Why Uganda was ‘spiritual home,’ crown of the Aga Khan IV

The coronation of His Highness Prince Karim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan IV in Kampala, in 1957, brought to Uganda the installation of the Shia Ismaili Muslims’ Imam for the first time in 14 centuries.

Today, few are aware of the mosque at Old Kampala, where the Aga Khan was crowned. It remains a quiet, solemn place, attracting very little attention despite its prime location in the middle of the city.

The mosque of his coronation has taken on more significance following the Aga Khan’s death on February 4. It is now more than just a place of worship for thousands of his followers in Uganda; it is, to many, the foundation of his spiritual leadership. His economic ventures, social enterprise, and philanthropy have impacted millions of people across Uganda, East Africa and the world during his 68-year leadership.

On October 9, 2017, the Uganda government bestowed upon HH the Aga Khan, the Most Excellent Order of the Pearl of Africa-- the country’s highest civilian award conferred on heads of state and governments-- in recognition of the contribution of the institution of the Imamat to the lives of Ugandans.

Although the Aga Khan was not a head of state, his position made him deserving of such. According to Prof Mahmood Mamdani, who delivered a lecture at the 60th anniversary of the Imamat, that the Pope and the Aga Khan are spiritual leaders without an army, but who are revered worldwide. 

The honor Uganda bestowed on the Aga Khan was in appreciation that, even when it was easier to close shop and leave, the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (Akfed) rode the wave of uncertainty and kept faith in Uganda’s potential, setting up investments that global multinationals did not fancy, almost all these in uncharted waters.

Some of these investments were in electricity generation, through the Bujagali hydropower project and the West Nile Rural Electrification Company Ltd (Wenreco) and aviation company Air Uganda launched in 2007 and flying out of Entebbe to destinations around East Africa.

Read: How Aga Khan fought attempts by Kenyatta men to control the ‘Nation’

When the 250MW Bujagali hydropower dam was commissioned in 2012, it marked an end to a troubled period during which Uganda grappled with power outages from the early 2000s that at one point knocked off two percentage points from the country’s annual economic growth.

At the cost of $800 million, Bujagali was the largest infrastructure project in the country, undertaken partly by the Industrial Promotion Services, the industrial development arm of Akfed.

Ventures in the energy sector came in addition to an already established array of other Aga Khan-affiliated companies in the hospitality, media, banking, insurance, aviation, education, and health sectors; entrenching Imamat’s ever-growing footprint in Uganda’s economy.
Prof Austin Bukenya, author and lecturer of literature and languages, in 2017 observed: “We may read the daily paper, watch a TV program, resort to a banking, insurance or other financial services, attend school or receive medical care. Hardly are we aware that most of these times we are benefiting from an Aga Khan enterprise. Even more importantly, few of us in East Africa, especially in the urban areas, ever go through the day without interacting with “subjects” of the Aga Khan at work, at school, or play.”

The Aga Khan is the spiritual leader of an estimated 15 million Shia Ismaili muslims around the world, with a marked presence in Kenya, Tanzania, and Burundi, where the AKDN also has economic and social enterprises.

The Aga Khan IV was born in Geneva on December 13 1936 to Aly Kahn and British-born Joan Yard-Buller. He spent part of his childhood in Kenya and, at the age of 20, inherited the Imam role from his grandfather, Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III in 1957.

Uganda suffered political turmoil in the 1970s and 80s. In 1972, former Uganda dictator Idi Amin Dada expelled a significant number of Ismaili community members from the country, when he gave people of Asian origin 90 days to leave the country.

After this, Uganda saw fewer social and economic investments from the AKDN, whose leader, with links to other East African countries, then decided to focus on investing in Kenya and Tanzania, which were politically stable, with a strong Ismaili presence.

Later, the Aga Khan and his investment vehicle made a return to Uganda, with more investments, as the former Diplomatic Representative of the AKDN in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, Mahmood Ahmed, explains:

“[The AKDN] is focusing more on Uganda, but I don’t want to give you the impression that that means we are not doing anything in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.  Because of the crisis here from the 1970s up to 1986, the country was in a bit of a chaotic situation. Therefore our work essentially came to a standstill. We were not doing anything new; we were struggling to maintain just what we had. During that period, our investments in Kenya and Tanzania went up exponentially. What is now happening is that Uganda is playing catch up,” said Mr Ahmed.

Read: His Highness the Aga Khan's funeral ceremony set for Saturday

 The Aga Khan was keen to increase investments in Uganda in the health, education, hotels, aviation, and energy sectors because the country is key as one of the recognised homes of the Ismaili community around the world, complete with a fully-fledged diplomatic mission.

The Aga Khan’s investments around the world are informed by a philosophy to improve the conditions of their community and humanity.