Baganda in the context of History of Buganda

The Allied Democratic Forces (French: Forces démocratiques alliées; abbreviated ADF) is a Ugandan Islamist rebel group based in western Uganda and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Some refer to the group as IS-DRC as a chapter of IS-CAP, but this terms is broader and tends to include non-ADF rebels. It is considered a terrorist organization by the Ugandan government and the United States. The group is sanctioned by the United States and the United Nations Security Council. Originally based in western Uganda, the ADF has expanded into eastern DRC where nearly all of its fighting has occurred. Most ADF fighters are Ugandan Muslims from the Baganda and Basoga ethnic groups.

Since the late 1990s, the ADF has operated in the Congo's North Kivu province near the border with Uganda. While repeated military offensives against the ADF have severely affected it, the ADF has been able to regenerate because its recruitment and financial networks have remained intact. Some of the attacks it has been blamed for also appear to have been committed by other rebel groups as well as the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC).

Buganda is a Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Uganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala. The 14 million Baganda (singular Muganda; often referred to simply by the root word and adjective, Ganda) make up the largest Ugandan region, representing approximately 16% of Uganda's population.

Buganda's history includes unification during the 13th century by the first king, Kato Kintu, the founder of Buganda's Kintu dynasty, and Buganda grew to become one of the largest and most powerful states in East Africa during the 18th and the 19th centuries. During the Scramble for Africa, and following unsuccessful attempts to retain its independence against British imperialism, Buganda became the centre of the Uganda Protectorate in 1884; the name "Uganda", the Swahili term for Buganda, was adopted by British officials. Under British rule, many Baganda acquired status as colonial administrators, and Buganda became a major producer of cotton and coffee, and it continues to be Uganda's greatest coffee producer. In the financial year 2023/2024, the region produced over 3,170,000 bags of Robusta.Baganda through the Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga's campaign of Emwaanyi Terimba actively participated in coffee production which in the end has brought about a significant extension in the country's coffee exports.

The endongo is a musical instrument, considered the national instrument of the Baganda people of Uganda. It is a member of a family of lyres which can be found, with variations, in many areas throughout East Africa. The endongo is specifically a Kiganda bowl lyre, with the face of the bowl covered with the skin of either a monitor lizard or ant lizard.

The endongo is found within the interlacustrine area of Uganda, which are “the kingdom-states around the northern, western, and southern shores of Lake Victoria and the area between Lake Victoria and the chain of lakes: Lake Albert, Lake Edward, Lake Kivu and Lake Tanganyika”. The bowl lyre present in Uganda is played by two particular tribes, the Basoga, who name the instrument entongoli, and the Baganda, who call it the endongo.

Kabaka is the title of the king of the Kingdom of Buganda. According to the traditions of the Baganda, they are ruled by two kings, one spiritual and the other secular.

The spiritual, or supernatural, king is represented by the Royal Drums, regalia called Mujaguzo. As they always exist, Buganda will always have a king. Mujaguzo, like any other king, has his own palace, officials, servants and palace guards. The material, human prince has to perform special cultural rites on the Royal Drums before he can be declared king of Buganda. Upon the birth of a royal prince or princess, the Royal Drums are sounded by drummers specially selected from a specified clan as a means of informing the subjects of the kingdom of the birth of a new member of the royal family. The same Royal Drums are sounded upon the death of a reigning king to officially announce the death of the material king. According to Buganda culture, a king does not die but gets lost in the forest. Inside Buganda's royal tombs such as the Kasubi Tombs and the Wamala Tombs, one is shown the entrance of the forest. It is a taboo to look beyond the entrance.