The Ugandan government on Sunday denied a hand in burning down the 126-year old Kasubi Tombs that were reduced to ashes on March 16 by a raging fire.

President Yoweri Museveni in a news conference held here at State House Entebbe, 40 km south of the capital Kampala, issued a stern warning to all those rumours mongering that it is government which set ablaze the tombs, which were also a Word Heritage Site.

"I am also infuriated by those who have been carrying out a whispering, slanderous campaign that it is the government that burnt Kasubi Tombs. I am waiting for somebody to say so publicly and I will really deal with him," he said.

His comments came as there are several conspiracy theories which among them say that the recent tensions between the government and the Buganda Kingdom, one of the country's oldest kingdoms, could have enraged the government to burn the tombs.

Museveni has always protested the kingdom's move of using opposition politicians to tout its demands contrary to the country' s Constitution which bars cultural institutions from engaging in partisan politics.

The tombs were a tourist attraction as well as an important spiritual and political site for the Buganda, one of Uganda's largest ethnic groups.

Located on a hill in Kampala, the tombs were a former palace of the Kings of Buganda, built in 1882 and converted into the royal burial ground in 1884. Four royal tombs laid there.

Tensions were high among the kingdom's subjects as the tombs burnt down leading to a bloody riot which resulted in the death of three people and the injuries of several others.

Museveni said that investigations on who shot and killed or injured the rioters have started.

He could not rule out that illegally armed civilians shot at the rioters though there are other unconfirmed reports that it was his security team that fired at the rowdy crowd as he attempted to access the place.

"The security forces are studying whether there were other groups with guns other than security forces," he said.

He blamed the rowdy crowd for blocking the police fire fighters who had gone to put out the fire.

"Why should anybody obstruct them, this is a very big mistake and should not be repeated in any incident," he said.

He said the government is working with the Buganda Kingdom to rebuild the tombs.

Meanwhile the Kingdom will on Monday start seven days of mourning.