The walls of Buganda Kingdom’s Masengere building at Bulange, Mengo are being given a facelift by Sadolin Paints, a part of Dutch global paints and coatings company, AkzoNobel.
Deon Nieuwoudt, the planning and execution manager at Akzo Nobel’s regional office said that Sadolin undertakes several nation-building activities throughout the country. Their contribution has been big in the Buganda over the years, which they have taken a pledge to implement in letter and in spirit.
“It is a great privilege for us at Sadolin and we take great pride to carry out a three day painting project at Buganda Kingdom’s headquarters,” Mr. Nieuwoudt said at Bulange on Thursday as he joined Her Royal Highness Princess Joan Nassolo, the second daughter and the third child of His Majesty Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.
“This project is part of our Community Social Responsibility and Akzo Nobel global culture of ploughingback to the communities that we work in,” add Mr. Nieuwoudt.
Princess Joan while speaking at the kickoff of the painting project on behalf of Ssaabasajja Kabaka said: “The Kingdom is proud of Sadolin’s previous engagements and this year’s wonderful gesture of repainting the Masengere building was the best Christmas present for Buganda.”
Volunteers were roped in from various Sadolin Paints dealerships around Buganda. The participants mostly painters celebrated and danced for Princess Joan, Owek. Nelson Kawalya, the Lukiiko speaker, Owek. Ronald Kawadwa, the CEO of Majestic Brands and top Sadolin officials before they cleaned and spruced up the walls with enthusiasm.
MASENGERE
Like Muganzirwazza, Masengere is one of the projects that the kingdom undertook to widen its income base.
The original structure of Masengere was constructed by former president Idi Amin in 1975 at Bulange, Mengo but he was ousted before its completion. In 2014, the kingdom embarked on reconstructing the structure using funds raised under Kingdom Katikkiro (Premier) Charles Peter Mayiga’s mobilisation drive (Ettofaali) and it was commissioned a year later and handed to the Kabaka as a gift on his 60th birthday anniversary.
Until its renaming three years back, the building was popularly known as Bulange plaza, and was mainly used to host informal meetings and CBS FM’s open-air political talk show, Mambo Bado, and other kingdom meetings that would not fit inside Bulange.
Masengere is a Luganda word that means residue stones from the smelting of amatale stones for iron ore.
The residue stones (Amasengere) were used in the traditional judicial system. Traditionally, Baganda who were unhappy with judgments handed down by the chiefs would appeal to the Kabaka. However, if the appellant lost, he would be dragged on the amasengere as punishment.
