The Bitter Bread of Exile - by A.B.K. Kasozi

By Muniini K. Mulera

My Kind of Books

January 7, 2019

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An excellent treatment of the tragic last years of Sir Edward Muteesa II, the former Kabaka of Buganda and First President of Uganda. Using original sources and personal interviews with people who were involved in the Kabaka’s escape in 1966 and his life in a London exile, Kasozi places the King’s sad end in the broader context of Buganda’s relationship with the central government of Uganda.

Professor Kasozi, one of the best Ugandan historians of his generation, gives us a very detailed account of the circumstances surrounding Muteesa’s death and boldly deals with the controversy about the actual cause of death. He includes copies of the coroner’s reports and is unequivocal about the cause of death.

His gripping presentation of the struggles of several British aristocrats to come to Muteesa’s aid and the resistance they met from the British Government is a reminder that governments in places like London and Washington have no permanent friends. You matter to them until you lose power. Then you become a problem, a fate Muteesa shared with, among others, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran.

Kasozi, a Muganda, shares his frank opinions about what Buganda and Uganda must do in order to resolve their very difficult marriage. This book is an important contribution to our understanding of what happened during Uganda’s first decade of independence. I highly recommend it, especially to non-Baganda Ugandans. It may help readers to understand why the experience of Muteesa’s last three years remains a raw sore on our country.