Kasubi Tombs
Kasubi hill, Kampala, Uganda
The burial ground of the kings (kabakas) of Buganda on Kasubi hill in Kampala, centered on the great thatched hall Muzibu Azaala Mpanga (1882), inscribed by UNESCO in 2001, destroyed by fire in 2010, rebuilt, and reopened in 2024.
The Kasubi Tombs (Amasiro) are the royal burial ground of the Buganda kingdom, among the most significant surviving complexes of traditional Ganda architecture. The centerpiece is Muzibu Azaala Mpanga, a vast domed thatched hall built in 1882 under Kabaka Mutesa I, inside which lie the tombs of four kabakas: Mutesa I, Mwanga II, Daudi Chwa II, and Edward Mutesa II. The site is not a museum in the ordinary sense; it is a living sacred site of the Baganda, where the kabakas' spirits remain part of the kingdom's life, and the complex includes houses of widows and custodians and the Bujjabukuka gatehouse arranged around Ganda royal-courtyard architecture. UNESCO inscribed it in 2001 as the Tombs of the Kings of Buganda at Kasubi.
In March 2010 fire destroyed Muzibu Azaala Mpanga and the royal regalia within, and the site went onto the List of World Heritage in Danger. Reconstruction, led by the kingdom with Uganda's government and international support (including a Japanese contribution of $560,000 in 2023), was completed in 2023, and the World Heritage Committee removed the site from the danger list in September 2023. The tombs reopened to visitors in 2024 under the Buganda kingdom, with tiered admission and new fire-protection systems. This is a sacred royal site that admits visitors, not a heritage attraction that happens to be sacred.
Visiting
The Buganda Kingdom operates the site; the UNESCO listing carries the site's history and the 2023 danger-list removal. The tombs reopened to the public in 2024 after restoration; confirm current hours on arrival. Reported 2024 admission rates (per Ugandan travel press; verify on arrival): UGX 10,000 for Ugandan adults, UGX 20,000 for East African adults, UGX 30,000 for other African adults, $15 for foreign resident adults, and about $20 for foreign non-resident adults. Visit with the guided tour of the complex and Muzibu Azaala Mpanga.
Photo: Andrew Moore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kasubi_Tombs_-_Muzibu_Azaala_Mpanga_(3285413134).jpg))
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