Ettoffaali campaign is a massive fundraising campaign pioneered by the Katikkiro of Buganda in his Buganda Kuntikko drive. In the ettoffaali campaign, Baganda and other well-wishers of Buganda invite the Katikkiro of Buganda to come and personally receive their contribution to the Buganda Kuntikko campaign. The contribution or the ttoffaali can be in form of money, construction materials and other items.
Areas covered by the ettoffaali campaign
In the beginning, the campaign was in Buganda covering from small towns, schools, industrial centers, markets, etc. After becoming so famous and visibly uniting the people of Buganda, Baganda from other parts of Uganda also started inviting the Katikkiro to go and receive their contributions from outside Buganda. These included Baganda in Busoga Kingdom, Ankore and other parts.
After covering Uganda, the ttoffaali went global. Ugandans, mainly Baganda in the diaspora salso started inviting the Katikkiro to go and receive their contributions. These included Baganda in United Arab Emirates who invited him in Dubai, Baganda in the USA who also invited him in Boston, Massachusetts and Baganda in the United Kingdom who invited him in London.
Impact of the Ttoffaali
The campaign has undeniably united the people of Buganda and restored the prestige of the Kabaka and the Kingdom, a direct achievement according to the Katikiro’s Buganda Kuntiko plan. This can be witnessed in the way people respond in masses to all Buganda calls in Uganda such as the Kabakas’s birthday celebrations of April 13, 2015.
Locally, given the Luganda language’s adoptive nature, as of June 2015, the word ettoffaali can be used to mean money or payment. Luganda speakers can be hard these days saying statements like; “omulimo nagumaze kati ninze ttoffaali” Meaning “I finished the job now am waiting for my payment or salary.”