Buganda has a duty to contribute to the sickle cell cause

On Friday 24th November 2017 the Katikiro of Buganda, Charles Peter Mayiga handed over sickle cell testing kits to Uganda’s Ministry of Health at Uganda National Health Laboratory Services Headquarters in Butabika. The testing kits were bought from part of the proceeds of the Kabaka’s birthday run that took place early this year.

There have been arguments about what the money would have been used for, some people are saying that the money would have been used to build a sickle cell treatment centre or buy drugs for people living with sickle cell disease. But that is not my focus today as those who are responsible prioritized screening those who do not know their sickle cell status to help on reducing the 20,000 babies born with sickle cell disease everywhere.

My article today is going to address the concern of those who believe that the kits should be only used in Buganda since the run where the money raised was in Buganda. I strongly disagree with them basing on the fact that it was not only people from Buganda that participated in the run. Also Buganda has people from different parts of the country and if sickle cell is not prevented from where they are and “wait-and-see” we may be late forever.

Buganda region ranks third with highest number of sickle cell disease and trait cases after Eastern, with Northern region topping the chart according to Uganda Sickle Cell Survey (US3) 2015.

Most importantly the historical contribution of Buganda to sickle cell disease and trait prevalence in other region puts it in a position where it has to shoulder the burden of eliminating sickle cell disease in the whole country and other parts of Africa.

The version of Kabaka Kintu’s rising to the throne is said to have happened after the defeat of Bemba Musota at Nagalabi in Buddo. After the defeat and execution of Bemba Musota, his royalists migrated into other areas. One group moved eastwards and settled on the shores of Lake Kyoga in Teso and assumed the name of Bakenyi.
The second group moved westwards and settled in current day Rubirizi district and became Banyaruguru. The last two groups moved southwards, one group settled in Ssese and the other group moved through Kiziba current day north Tanzania and settled in Northern Zambia and became the present day Bemba people.

The groups that were exiled from Buganda could not marry the natives where they settled and were left with nothing to do but marry between themselves. The intermarriages between relatives led to the giving birth to children with sickle cell disease. For a child to be born with sickle cell disease both parents must be carrying the sickle cell gene.

Because of the marriages between relatives and with no chance to marry from the natives of where they settled ended up giving birth to many children with sickle cell disease.

It’s not surprising that Rubirizi district where the exiled Baganda settled and became Banyaruguru has the nucleus of sickle cell in Ankole region. The Bemba people in Northern Zambia also have the highest prevalence of sickle cell disease and trait in Zambia.

The advantage the people in Buganda who did not go into exile and ruled over by Kabaka Kintu was marrying between clans. The clan intermarriages ensured that people carrying the sickle cell gene could marry another person without the gene and save their children from inheriting the disease.

The Buganda’s battle for the throne contributed greatly to the rise of sickle cell prevalence in Ankole, Teso and Zambia. It is this role that puts it in upper position to champion the cause for elimination of sickle cell disease not only in Uganda but globally as it contributed to the high prevalence of sickle cell disease and trait in those areas.