politicians and many people bitterly opposed the move and even took government to court. Sixteen months later, the battle still rages on, but how will it end? Edris Kiggundu dissects the arguments for and against the demolition of the historical structure.

At about five feet, seven inches tall, Ellady Muyambi does not cut the figure of someone who can sustain a fight. However, on a recent evening over a bottle of soda and punching away at his laptop, the big-eyed, bubbly-cheeked cultural rights activist appeared to be itching for one.

“We cannot allow this to happen. What will we tell our children and grandchildren?” Muyambi queried, in relation to the impending demolition of the Uganda museum by government to give way for construction of the 60-storey East Africa Trade Centre.

Muyambi is the executive director of Historic Resources Conservation Initiative (HRCI), a civil society organisation concerned with preservation of culture and nature. And it is not a coincidence that our meeting takes place within the precincts of the Uganda museum, a place that has become something of a second home for him.

Working closely with other organisations like Cross Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU), Historic Building Conservation Trust (HBCT) and distinguished people like retired Supreme court Judge, Justice George Kanyeihamba, Muyambi has literally staked his life on saving the museum.

This has earned him and other organisations involved in the cause national and international media coverage. Their efforts have also caught the attention of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the UN body that oversees cultural heritage, among members. In April 2011 when the campaign had gathered momentum, Francesco Bandarin, the Assistant Director-General for Culture at UNESCO, wrote to Kahinda Otafiire, the minister of Tourism, Trade and Industry at the time, urging the government to abandon the move and find alternative land elsewhere.

“As you are aware, the Uganda National Museum is the largest and oldest museum in the country. Its exhibitions on traditional culture, archeology, history, science and natural history are among the most important in East Africa… In light of the above considerations, we would appreciate it if  you could inform us of the official position of your government regarding the fate of the Uganda National Museum,” Bandarin wrote on April 15, 2011.

Similarly, last year, Merrick Posnansky, who was curator of the museum between 1958 and 1962, wrote in The Independent, a Ugandan weekly news magazine, that it would not be ideal to transfer the contents of the museum safely.
“I have seen museums restricted to floors of a multi-storey building. They do not work. A museum needs different rooms for different exhibitions, two floors would restrict some movement,” Posnansky wrote.

Yet their struggle remains strewn with challenges and setbacks that will not be easy to overcome. For instance, in April this year, Muyambi and company suffered a major blow when the High Court dismissed, on technical grounds, a case they had filed against the demolition. Apparently, while filing the case, their lawyers had not provided a statutory notice to government, as is required in such cases. But the activists are not deterred.

In June, they filed an appeal in the Court of Appeal and hearing is scheduled to start soon.
“The Uganda Museum is a historical piece that should stand alone, and destroying it is a cultural crime which is tantamount to destroying Uganda’s soul,” Muyambi said last week.

Government continues to send mixed signals on whether it will demolish the museum. When the activists sued government last year, the Principal Assistant Secretary in the ministry of Tourism, James Byenjeru told court the trade centre would be constructed ‘near’ the museum.

“I know that the government intends to construct the East African Trade Centre next to the building housing the museum and as such, does not intend to demolish the museum,” Byenjeru said.

Thereafter, the government said the museum would occupy two floors on the trade centre building, saying this space amounted to 6,000 square metres, ten times bigger that the space it currently occupies (600 square metres). Later, Otafiire quashed all this when he told Parliament that the museum “must go”, describing those opposed to its demolition as “backward”.

Cultural heritage 

Indeed, the museum, which occupies 3.359 hectares (approximately 13 acres), located on Plot 5, Kira road in Kamwokya, is in dire need of a facelift. Although it is evident that the exterior recently got a fresh brush of paint, a number of things need to be fixed. For instance, the benches in the garden are dilapidated, while the parking yard needs to be widened and repaved.

The museum was founded in 1908 and has exhibits and artifacts of traditional culture, archeology, history and science. It has various interesting sections riddled with artifacts that bring to life the different historical aspects of our society. For instance, in the Stone Age section, one is able to observe physical tools used by Stone Age people. These tools include stones, bones and wood used for cutting, scrapping and chipping, and how they evolved into the modern tools that Ugandans use today, or used in the recent past.

One is also able to see how we evolved from our ancestors, from the pre-historic period through the history of apes and how they evolved into humans. The story is told by the displayed pictures, as well as real tools and bones or skulls that make the history we learn in school seem more real.

Uganda’s multicultural and colourful past comes alive as one tours the History and Iron Age displays depicting the traditional ways of life in different kingdoms, tribes and communities of Uganda. Here one finds striking displays of traditional clothing (mostly bark cloth and animal skin), headdress, hairdressing, as well as hunting, the history of transportation, fishing, agriculture, war, religion, and how our ancestors spent their free time (traditional recreation).

Also of interest is the display that describes how justice was dispensed in Uganda many years ago. With no penal code, police force or criminal investigations department as they exist today, how did people in earlier days know/prove who had committed which crime and what punishment fitted him/her? One would be able to learn that the Madi and Lugbara used divine pots to assess the innocence of the accused.

However, despite this rich cultural heritage value, government believes that the museum has become a liability, having failed to generate any meaningful revenue. A trade centre in the same place, government feels, would perform much better. Yet government must also take part of the blame, having continually underfunded the museum. For instance, for the 2011/2012 financial year, it was allocated a mere Shs 50 million, money that certainly is not enough to meet its needs.

Over the years, the management of the museum has tried to come up with innovative ways to circumvent the funding crisis. It has, for instance, leased part of its land to the Uganda Wildlife Authority, which has established offices and to private developers like Ibamba restaurant. However, sources told us that the museum has no direct control over the resources generated from these ventures.

Management also introduced entry charges to boost the facility’s income. Until the early 2000s, Ugandans visiting the museum were not charged but, today, adults pay Shs 1,000 to enter and children, Shs 500. The entry fees for foreigners are Shs 3,000 for adults and Shs 1,500 for children. Visitors carrying still and video cameras pay an additional Shs 5,000 and Shs 20,000 respectively.

Lost cause?

Yet some analysts feel that for a government that has a history of ignoring public sentiment, particularly where demolition of public property is concerned, the cultural activists are fighting a lost cause. In 2006, the government gave the nod to the demolition of Shimoni Demonstration School to give way for the construction of a hotel, despite protests from various sections of the public.

The activists are aware of this and for now, have pinned their hopes on the case yet to be heard by the Court of Appeal. The real show, Muyambi says, starts now.

Cattive notizie dall'Uganda

di Caterina Pisu

Mi sono appena giunte cattive notizie dall'Uganda, riguardo il caso del rischio di abbattimento dell'unico Museo Nazionale del paese, situato a Kampala, a causa di un'incomprensibile decisione del governo ugandese (su questo blog potete trovare altri articoli). Questa è la lettera che mi è giunta dal Dott. Ellady Muyambi, Executive Director dell'Historic Resources Conservation Initiatives (HRCI):


Dear Caterina,
Just as I had earlier predicted in my last e-mail where I updated you on the Uganda National Museum court case, I do hereby extend to you sad news that the same case has been dismissed. The case has been dismissed on a technical ground that our lawyer did not issue a statutory notice to the government before filing the case. Our lawyer tried to raise some exceptions over this issue but it seems it could not help. He was suggesting of appealing but we believe this may not help us. We are looking at options of filling the case a fresh. We will meet him tomorrow to discuss the way forward.
Best regards,
Ellady Muyambi

Speriamo che si possa trovare presto un'altra soluzione ma a mio parere ci sarebbe bisogno di un maggior supporto internazionale.

In support of the Uganda National Museum:

Stop the demolition of the Uganda National Museum! Please sign the petition.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-the-demolition-of-the-uganda-national-museum.html

 

MPs oppose fresh plans to demolish Uganda Museum

 By Mercy Nalugo (extract from Daily Monitor)

Parliament has protested the planned demolition of the Uganda Museum and tasked government to produce a comprehensive report on the matter.Lubaga South MP Ken Lukyamuzi on Friday raised the matter on the floor of the House when he reported that he had received information from credible circles to the effect that government would in two months demolish the country’s most symbolic cultural sites to pave way for the construction of a 60-storey modern mall.

“Mr Speaker, we are saddened by the news that government intends to demolish the museum in order to construct a mall but this we shall not allow and we are ready to die,” said Mr Lukyamuzi, attracting debate.

Govt to explain
Former Vice President Gilbert Bukenya (Busiro North) opposed the demolition of the museum, saying it is one of the country’s major tourist attraction centres that has been preserved for a long time and for a purpose.

The Prime Minister, Mr Amama Mbabazi, said he was not prepared to give an explanation. The Deputy Speaker, Mr Jacob Oulanya, ruled that the Prime Minister produces a statement on the matter on Thursday next week.

Retired Supreme Court Judge George Kanyeihamba, some Members of Parliament and cultural rights activists, last month launched a campaign to save the Uganda National museum , the country’s national heritage centre, from being demolished.

Prof. Kanyeihamba said he will task the Executive on why government, which promised to protect the heritage of the country, is now backtracking on its own pledge.

The Ministry of Tourism in 2010 sanctioned the construction of a trade tower on the site and government intends to save two floors for the museum.

The museum, founded in 1908, has exhibits of traditional culture, archeology, history, science, and natural history.

mnalugo@ug.nationmedia.com

News about the campaign to save the Uganda Museum

 

Activists in renewed drive to save museum

In a last minute effort to save Uganda's only national museum, a group of civil society organizations, members of the academia and other stakeholders have renewed the campaign to stop the intended demolition of the Uganda Museum.

The museum faces demolition to pave way for construction of a 60-storey building dubbed the East African Trade Center. Some reports say demolition could be as close as two months away. On Monday, retired Supreme Court judge Prof George Wilson Kanyeihamba, vice chancellor of the International University of East Africa (IUEA), Prof Eric Edroma and maverick Rubaga South MP, John Ken Lukyamuzi, joined the drive to save the museum.

In the renewed campaign, activists plan demonstrations to force government to stop what they describe as "a barbaric demolition" of the museum. They launched car stickers to raise awareness and rally Ugandans to oppose the move. The Save Uganda National Museum campaign is spearheaded by Historic Resources Conservation Initiatives (HRCI), Cross-Cultural Foundation Uganda (CCFU), Jenga Afrika and Historic Buildings Conservation Trust and Heritage.

Launching the stickers on Monday at Ibamba restaurant next to the museum on Kira road in Kampala, Prof Kanyeihamba lambasted government for continuing to harbour intentions of demolishing the museum even when Ugandans have objected to the move.

"How do you demolish our history? It is only primitive and barbaric people that demolish their history" he said.

Kanyeihamba advised government to build the trade centre near Lugogo and spare the museum.

"We have information that government has already awarded two companies tenders to construct [the trade centre]", said Ellady Muyambi, HRCI's executive director.

He said there is suspicion that someone might be trying to grab the 11.5 acre property on which the museum sits. "If there is no foul play, why is the land title missing?" he wondered.

The 2010 Auditor General's report revealed that the museum's land title was missing from the land registry. The Uganda Museum was established to conserve, promote and interpret Ugandaís cultural and natural heritage through research, collections, documentation and imparting knowledge for today and the future. Founded in 1908, the museum is arguably East Africa's oldest. It was first built at Fort Lugard in Old Kampala, where it stayed until 1942 when it was transferred to Makerere University. It was shifted from there to its current site in 1954.

On January 14 last year, the tourism, trade and industry ministry placed an advert in the New Vision for interested bidders to enter into contract with the Government to finance, design and build a proposed 60-storey building on plot 5 Kira road, where the current museum is situated. Construction of the 60-storey skyscraper, whose developer remains anonymous, is planned to take 10 years. It will house the ministry of tourism and two floors will be reserved for the museum, according to government.

In April last year, civil society organizations filed a civil suit in the High Court to stop government's plan to demolish the museum. Although court did not grant the petitioners a temporary injunction, the case is scheduled for hearing on April 18 this year. Several initiatives are already ongoing, including campaigns on social media networks like face book to raise awareness about the matter.

ssekika@observer.ug This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Extract from: The Observer

News from Uganda National Museum

On 8^th November, 2011, the Uganda National Museum court case heard in the High Court of Uganda for the second hearing. I was out of the country (in Burundi) by the time but my team and our lawyer were present. They briefed me as follows:

The hearing started at 2:30pm in the private chambers of Justice Eldad Mwangusya.

Dr. Ephraim Kamuhangire (the former Commissioner, Department of Museums and antiquities, Government of Uganda and currently, the senior presidential advisor on cultural affairs) was the first expert witness to be examined and cross-examined. His testimony was on the history and importance of the Uganda National Museum. He boldly told court that the EA Trade Centre should not be mentioned alongside the Museum as it will deny the people of Uganda their right not only to preserve and enjoy their cultural heritage which is within the museum building but it will also be irresponsible of those advocating for the destruction of the home of that heritage to pave way for the construction of the trade centre.

Dr Kamuhangire also said that denial of a people of their cultural heritage for the 30 years, a period that construction will take, is a denial of their human rights. He further argued that objects in the Uganda Museum since 1954, acquired a new environment which is scientifically managed, whereby, if removed from that environment; the objects will break or get damaged.

He said that the museum as an institution is not transferable though some of its functions can be transferred. According to Dr. Kamuhangire, the current museum space is indeed its befitting home unlike its previous locations at Lugard’s Fort and Makerere College School of Fine Art which were smaller and borrowed facilities respectively.

Dr. Kamuhangire concluded by saying that the museum building itself is in an excellent state-it only needs regular maintenance and repairs and not condemnation.  He also said that EA Trade Centre can be built somewhere else and leave the museum to serve it purpose.

The second expert witness was Robert Baganda (from the environmental perspective). Robert was examined and cross-examined on the environmental dangers of the proposed EA Trade Centre.

Robert argued that the proposed building will affect the land use around the area and that it will also affect the persons enjoying and utilizing the green environment at and around the national museum.

Robert went ahead to argue that the proposed building will change the road network-(the judge was however, not convinced whether Robert, an environmentalist was the most competent person to talk about roads!!)

Robert suggested that: The EIA and the Heritage Impact assessment should be carried out before a project of the EA trade centre magnitude is undertaken. Thorough consultations with relevant stakeholders should be conducted.

After being briefed by my team, I realized the following errors which were committed in court.

·         Robert was partly inside while Dr. Kamuhangire was giving his testimony and this annoyed the Judge.

·         Robert’s testimony could imply that the project will be fine if an EIA or a Heritage Impact Assessment is done. Government might turn around and say that they will do all this since the project is still at proposal level.

·         Some peoples’ mobile telephones were not in silence

·         Very few journalists attended the hearing.

I therefore advised my team as follows;

·         We should follow the court rules while in court-if one is going to be a witness, please stay out when someone else is giving testimony.

·         We should also put our cell phones on silence!!

·         We have to prepare ourselves well before giving our testimonies. We also need to focus on key issues especially those we have all agreed on.

·          The right advice Robert should have given government is to relocate the E.A. Trade Centre since it will be unfit for the local environment around Uganda Museum. He should not have emphasized the need to carry out the EIA.

·         We need proper briefing and preparation by our lawyer so that we do not contravene court procedures or give responses that might weaken our case.

·         We need to involve as many journalists as possible.

What next?

Because the Judge is interested in disposing of the case before the year ends, the next hearing is scheduled for 1st December 2011. The next expert witness will be Kenneth Amunsimire, an architect from the Uganda Society of Architects. However, we should prepare an additional witness from the cultural dimension. We will try to work out this issue with Emily Drani from CCFU and see whether she will be available by the time of the hearing. We will also do whatever it takes to bring journalists on board. This requires some financing as well.

Impending challenge

The Lawyer is demanding his legal fees from us. Any suggestions on how we can move forward on this is highly welcome.

Ellady Muyambi

Executive Director,

Historic Resources Conservation Initiatives (HRCI)

Plans to Demolish the Uganda Museum

Open Letter to President Yoweri Museveni, Republic of Uganda

22 February, 2011
His Excellency Yoweri Museveni
President of the Republic of Uganda
State House
Kampala, Uganda

REF: PLANS TO DEMOLISH THE UGANDA MUSEUM

I am writing to you in my capacity as President of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists (SAfA) to express this Society’s concern with regard to the news that a 60-storied Trade Centre is planned to be erected on the grounds where the Uganda Museum now stands. The planned demolition of the Museum to give way to a trade centre will effectively end the 102-year history of one the oldest cultural institutions in Uganda. In the 1970s, the Ugandan government, then under General Idi Amin Dada, presided over the destruction of the old Museum at Lugard’s Fort. This act was decried by many Ugandans and was indeed viewed as a government culturally devastating act against its people. I implore you to reconsider this imminent act, which will be seen by Ugandans and around the world in very much the same vein, especially give the unfortunate destruction of the Kasubi tombs--Kampala’s only World Heritage site--last March.

Founded in 1908, the Uganda Museum is the principal repository of the material culture of the people of Uganda. The Museum holds the original "charms' donated by Baganda chiefs in 1908/9. Some of the charms and ethnographic objects in the Museum have ties with shrines that today serve as the nerve center of what being a Muganda, Mugika, Munyoro, Munyankole, Mlugbara etc., means. Collectively, these collections illustrate to past, present, and future generations of Ugandans, the essence of being Ugandan. They illustrate the poignant and proud history of the Pearl of Africa.

A large percentage of these collections are rare, fragile, and can never again be collected. Even if the resources were available to acquire them, the knowledgeable men and women who created them are long gone leaving the people of Uganda—their descendants—this material culture that bears witness to a once illustrious and glorious history of the peoples and cultures that make up this beautiful, rich, and rising country.

I understand from very reliable sources that a two-storey section of the trade centre will be given to the Museum. My concern is that the fragility and irreplaceable nature of many of the ethnographic and some archaeological artifacts will most assuredly ensure that these items will virtually self-destruct. Some of the collections in the Museum still have not been catalogued. The highly informative and readable catalogue Tribal Crafts of Uganda, produced by curators Margaret Trowell and Klauss Wachsmann, still remains one of the few in use. Large highly valuable collections in the Museum have yet to be fully inventoried. The archaeological material has been growing, thanks to the sustained research by the British Institute in Eastern Africa its students, and Uganda colleagues. This collection constitutes the heartbeat of Uganda. We urge the government to protect this heritage by avoiding any further deterioration of the collections though the proposed relocation for temporary storage and return to a small space in a Trade rather than Cultural Centre.

Moving the collection to another site, during the time of construction of the Trade Centre, will expose the collection to a number of problems. First, many of the collections are fragile would be subject to deterioration due to traumatic movements. Second, a vast majority of the collections in storage are poorly labeled and their provenience will be lost making them irrelevant. Third, the collections, particularly the royal regalia, arts and crafts from the many precolonial and colonial chiefdoms and kingdoms, will most assuredly fall prey to vandals, looters, petty thieves and art collectors. Witness the recent Baghdad and Egyptian Museum traumas. The Ugandan people, and indeed the African and international community, will hold your government responsible for the destruction of the heritage of the people of Uganda. The gains made during the last eighty years may be severely eroded.

Museums in Africa and elsewhere exhibit, nurture, celebrate, and promote culture. The Uganda Museum has recently been playing a leadership role in promoting regional and national unity and consciousness amongst East Africans and Ugandans. The Society of Africanists Archaeologists whose membership is global implores you to intervene to save the Uganda Museum from destruction.

As a national heritage institution, the Uganda Museum promotes Uganda’s cultural and national heritage through research on the cultural, social, technological, and political achievements of Ugandans, protects all movable and immovable antiquities and monuments within national boundaries, and fosters national unity and pride through exhibitions and displays. The nine-acre plot currently allocated to the Museum is not adequate to serve the needs of a modern Museum. To confine it to a two storey section within the trade centre sends a clear message that the government is not interested in preserving and indeed fostering the cultural heritage of Uganda. This will be tantamount to reducing a national heritage institution into a gallery where the business community and tourists might visit to view the ‘savage’ past of Uganda. How will school children, who constitute more than 60 percent of the current museum visitors be accommodated? How will they learn to be proud Ugandans, when their past is placed in a trade centre built and financed by foreign interests?

The members of SAfA are acutely aware of the challenges and dilemmas that Uganda faces in its tasks to reconstruct itself and its economy. Nevertheless, the national and global significance of the Museum, its value to scholarship, and its unique characteristics, compel this organization to urge that an alternative location be found for the Trade Centre. Destroying the Uganda Museum very likely will lead to an irretrievable loss of the pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial cultural heritage of the nation. Great nations are those that safeguard and promote homegrown political, economic, social, technological, as well as cultural institutions. We believe that Uganda belongs to those nations that have proud histories and take pride in safeguarding that heritage.

Therefore, we urge the Government of Uganda to develop a plan directed towards preventing any interference with the Museum and to include plans that will prevent any possible encroachment of the undeveloped Museum land and the immediate surroundings. As part of this action, we would recommend that information about the Museum, its national, regional, and global, significance be made widely available to local communities and discussed in local schools. We further urge the Government to consult with AFRICOM (headquartered in Nairobi), UNESCO, Commonwealth Association of Museums, and other heritage agencies and specialists to find a lasting solution that will allow the Government to achieve its goal in providing space for the proposed Trade Centre.

We respectfully thank you for your consideration of this request.

Yours sincerely

Dr. Chapurukha M. Kusimba

President, Society of Africanists Archaeologists

Professor of Anthropology, University of Illinois-Chicago

Curator of African Archaeology and Ethnology, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago USA.

Development as a Destroyer of Culture: Demolition of Uganda National Museum

By Mike van Graan

The Government of Uganda has decided that the Uganda National Museum - the country’s only national museum - will be demolished to make way for a 60-storey East Africa Trade Centre.

The proposed “ultramodern” building – which politicians suggest will take 3-5 years to complete but which will take closer to 30 years according to civil society activists and commentators familiar with such Ugandan projects - will house the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry, commercial retail outlets and office space. Oh, and two floors will be allocated to a new national museum.

Established in 1908, the Museum is more than one-hundred years old and is thus itself a heritage site.

This is a classic case of “development” versus “culture”, in much the same way as “development” has often destroyed the natural environment in the name of economic growth and social progress. For those who advocate “culture as a vector of development”, this particular case presents a major challenge, both philosophically and strategically.

Increasingly, “culture as a vector of development” has come to mean the catalysing and support of the creative industries as economic drivers, as job-creation mechanisms, as generators of the financial resources that will be used to address major social and human development needs in the areas of health, education and the eradication of poverty, all important in the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals.

This is particularly relevant to Uganda whose per capita income is a mere $460 and which is ranked a lowly 143 on the Human Development Index.

What the Ugandan government is saying is that the Ugandan National Museum – a national heritage site and the primary repository of the nation’s historical artefacts - is not a vector of development in that it is poorly attended by locals and tourists; it does not generate income; it serves no real economic purpose, and, if anything, it consumes limited public resources.

From their point of view then, it is a no-brainer to demolish the museum in favour of a building that will generate substantial income through more commercially viable uses, and which could then very well contribute to economic, social and human development in Uganda.

By the same logic, the Ugandan government can next make a move on the National Theatre. Why bother to have a National Theatre – even if it is better used than the National Museum – when the economy can benefit more from a shopping mall or prestigious office block or apartment building in its place?

Therein lies the philosophical challenge to the “culture as a vector of development” proponents i.e. by making the case for the arts primarily on the basis of their economic contribution, the corollary is that where cultural institutions or the arts do not make an economic contribution or make an economic contribution that is substantially less than another option, then politicians and bureaucrats feel justified in destroying culture in favour of a better “development” option.

And yet, the proposed 60-storey building does not simply represent the destruction of culture in the form of the possible demolition of the National Museum; in truth, it represents a culture that is different, even foreign to the one represented by the Museum. The 60-storey building represents a culture of materialism, an elitist culture of ostentation, a globalised culture with a building and the values that it represents that could be in any major city of the world.

The National Museum on the other hand – the one destined for destruction – is about Ugandan identity; unique Ugandan history; values, traditions and worldviews that are peculiar to Uganda, a building and content that celebrates cultural diversity as envisaged by UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

Uganda is not a signatory to the Convention. Not yet anyway.

And herein lies the strategic challenge to proponents of “culture as a vector of development”: to mobilise an international movement to prevent the destruction of the National Ugandan Museum, thus preserving cultural diversity in a globalised world, and contributing to a richer understanding of the relationship between culture and social, human and economic development.

Mike van Graan is the Secretary General of Arterial Network, a continent-wide network of artists, activists and creative enterprises active in the African creative sector and its contribution to development, human rights and democracy on the continent. He is also the Executive Director of the African Arts Institute (AFAI), a South African NGO based in Cape Town that harnesses expertise, resources and markets in the service of Africa’s creative sector. He is considered to be one of his country’s leading contemporary playwrights.

For further information, see:

www.arterialnetwork.org, 

www.africanartsinstitute.org 

www.mikevangraan.co.za

Continua la mobilitazione internazionale per salvare il Museo Nazionale dell'Uganda. Questo articolo è tratto da African Colours, la guida all'Arte africana contemporanea.

Ultime notizie sul Museo Nazionale dell'Uganda

Continuo ad occuparmi del caso del minacciato abbattimento del Museo Nazionale dell'Uganda  da parte del Ministero del Turismo, del Commercio e dell'Industria ugandese, grazie alle notizie che mi giungono direttamente dall'Uganda tramite Ellady Muyambi, direttore di Historic Resources Conservation Initiatives (HRCI) di Kampala (v. i precedenti articoli http://museumsnewspaper.blogspot.com/2011/05/salviamo-lo-storico-museo-nazionale.html    http://museumsnewspaper.blogspot.com/2011/05/uganda-chiudera-lunico-museo-nazionale.html). Nonostante il fatto che la demolizione del Museo per fare posto a un grattacielo contravvenga alla legge ugandese sui Monumenti Storici del 1967, e sia anche contraria alle Politiche Culturali dell'Uganda, definite nel 2006, alla Convenzione UNESCO del 1972 e alla Costituzione della Repubblica dell'Uganda del 1995, si continua a temere per le sorti del Museo. Contro il progetto di demolizione del Museo si sono espresse l'Assemblea legislativa dell'Africa orientale eda anche alcune importanti organizzazioni come appunto l'HRCI, diretto da Ellady Muyambi, la Bayimba Cultural Foundation, e l'Arterial Network. Attualmente la questione è stata portata davanti ai giudici e il 21 aprile scorso si è svolta la prima udienza. Una seconda udienza, che era prevista per il 29 giugno, non ha invece avuto luogo. Probabilmente bisognerà aspettare il mese di agosto.

Uganda: chiuderà l'unico museo nazionale?

L’Uganda ha un unico museo nazionale, situato a poca distanza dal centro di Kampala, a Kitante Hill. Le sue collezioni riflettono il passato multiculturale del Paese e spaziano dalla documentazione delle culture indigene alle testimonianze dell’archeologia, della storia e del patrimonio naturalistico locale. Lo stesso edificio che ospita il museo ha una storia di grande interesse: risalente agli anni ’50, esso è opera dell’architetto e urbanista tedesco Ernst May, molto attivo in Africa orientale, cui si deve anche la pianificazione urbanistica di Entebbe, capitale amministrativa dell’Uganda in epoca coloniale. Eppure, questo simbolo dell’identità culturale ugandese è destinato a scomparire in tempi rapidi a causa della decisione presa lo scorso novembre 2010 dal Ministero del Turismo, Commercio e Industria, che al suo posto intende costruire  l’"East African Trade Centre", un grattacielo di sessanta piani che ospiterà un centro commerciale, gli uffici dello stesso Ministero e, almeno così è stato promesso, la nuova sede del museo, cui dovrebbero essere riservati due piani. I problemi sono molti e non di poco conto: prima di tutto la durata dei lavori di costruzione del grattacielo non sarà inferiore ai venticinque anni e in questo lasso di tempo il museo non avrà nessuna sede provvisoria. Il Paese, in definitiva, non avrà più un museo nazionale e questo è il fatto più grave. In secondo luogo, come è stato obiettato dallo storico ugandese Ephraim R. Kamuhangire, ex capo del Dipartimento dei Musei e Monumenti, i due piani concessi al museo nel nuovo Trade Centre non possono assolutamente soddisfare gli standard internazionali indicati per gli spazi museali. Tra uffici e negozi, come si garantiranno la tranquillità e la sicurezza necessarie per lo svolgimento delle visite e delle attività didattiche? Rose Mwanja, direttrice del museo, teme, inoltre, che se finora il Museo ha sempre avuto scarsa considerazione da parte delle autorità ugandesi, “c’è la certezza che fra 10 o fra 30 anni esso avrà voce per rivendicare gli spazi promessi nel Trade Center, oppure sarà ormai un problema dimenticato”? Sebbene il Ministero del Turismo continui a parlare di “modernizzazione” per giustificare la demolizione del museo, in realtà potrebbero essere scelti molti altri posti più adatti per erigere il Trade Centre, ed è per questo motivo che alcune organizzazioni non governative, tra cui Historic Resources Conservation Initiatives, Cross Cultural Foundation of Uganda, Historic Buildings Conservation Trust e Jenda Africa, hanno citato in giudizio il Governo ugandese, in quanto il progetto sarebbe illegale e contrario alle disposizioni stabilite dai trattati internazionali in materia di beni culturali.

Caterina Pisu (Il Giornale dell'Architettura, Anno 10, n. 94, maggio 2011)