Accompanied by traditional elders on July 14, 1993, Mutebi visited the royal drum store and carried out the centuries old installation ceremony by tuning the sacred Mujaguzo, the kingdom's supreme royal drums. When he struck the primary drum, Namanyonyi, he was symbolically proclaimed the 36th Kabaka of Buganda, completing the traditional rite required before assuming the throne.
The ceremony paved the way for his official coronation at Naggalabi, Buddo, on July 31, 1993, formally restoring the Buganda monarchy, which had been abolished by the central government in 1966.
The Mujaguzo occupies a unique place in Buganda's cultural and political identity. Far more than a collection of drums, it is regarded as a living royal institution that embodies the kingdom's spiritual authority. In Buganda tradition, the human Kabaka governs the material kingdom, while the eternal sovereignty of the kingdom is represented by the sacred drums.
Because of this belief, Buganda is culturally understood to never be without leadership, even during periods when there is no reigning monarch.
The royal drums have their own palace, chiefs, servants and guards, while their custodian bears the traditional title of Kimoomera. Only members of the Lugave clan are entrusted with the hereditary responsibility of playing the sacred instruments.
At the heart of the ensemble is Namanyonyi, the principal drum struck during royal installations. It is supported by other ceremonial drums, including Kawulugumu, Entenga and Entamivu, alongside dozens of accompanying drums that together produce the distinctive rhythms reserved for the kingdom's most significant occasions.
For generations, those rhythms have served as Buganda's royal communication system, announcing the birth of princes and princesses, signalling major state events, declaring emergencies and mourning the passing of a Kabaka.
Mutebi's performance of the Mujaguzo ritual on July 14, 1993, therefore signalled the rebirth of one of Africa's oldest monarchies and remains one of the defining moments in Buganda's modern history.