The East African Legislative Assembly has granted leave to MP Francoise Uwumukiza to introduce a Bill that promotes the identification and preservation of the diverse cultural heritage of the region and protects the traditional, cultural and local values and heritage of the people of the six-member bloc.
It will be entitled the East African Community Cultural Heritage Bill.
Cultural heritage, Uwumukiza said, includes the tangible and intangible aspects of the culture of a society that are of a particular value in terms of science, technology, history, archaeology literature, philosophy, arts, religion and other areas related to culture that are passed from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.
While giving justification, on Wednesday, November 24, the Rwandan legislator, among others, noted how "it is unacceptable” to have African artefacts held in European museums.
"Some of our cultural heritage was taken abroad during the colonial period. We need all our heritage brought back,” Uwumukiza noted.
"Preserving, safeguarding and promoting the cultural heritage of the people of East Africa contributes to promoting cultural tourism and marketing of the products showcasing the diverse cultural heritage of our Community.”
MP Mary Mugyenyi (Uganda) thanked Uwumukiza for taking the initiative to introduce the Bill, saying that it is a matter of the EAC Treaty.
Under Article 119 of the EAC Treaty, Partner States agreed to cooperate in the promotion of cultural activities and to conserve, safeguard and develop the cultural heritage of the Partner States, including historical materials and antiquities.
Mugyenyi said: "We all agree that our cultural heritage must be protected. Hon Uwumukiza has identified a gap and wishes to bridge it. Some regional countries have established heritage institutions and others haven’t. The Bill will help the entire region.”
MP Jeremiah Woda acknowledged that the legislation would eventually help her country, South Sudan, which is working to set up a national museum.
Rwanda's experience
On October 28, Rwanda received more than 4,000 sounds and songs – recorded during the colonial period, and taken between the 1950s and 2000 – by Belgian authorities.
Rwanda is also in discussions with Belgium and Germany to see whether other pieces of art taken during the colonial period can all be returned.
Amb. Robert Masozera, Director-General of the Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy, told The New Times that cultural diplomacies on Rwanda’s heritage from former colonial masters are in place, as part of concerted effort to preserve national cultural heritage.
"Our wish is to see in the East African Cultural Bill, an ‘Amicus Curiae’, a legal term that calls for moral help or support in case of legal cases of repatriation or illicitly exported heritage to other member states,” Masozera said.
Rwanda, he said, has more than 530 heritage sites as per the research carried out in 2006 by the then Institute of National Museums of Rwanda, now the Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy.
Another field research survey was conducted from 2016 to 2018 to identify the sites, collect and transcript the oral traditions and other sources of information: archaeological, written, audio-visual, and so on, and about 107 sites were documented into a book.
"These are tangible facts or points of reference to oral history and written records. And, they are physical testimonies of environment that add value or significance in the paths of time. Not only do we have tangible heritage, the country is endowed with intangible or non-material aspects of culture. For example; traditional knowledge in art crafts such as weaving skills, poetry, traditional dances, and others,” Masozera said.
The challenges faced, he noted, are related to capacity building in this particular field.
As a way forward, he noted, preservation and heritage management requires huge investments and concerted efforts.
"The East African Cultural Heritage Bill comes at the right time. In rebuilding and development processes, Rwanda is now focused on; more intensive and extensive research and publications; carrying out ethnographic research that brings on-board communities to own, get the pride and protect the country’s heritage,” Amb Masozera said.
Among others, Rwanda is also actively engaging stakeholders in building more trust and long term relationships to manage together national heritage.
It is also drafting policies and legal frameworks to safeguard and promote national heritage.
"A case in point is the 2016 heritage law and the National Cultural Heritage Policy of February 2015. We are also carrying out capacity building or on-job trainings in this particular field through international collaborations.”
Rwanda has restored previously abolished cultural practices like Umuganura which is now marked on the national calendar.
It is necessary and urgent for the Community
Uwumukiza told the regional Assembly that there is need for the EAC to complement and strengthen the national efforts by adopting regional measures that facilitate the identification, recording, preservation and dissemination of the diverse and unique cultural heritage of the Partner States.
"It is necessary and urgent for the Community to institutionalize the inclusion of cultural heritage knowledge and skills in the curricula for sustainability and development.”
She noted that Partner States should be in a position to nominate sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage list, for which Africa is under-represented.
As States of Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003), with Rwanda being a Committee Member for the year 2020-2024, all the six Partner States adhered to the Convention which entered into force on 20th April 2006. They are expected to draw up inventories of their intangible cultural heritage practices such as performing Arts, games and recreation, language and literature and develop safeguarding plans to ensure their transmission to future generations.
EAC Countries are to join their efforts and support each other and seek assistance from the Council of Ministers as far as funds to support needs assessments, inventories, research and documentation as well as legislation and policies to support tangible and intangible cultural heritage in the Region are concerned.
Uwumukiza was "really excited to learn that Rwanda was elected as a new member of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee,” on Thursday, just one day after she was granted leave by the House to introduce her private Member’s Bill.
On Friday, she told The New Times that it is intangible cultural heritage that gives meaning to natural heritage sites towards which Rwanda pledged to work with all stakeholders to promote the values and objectives of UNESCO.
"This brings in the aspect of committing UNESCO State Parties to the protection and conservation of cultural and natural heritage sites of regional importance by jointly working towards their identification and inclusion as World Heritage Sites in the EAC. Congratulations to my country Rwanda and all the best in this new endeavour.”
World Heritage properties in EAC
While Rwanda does not have any World Heritage site yet, Uwumukiza noted, it has two proposals on the tentative list. These are the Genocide Memorial sites – of Nyamata, Murambi, Bisesero and Gisozi – and Nyungwe National Park.
Burundi has the Ritual dance of the Royal drum inscribed in 2014 on the representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and it has 10 sites on the tentative list, an inventory of properties which each State Party intends to consider for nomination. The 10 are: the Royal residence of Burundi (Gishora), the traditional Burundian House in Mugamba region, the sacred natural landscapes of Muramvya, Mpotsa and Nkiko-Mugamba which comprise three royal sites, Gasumo (the southernmost source of the Nile), Lake Rwihinda Natural Reserve, Lake Tanganyika, Rusizi National Park, Kibira National Park, Ruvubu National Park, and the Kagera waterfalls and the fault of Nyakazu.
Kenya has seven World Heritage Properties, four of them being cultural – Fort Jesus Mombasa, Lamu Old Town, the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests, and the Thimlich Ohinga Archaeological Site. Three others – the Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley, Lake Turkana National Parks, and Mount Kenya National Park or Natural Forest, are natural.
Tanzania also has seven World Heritage sites including its three Cultural sites – Kondoa Rock-Art Sites, Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara, and the Stone Town of Zanzibar. Besides these, Tanzania has three natural sites – Kilimanjaro National Park, Selous Game Reserve, and Serengeti National Park, as well as the Ngorongoro Conservation Area which is a mixed cultural heritage site. Five sites are on Tanzania’s tentative list: Oldonyo Murwak, Gombe National Park, Jozani - Chwaka Bay Conservation Area, Eastern Arc Mountains Forests of Tanzania, and the Central Slave and Ivory Trade Route.
Uganda has three World Heritage sites – Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Rwenzori Mountains National Park, and the Tombs of the Buganda Kings at Kasubi in Kampala.
Like Rwanda, South Sudan does not have any World Heritage site yet but it currently has three properties included on its Tentative List inventory of potential World Heritage properties. The three are Deim Zubeir, a site of the slave route; the Sudd wetland; and the Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape.