Ham Mukasa


Ham Mukasa was a vizier in the court of Mutesa I of Buganda and later secretary to Apolo Kagwa. He was fluent in both English and Swahili. He wrote one of the first glossaries of the Ganda language.

Early life

Mukasa was the son of Makabugo Sensalire, a minor chief in Buddu. He converted to Christianity at a young age. He suffered serious injury in the 1886 massacre of Christians by Mwanga II. As a result, he had a weak leg. Around 1898, he married Наnnаh Mаwеmukо, the daughter of a former chief minister of Buganda.

Career

Ham Mukasa was placed in the palace of Kabaka Mutesa I as a page at the age of nine by his father, a clan chief in Buganda. While in the palace, Mukasa at first received instruction from Islamic teachers who held sway in Mutesa's court; however, he was later drawn to the Protestants, who baptised him Ham. It was as a christian, and as a Protestant, that he took part in Buganda's religious wars of 1888-1892.
Mukasa was appointed the ssaza chief of Kyaggwe - known as the Ssekiboobo - in 1905, and served in the position until 1935 when he retired.

Journeys in England

Mukasa's book Uganda's Katikiro in England details his experiences on his journey from his homeland to the coronation of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, as secretary to Katikkiro Apolo Kagwa. It was translated into English by Ernest Millar of the Church Mission Society in Uganda. In London, Mukasa stayed at Alexandra Palace, and visited the London Hippodrome, attended a play in Drury Lane, and met with a variety of people such as writer Henry Morton Stanley and ex-governor of Uganda Harry Johnston.
Ham Mukasa returned to England in 1913, this time accompanying the child Kabaka Cwa who was on an official visit.

Personal life

Ham Mukasa married his first wife, Hanna Wawemuko when he was 27 years old. They had four children together. Wawemuko died in 1919, and Mukasa remarried a year later. He had ten children with his second wife, Sarah Nabikolo.
Victoria Sarah Kisosonkole, Mukasa's daughter with Hanna Wawemuko, was the mother of Damali Kisosonkole and Sarah Kisosonkole, who were both married to Ssekabaka Edward Muteesa II. Sarah Kisosonkole is the mother of the current Kabaka of Buganda, Muwenda Mutebi II.