King Freddie Comes Home

"In the end, I shall return to the land of my fathers and my people," wrote Sir Edward ("King Freddie") Mutesa II in 1966, shortly after he escaped to a London exile. His land was Uganda (pop. 10 million), of which he was the first President, and his people were the 3,000,000 Baganda tribesmen, of whom he was the last Kabaka (King).

Last week King Freddie came home to a hero's welcome. He was dressed in the uniform of a major general and accompanied by an honor guard from his old regiment, the British Grenadier Guards. His plane, a chartered 707, was escorted by four Uganda air force jet fighters. When he landed at Entebbe Airport beside Lake Victoria, he was met by Uganda's military ruler, Idi ("Big Daddy") Amin Dada, and accorded an unprecedented 73-gun salute--21 for an ex-President, 42 for a former King and 10 more for good measure.

The trouble was that King Freddie did not return alive.

Penniless and alone, old beyond his 45 years, he died of alcohol poisoning 17 months ago in a dingy London flat. Friends scraped up enough money for embalming and burial, but they could not send the body back to Uganda so long as Milton Obote, the man who had deposed King Freddie, remained President. After Obote was overthrown last January by General Amin, the new President made plans to bring the Kabaka's body home to strengthen his support among the Baganda, the country's largest tribe.

Amin was warned by some of his countrymen that the return of Freddie's body could lead to rioting among the Baganda, many of whom had refused to believe that their Kabaka was dead. Others warned that there might be widespread killings to ensure that Freddie would be provided with enough retainers in heaven.

Official Mourning. Amin, who has dissolved Parliament and banned political activity for two years, decided that his control over the country was firm enough for him to take the risk. On the first day of official mourning, he drove in an open Jeep past a three-mile line of Baganda tribesmen. In the Namirembe Anglican Cathedral, he stood for 30 minutes beside the figure of the Kabaka, almost perfectly preserved in a transparent coffin.

Four days later, Freddie was buried beside the graves of three former Kings of Buganda: his father, Sir Daudi Chwa; his grandfather, Mwanga, who executed the 22 Ugandan Catholics who were canonized in 1964; and his great-grandfather, Mutesa I. Freddie has an heir. Prince Mutebi, 16, who lives in Britain; but the boy is not likely to become King. Amin has repeatedly said that the kabakaship died with the unfortunate King Freddie.

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