Joint statement by community museums on the 2023 Museums and Monuments Law

Introduction

On May 29^th this year the President of the Republic of Uganda accented to the Museums and Monuments Bill 2022 which is now the new law governing the operations of museums in Uganda. This new Act repealed the 1967 Historical Monuments Act which did not recognize the operations of community/private museums in Uganda. The old law also had limited appreciation of the contemporary dynamics and appreciation of heritage such as the tangible and intangible notions of our heritage. Sections 15 and 16 of the 2023 Museums and Monuments Law stipulate how community museums shall be established and managed respectively, and these two sections have substantial implications (positive and negative) for the operations of non-government museums. Community museum managers/owners in Uganda, during their gathering at the Nile Hotel Jinja, decided to issue this statement for mainly two reasons. 1) to appreciate the government of Uganda for recognising the existence and role of community museums in the safeguarding and promotion of Uganda’s diverse cultures; and 2) to raise areas in the law that are of great concern to the operations of the community museums in Uganda. 

Appreciation

The managers/owners/representatives of the community museums in Uganda would like to extend their appreciation to the government of Uganda particularly, the Department of Museums and Monuments for developing the 2023 Museums and Monuments Act which now recognises community museums and their role in the safeguarding of Uganda’s cultural heritage. Sections 14 – 18 extensively guide the operations of community museums in terms of how they should be established, managed and promoted. We do not take this gesture of the relevant government agencies including the State and the Parliament of Uganda for granted.

Areas of Concern and Recommendations

Whereas the community of museums in Uganda welcomes the new law with open hands, enthusiasm and hope, there are a number of concerns that should be addressed if community museums are to effectively play their complementary role to the National Museums, especially in terms of safeguarding our diverse cultural heritage.

1. The Act, under objective 5 talks about formalising, controlling and protecting tangible heritage – the word ‘control’ should be applied with caution because the community museums managers collect and preserve cultural elements that they are familiar with and within the norms and customs of their cultural communities- the person ‘controlling’ may not necessarily appreciate the norms and values of some of the cultural communities
2. The law does not provide for a grace period for the community museums that have been operating without licences prior to its promulgation, yet the penalty therein is too high for most of the community museums whose revenues are still pitifully low. Secondly, the procedures for processing a licence are not clearly stipulated. We suggest that Act and its regulations should provide for a grace period of 12 months for the existing community museums to process and acquire licences.
3. The law is quiet/not direct about financial support to the community museums. Support to local government authorities (through community-based services) is always meagre to cater for culture-related concerns
4. It is not proper to give the Minister absolute powers to establish a community museum (see section 15 (1)) given that Uganda is culturally diverse and it will be hard for a Minister to establish a community museum in a cultural community where he/she does not belong. He/she may not have the legitimacy to do so.
5. The regulations should clearly stipulate how cultural institutions should be involved in the management of community museums which may not necessarily be linked to any cultural institution.
6. There Act should be accompanied by a clear implementation plan clearly indicating the participation of community museums to ensure their sustainability
7. Given that limited consultations were conducted during the process of making the Act, we suggest that the Department of Museums and Monuments and other relevant agencies should carry out a national-wide sensitization and publicity of the Act and its attendant regulations to enable all concerned Ugandans to understand and embrace the Act.

What are community museums?

Community museums in Uganda are initiatives by cultural enthusiasts (individuals, families, cultural institutions, etc.)  who have collected artefacts, oral history/traditions, and other elements of the ethnic cultures. The museums have made an effort to link past and future through their collections, which are accessible to schools, researchers, local residents and foreign tourists. Community museums play an important role in the safeguarding of Uganda’s diverse cultural heritage and provide spaces for appreciating different cultures. They represent a strong will among individuals, families and communities to preserve and promote their cultures without external support. They also represent a strong movement of cultural patriots who are ready to engage in discourses of decolonisation of Uganda’s cultural heritage preserved in museums. They are, however, still attracting limited recognition and attention from both state and non-state actors.  

Community museums managers/owners who developed the above statement

	Name of CM	District	Name
1	The Home of Kigezi Museum	Kisoro	Niringiye Fred
2	Great Lakes Museum	Ntungamo	Dickson
3	Igongo Cultural Museum	Mbarara	Moses Kashure
4	Uganda Martyrs Museum	Mpigi	Juliet Nambuubi
5	Buganda Heritage and Tourism Board Museum	Kampala	Allan Kakembo
6	Bunyoro Com Museum Associates	Hoima	Apuuli Karugaba
7	Koogere Community Museum	Fort Portal	Alice Basemera
8	Ker Kwonga Panyimur	Pakwach	Jolly Okumu
9	Madi Lugbara Community Museum	Arua	John Tutu
10	Madi Community Museum	Moyo	Pastore Koma
11	Museum of Acholi Art and Culture	Kitgum	Oloya Peter
12	Ik House of Memory	Kaabong	Odong Charles
13	Ateker Cultural Centre	Moroto	Hana Longole
14	Mt. Elgon History and Culture Museum	Mbale	Mubakye Joel Peter
15	Kigulu Cultural Museum	Iganga	Abraham Kitawulwa
16	Cultural Research Centre	Jinja	Henry Malimo
17	Uganda Railway Museum	Jinja	Nabirye Daphine
18	Ham Mukasa Museum	Mukono	Alice Gwokyalya
19	Kigezi High School	Kabale	Peter Miles Musinguzi
20	Bugungu Heritage and Information Centre	Buliisa	Kiiza Wilson
21	Buruli community museum	Nakasongola	Musa Kato Musoke