KABALE – Kabale Regional Museum and Cultural Center in Kabale Municipality along Bunyonyi tourist road, is struggling to attract visitors despite its strategic relocation from Kabale town since 2014.
Established in 1978 under the Department of Museums and Monuments in the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities, the museum narrates the rich cultural and traditional heritage of the Bakiga people in Kigezi sub-region.
Despite the government’s decision to move the museum to a more tourist-friendly location, the site has struggled to draw interest. According to Mukiza Horace Edgar, the site attendant, the number of monthly visitors remains dismally low, primarily comprising university students conducting research.
Mukiza attributes this lack of interest to a declining emphasis on cultural education among Banyakigezi parents and inadequate government investment in promoting antiquities tourism.
CUE IN MUKIZA….ON MUSEUM….RR/ENG//
Locals including Gerald Kanyankore and Bright Aheibwomugisha, expressed dissatisfaction with the Museum Management, citing insufficient sensitization efforts and missing traditional items.
CUE IN LOCALS….ON MUSEUM…..RR//
Ronald Mwebesa, a boda boda motorcyclist advocated for free entrance for locals, questioning the logic of charging for a government-operated facility funded by taxpayers.
CUE IN MWEBESA…ON MUSEUM….RR//
Established in 1978 and reopened in September 2014, the Kabale Regional Museum holds a diverse collection with a focus on ethnography, though lacking in archeology, geology, painting, and photograph collections.
It covers various aspects of Kigezi, including historical background, migration, cultural history, economic, and political history. The museum serves as a repository for information on Kigezi peoples’ origin, ethnic groupings, cultural practices, ceremonies, and endangered artifacts within the greater Kigezi community.
Despite these offerings, the challenge has persisted in attracting a wider audience, prompting a call for increased awareness and community engagement
