Unesco backs removal of Uganda tombs from endangered list

KAMPALA: UN cultural agency Unesco on Monday recommended that tombs of royal traditional leaders in Uganda that were ravaged by fire more than a decade ago should be removed from its list of endangered heritage.

Housed in grass-thatched buildings on a hillside in the capital Kampala, the Tombs of Buganda Kings have been reconstructed with the help of international funding since the 2010 blaze.

The tombs at Kasubi, revered as an important historical and spiritual site for the Baganda people, were declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2001.

Unesco´s recommendations, following a mission to the site in June, will go before the 21 member states of the World Heritage Committee at its meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh from September 10-25.

The fire destroyed the main tomb building, a circular structure with a domed roof which was built in 1882 as a palace for the Kabakas or kings of Buganda and converted into a royal burial ground two years later.