A fire broke out at the Kasubi tombs on Friday afternoon prompting a response from the fire brigade, according to the Police .

The blaze that was clearly visible outside the premises of the tombs started at around 1 pm. The Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, SP Patrick Onyango said in a statement that the fire only affected one structure that is meters away from the main tomb.

“Police were informed and four fire tenders were dispatched to professionally handle the incident”, Onyango says in a statement.

The fire has been extinguished and investigations into what caused the fire are on-going.

Back in 2010, the historic 128 years old (now 138) Kasubi tombs went up in flames engulfing the main building housing the mausoleums of four former Buganda kings (Kabakas).

When the current Kattikiro, Charles Peter Mayiga was named the Katikkiro in May 2013, he launched and spearheaded Ettoffaali project, a fundraising project aimed at raising money for the tombs’ reconstruction. The project of reconstruction was also partially financed by friends of Buganda including Japan.

By 2019, Buganda Kingdom had spent Shs6b on the project. Completion of the reconstruction is expected to happen this year.

Friday’s setback is a scare of the regrettable incident 10 year ago. Police has appealed to the public to remain calm as investigations into the matter start.