Authors : Bosco Mubangizi; William Kayamba

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 9 - September

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/38wy5f66

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26sep496

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : Purpose: This study sought to establish the role of public monuments in promoting cultural identity and social memory in Kisoro Municipality. Specifically, the research identified public monuments in the Municipality, established who made them and where they were made, and assessed the symbolism, meanings and contributions of monuments to memory.  Methodology: The study adopted a qualitative research design. In the process of critical documentary review, field observation and interviews were done to discover monuments’ stories. The research selected monuments, municipal authorities, cultural leaders, monument makers and community members through purposive sampling. The analysis of qualitative information followed thematic analysis, while secondary literature on public monuments, cultural heritage, symbolism and collective memory provided the theoretical framework for the research.  Findings: The research found that monuments represent local history, culture, heroes, and community belonging in Kisoro Municipality. The monuments’ symbolism revealed the themes of cultural identity, memory, and community belonging. Moreover, the study discovered that the meaning of monuments and their stories can change over time depending on the audience and that public places provide a venue for negotiating shared understandings of the past and cultural values.  Limitations: The research focused on public monuments in Kisoro Municipality and therefore its findings may not be generalizable to other Ugandan Municipalities in understanding the roles played by monuments and their meanings.  Contribution: This article provides a benchmark on Public Monuments in Ugandan Society by establishing monuments as carriers of cultural values through which communities transmit, negotiate and remember social memory. Additionally, the study contributes to debates on cultural heritage by providing data on monuments’ symbolism, meanings and memory functions.

Keywords : Public Monuments; Symbolism; Cultural Identity; Social Memory; Community Belonging.

References :

1. Abungu, G. O., & Ndoro, W. (2023). Cultural heritage management in Africa: The heritage of the colonized. Routledge.
2. Adu-Gyamfi, S. (2022). The politics of shared heritage: Contested histories and participatory memory work in the post-colonial urban landscape. In The politics of shared heritage (pp. 139–150). Springer.
3. Amponsah, E.-L. (2023). Towards a Black cultural memory: Black consciousness and connectivity in the online-offline continuum. African Diaspora, 15(1), 75–99. https://doi.org/10.1163/18725465-bja10034
4. Bluck, S., Alea, N., & Habermas, T. (2022). Collective memory and the social creation of identities: Linking the past with the present and future. In Progress in brain research (Vol. 274, pp. 167–176). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2022.07.002
5. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern-based qualitative analytic approaches. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 21(1), 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12360
6. Chen, G., & Suneta, V. (2024). Design transformations in monuments and memorials as monumental buildings: New perspectives on the place-making model. npj Heritage Science, 12, Article 325. https://doi.org/10.1038/s40494-024-01446-4
7. Cruz, M. D. (2022). Fractured landscapes and the politics of space: Remembrance and memory in Nwadjahane (Southern Mozambique). Museum Anthropology, 45(1), 57–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/muan.12244
8. Fubah, M. A., Kuanda, C. J., & Ndinda, C. (2024). Decolonising the cultural landscape: Preserving historical statues in Tshwane, South Africa. African Studies, 82(3–4).
9. Kiger, M. E., & Varpio, L. (2020). Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131. Medical Teacher, 42(8), 846–854. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030
10. Knott, E., Rao, A. H., Summers, K., & Teeger, C. (2022). Interviews in the social sciences. Nature Reviews Methods Primers, 2, Article 73. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-022-00150-6
11. Labadi, S. (2023). Colonial statues in post-colonial Africa: A multidimensional heritage. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 30(3), 318–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2023.2294738
12. Labadi, S. (2023). Colonial statues in post-colonial Africa: A multidimensional heritage. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 30(3), 318–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2023.2294738
13. Lloyd, J. (2022). Monuments and the sited struggles of memorialisation. Space and Culture, 25(2), 341–344. https://doi.org/10.1177/1206331221990947
14. Mashauri, V. (2022). The philosophical dilemma of conserving the African heritage: A case study of the treatment of the Kondoa Rock Art World Heritage Site in Tanzania. Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites, 23(5–6), 373–390. https://doi.org/10.1080/13505033.2022.2160074
15. Mashauri, V. (2022). The philosophical dilemma of conserving the African heritage: A case study of the treatment of the Kondoa Rock Art World Heritage Site in Tanzania. Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites, 23(5–6). https://doi.org/10.1080/13505033.2022.2160074
16. Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities. (2015). Uganda's cultural and heritage sites. Government of Uganda
17. Mukwidigwi, T., Naidu, M., Govender, S., & Membele, G. (2023). The spatial nexus of monuments, memorability and identity formation in Chatsworth and Durban Central, South Africa. GeoJournal, 88, 5643–5660. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-023-10934-2
18. Mwambari, D. (2021). Transcultural memory in post-conflict Northern Uganda war commemorations. Africa Development, 46(4). https://doi.org/10.57054/ad.v46i4.1441
19. Oladeji, S. O., Grace, O., & Ayodeji, A. A. (2022). Community participation in conservation and management of cultural heritage resources in Yoruba ethnic group of South Western Nigeria. SAGE Open, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221130987
20. Republic of Uganda. (2023). Museums and Monuments Act, 2023. Government of Uganda.
21. Sacko, O. (2021). The involvement of local communities in the conservation process of earthen architecture in the Sahel-Sahara region: The case of Djenné, Mali. Built Heritage, 5, Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43238-021-00040-y
22. Sanni, J. S. (2020). The destruction of historical monuments and the danger of sanitising history. Philosophia, 49(3), 1187–1200.
23. Sanni, J. S., & Phiri, M. Z. (Eds.). (2024). Monuments and memory in Africa: Reflections on coloniality and decoloniality. Routledge.
24. Schwandt, H. M., McDougal, L., Thomas, J. C., & others. (2023). Analyzing fast and slow: Combining traditional and rapid qualitative analysis to meet multiple objectives of a complex transnational study. Frontiers in Sociology, 8, Article 961202. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2023.961202
25. Temple, C. N. (2021). Africana cultural memory in the Afroeuropean context. Journal of Black Studies, 52(4), 418–440. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934721999296
26. Viebach, J. (2020). Mediating ‘absence-presence’ at Rwanda's genocide memorials: Of care-taking, memory and proximity to the dead. Critical African Studies, 12(2), 237–269.
27. Wutich, A., Beresford, M., SturtzSreetharan, C., Brewis, A., Trainer, S., Hardin, J., & others. (2021). Metatheme analysis: A qualitative method for cross-cultural research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211019907
28. Young, A. P. (2022). Dark tourism and Rwandan media industries: Promoting nation and the mythology of memory. Tourist Studies, 22(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/14687976221129643