21

8-05
301
2-1
101
2

.
Buganda.

Thet hir
dtypeofs t
at etoemergeinUgandawast hatof Buganda, onthe
northernshoresofL akeVict
ori
a.Thisareaofswampandhi l
lsi
dewasnot
att
rac t
ivetotherul
er sofpast
oral s
tatesfar
thernorthandwes t
.There,asi
n
thene arbyHayakingdom ofwes tTanzania,t
heweal thoft heruli
ngc l
ass
continuedtodependmor eonbananal andsandgr ovesthanc attl
e,andno
[
sharpc ast
e-l
ikedis
tincti
onbetweenf armersandher dersformed.Buganda
becamear ef
ugear ea,however,f
ort hosewhowi shedtoes caperuleby
Bunyor oorforfacti
onswi t
hinBunyor owhower edefeatedinc ontest
sfor
power .

Ones uchgroupf rom Bunyor o,headedbyPr i

nce 
Kimer a,arriv
edi nBuganda
earl
yinthe1 5
thc entur
y. Assi
mi l
ati
onofr efugeeelement shadal r
eady
st
rainedtherulingabil
i
tiesofBuganda' svariousclanc hiefsandas uprac
lan
poli
ti
calorganizati
onwasal r
eadyemer gi
ng. Ki
meras eizedt heini
tiat
ivei
nthi
s
tr
endandbec amet hefirstef
fecti
ve Kabaka(ruler
)oft hefledglingBuganda
st
ate. 
Gandaor altr
adit
ionslatersoughttodi sgui
sethisintrusionfrom
Bunyorobyc laimingear l
i
er,shadowy, quasisuper
natur alkabakas .

Unl i
ketheHi mac as t
es yst
em ortheBunyor oroyal cl
anpolit
icalmonopol y,
Buganda' skingshipwasmadeaki ndofs tat el
otteryinwhichallclansc ould
par t
ici
pate.
Eac hnewki ngwasidentif
iedwi t
hthec l
anofhi smot her,r
ather
thant hatofhisfat her.
Allcl
ansreadil
ypr ov i
dedwi vestotheruli
ngkabaka,
whohadel i
giblesonsbymos tofthem.  
Whent her ulerdi
ed,hi
ssuc cessorwas
chos enbyc l
anel dersfrom amongt heeli
gi bl
eprinces,eachofwhom bel onged
tot heclanofhismot her.
 I
nthi
sway, thet hronewasnev ert
heproper t
yofa
singlecl
anf ormor et hanonereign.
Bunyor o'
spowerbegant oebbi nthe1 8t
h
cent ur
y,wit
ht hes eparati
onofthe Torokingdom andmor eimportantlythe
ri
s eof 
Buganda.

Cons oli
datingtheiref
fortsbehindac entrali
sedkings hip,t
he Baganda (
people
ofBuganda)s hif
tedawayf r
om defens i
vestrat
egiesandt owardexpansion.By
themi d-19t
hc entury,
Bugandahaddoubl edandr edoubl edits
terr
it
ory,conqueri
ngmuc hof  Bunyoro andbec omingt hedomi nantstat
ei nthe
]
regi
on. Newl yconqueredl andswer eplacedunderc hiefsnominatedbythe
king.
 Buganda' sarmiesandt heroyaltaxc ol
lect
orst ravel
eds wif
tl
ytoall part
s
oftheki ngdom alongs pecial
lyconstructedroadswhi chc r
ossedstr
eamsand
swampsbybr i
dgesandv i
aduc ts
.

OnL akeVict
ori
a(whichtheBagandac
all
edNnalubaal
e),
ar oyalnav yof
outr
iggerc
anoes,commandedbyanadmi r
alwhowasc hi
efoftheL ungfi
sh
cl
an, c
ouldtr
ansportBagandacommandostor
aidanyshoreofthel ake.
 
The
j
ournali
st
 Henr
yMor t
onSt anl
ey vi
s i
tedBugandain18
75andprovi
dedan
esti
mateofBugandatroopstrength.
Stanl
eycounted125
,00
0tr
oopsmarching
offonas i
ngl
ecampaigntotheeas t,whereafl
eetof230warcanoeswai
ted
toactasauxil
i
arynavalsupport.

I
nBuganda'sc apital,
 
L ubaga,Stanleyfoundawel l
-or
deredtownofabout
40,
000sur
roundingt heki ng'
spalace,whichwass i
tuat
edatopac ommandi ng
hil
l
. 
Awal lmoret hanf ourkilometersinci
rcumfer
encesurr
oundedt hepalace
compound,whi chwasf il
ledwithgrass-r
oofedhouses
,meetinghall
s,and
st
oragebuil
dings.
 Att heent r
anc et
ot hecourtbur
nedtheroyalfi
re,whic
h
wouldonlybeext inguishedwhent heKabakadi ed.

Throngingt
hegr oundswer eforei
gnambas s
adorsseeki
ngaudiences
, c
hief
s
goingtotheroyaladvisoryc ouncil
,mess
engersr
unningerr
ands,andac or
ps
ofyoungpages ,whos ervedt heKabakawhi l
etr
aini
ngtobecomef uture
chi
efs. 
Forcommuni cationac rosstheki
ngdom,themessenger
swer e
supplement
edbydr um s ignals.

Mostcommuniti
esinUganda,however
,werenotorganizedonsuchavast
pol
i
tic
alscal
e.
Tothenort
h,theNil
oti
c-s
peaking 
Acholipeopl
e 
adopteds
ome
oft
heideasandregal
i
aofkingshi
pfr
om Bunyorointhe1 8t
hcentur
y.

Rwot s 
(chief
s)acquiredroyaldrums,collectedt ri
but
efrom foll
owers,and
redi
stri
butedittothos ewhower emos tloyal .
Themobi l
isati
onoflarger
number sofsubjectspermit
teds uc
cessful huntsf ormeat.Ext
ensiv
eareasof
bushlandwer esurroundedbybeat ers,
whof orcedthegamet oac entral
kil
li
ngpointinahunt ingtechniquethatwass t
il
lpract
is
edi nareasofcentral
Afri
caasof1 990
.

ButtheseAchol i
c hi
eft
ainciesremainedr el
ati
velysmalli
ns i
ze,andwi t
hin
them t
hepoweroft heclansr emainedstrongenought oc hal
lengethatofthe
rwot.
The hi
storyofBuganda  ist
hatoft he Bugandakingdom ofthe Baganda
peopl
e,thel
ar gestofthetraditi
onalkingdomsi npres
ent-day Uganda.

Bugandaef f
ec t
ivelyc ontrolled LakeVi ct
ori
a usi
ngf l
eetsofwarc anoes
fr
om t he
Loyaltyt otheirKing, Count ryandI nst
ituti
onsendowedt heBaganda
withremar kablev alourandt enacityinwar .J.P.
Thoonen.
Or i
ginallya vass alstate 
of  Bunyor o, Bugandagrewr apidlyinpowerint he
eighteenthandni neteenthc enturybec omi ngthedomi nantkingdom in
theregion. Bugandas tartedt oexpandi nt he1840s
,andus edfl
eetsofwar
canoest oes t
ablish" akindofi mper ialsupremacy"over  
LakeVictori
a and
thes urroundingr egi
ons .Subj ugat i
ngweakerpeopl esf orcheaplabor,
Bugandagr ewi nt oapower ful"embr yonicempire"
.
 Thef i
rstdi rectcont actwit
hEur opeanswases t
abli
shedin1 862 ,
when
Briti
shexpl orers 
JohnHanni ngSpeke  andCapt ai
nSir 
Richar dFr ancis
Bur t
onent eredBugandaandac cordi
ngt ot heirreport
s,theki ngdom was
highlyor gani zed.
Mut eesaI ofBuganda, whohadbeenv is
itedbyexpl orers,
like John
Hanni ngSpeke,  
JamesAugus tusGr ant and  HenryMor t
onSt anley,
i
nv it
edthe  Chur chMi ssi
onarySoc i
ety t
oBuganda. Oneoft he
mi ss
ionar iesf rom theChurchMi ssi
onar ySoc i
etywas  Al
exander
Mur doc hMac kay. MuteesaIneverc onver t
edt oanyr eli
gion, despit
e
numer ousat tempt s.I
n1884
,Mut eesadi edandhi sson MwangaI I
took
ov er
.
Mos tofwhati sknownaboutMut ees ac omesf r
om
primarys our cesfrom vari
ousKigandar esearc her
sands omef orei
gn
explorers, notablyJ ohnHanni ngSpeke, andt heChur chMi ssionar y
Soc i
ety.

 
Mwangawasov ert
hrownnumer ousti
mes,butwasrei
nstat ed.
Mwanga
si
gnedatreatywithCaptainLor
d Lugar
d i
n1892,gi
vi
ngBugandat he
st
atusofprotec
torateundert
heaut hor
it
yofthe Br
it
is
hEas tAfri
ca
Company. TheBrit
is
hs awthi
ster
rit
oryasapr i
zedposses
sion.

Mut eesaI  was  Kabakaf rom Oc tober1 856unt i

lhisdeat hin1 8 8
4 .
Thet went ieth-c enturyi nfl
uenc eoft heBagandai nUgandahasr efl
ected
theimpac tofei ghteent h-andni net eent h- centurydev elopment s.
 
As eriesof  Kabakas  
amas sedmi l
itaryandpol i
ti
cal powerbyki l
li
ngr i
vals
tothet hrone, abol i
s hingher editarypos i
tionsofaut hor ity,andexac ting
highert axesf rom t heirsubj ec t
s. 
Gandaar mi esalsos eizedt erri
toryheld
by Bunyor o,thenei ghbor ingki ngdom t ot hewes t.
 
Gandac ul t
ural nor msal sopr ev ent edt hees tabl
ishmentofar oyalclan
byas si
gni ngt hec hildrenoft heKabakat ot hec l
anoft heirmot her.
Att hes amet i
me, thisprac ticeal lowedt heKabakat omar ryintoanyc l
an
i
nt hes oc i
ety.[6]
Oneoft hemos tpower ful appoi nt edadv isersoftheKabakawas
the Kat ikkiro,whowasi nc har geoft heki ngdom' sadmi nistrati
veand
j
udi cials ystems–ef f
ect i
velys erv i
ngasbot hpr i
memi nisterandc hief
j
us t
ic e.
 
TheKat i
kkiroandot herpower ful mi ni
ster sformedani nnerc ircl
eof
adv i
s erswhoc oul ds ummonl ower -level chiefsandot herappoi nted
adv i
s erst oc onferonpol i
cymat ter s.
Byt heendoft heni neteent hc ent ur y, t
heKabakahadr epl acedmany
clanheadswi thappoi ntedof f
ici
al sandc laimedt hetitle" headofal lthe
clans ".
 Thes ophisti
cateds tr
uc tureofgov ernanc eoft heBagandas oimpres
sed
Bri
tishoffici
als, butpol i
ti
cal l
eader sinnei ghbor i
ngBunyor ower enot
recepti
vet oBr i
tishoff i
cial
swhoar rivedwi thBagandaes corts.
Bugandabec amet hec entrepi
ec eoft henewpr otect
or ate,andmany
Bagandawer eabl etot akeadv antageofoppor tuni
ti
espr ovidedby
schoolsandbus inessesintheirar ea.
Bagandac ivi
l servantsal sohelpedadmi nist
erot herethnicgr oups
,and
Uganda' searlyhi s
torywaswr i
ttenf rom theper s
pecti
veoft heBaganda
andt hec olonial offi
cialswhobec ameac cus t
omedt odeal i
ngwi t
hthem.
Atindependenc ein1962 ,Bugandahadac hievedthehi ghests t
andar
dof
l
ivi
ngandt hehi ghestlit
eracyr atei nt hecount ry.

I
nbuganda, theri
ghttolif
ewasemphas i
zedsincewhoev erki l
l
ed
another,
couldbeexecutedpubli
cl
ybyt helocalchi
ef sonbehal fofthe
Kabaka.Thoughs omeextremis
tactionsoft hekabakadef eatedthethen
avai
labl
et owardsachievi
ngtheri
ghteousl i
fe.For-
exampl et heregi
meof
kabakaMwangat heUgandamar tyrswer epersecutedforbel i
evi
nginthe
newr el
i
giousaffi
li
ati
onsthatwerebr oughtbyt hemi ss
ionari
es .
notabl
ewere
Bazeketta,
BuuzaAbal iawoamongot herswer ekil
ledonor dersofKabaka
Mwanga.

Ther i
ghttovote;
therewaslit
tl
ewor ktowardsac hiev
ingt
heri
ghtt ovote.The
kingus ual
lynominatedthechiefshi
ms el
fandt heGombolol
a(count y)
leaders
werev otedbychiefsonbehalfoftheKabaka.Thoughnowadayst hefreedom
andr i
ghttov ot
eisgiventoall,
whethermenorwomenaswel l
righttotake
partindecisi
onmaki nginsoci
ety,
asperAr t
icl
e5 2ofthe1
995
cons t
ituti
onof
therepubli
cofUgandaasamended.

Thefreedom ofexpr
ess
ionwasnotmuc huphel
d,alotoftheworkwas
dic
tat
edbyt heking’
sorder
sandc hi
efshadtofol
low .Thev
oic
eofthe
peopl
ewasnor mal
lyt
akenbythec
hief
stokabakapr
emises.

Ther i
ghttopri
vacy;theki ngdom emphasi
zestheprivacyofother
sand
decencywaspract
iced, f
orexampleonec oul
dnottredspassonone’
sland
andhomewi t
houtpermi ssi
onanddoingsowoul dr
esulttopuni
shmentand
barnis
hmentfr
om s ociety.
Arti
cl
e2 7ofthe1 995consti
tut
ion ofUganda
republ
ic.
Righttofai
rheari
ng; Cr i
meswer ehandl
ed publi
clybythet r
adit
ional
l
eadersandpunis
hmentwasadmi ni
st
eredforref
ormati
on,
retr
ibuti
onand
prosec
uti
ontoendapartic
ularv
iceoranabomi nabl
eacti
on.Thisri
ghthas
beenemphasi
zedi
nt he1
995cons
tit
uti
onoftherepubl
icofUgandai narti
cle
28.

Righttobel ongtoagivencultur
e,thesocietyall
owedanyonet obelongtoa
parti
cularc lanandas pec
ifi
cf amily.Thec ul
tureofsomeonewast obe
boundonhi m onallpracti
cesandc us tomst heyascr
ibedtothes ame
cl
an.Ar t
icle 37 oft he 1995 cons t
it
ution oft he r
epubli
c ofUganda.
emphas izedc ul
tur
e.
For-exampl einthec aseofBr unoki wuuwaVs .I
vans ser
unkuma, t
he
cult
ureemphas i
zedthatmar r
iagewi t
hi nthesamec l
anwasnotal l
owed.

Equalit
yandf reedom f rom dis
cri
mi nation;Theequal i
typrinci
plewasnotv er
y
commoni nAnc i
entinasf arasthedi spensati
onofj usti
ce,res
ourcesand
pri
vi
legeswe’reconcer ned.Thesocietywasdi vi
dedintthree.cl
asssystems,
the
Royal f
ami l
y,t
henobl esandt hepeas ant s.
Thepeas antstookont he
cul
tivati
oninthegar dens ,
cashc r
oppl antationsamongot herworks.TheRoyal
family"Abalangi
ra“nev erworked,theyenj oyedtaxesandf oodit
emsgr own
bythepeas ants"Abakopi ”.

Ther i
ghtt
oownpr opert
ywasgrantedtoallpeople.PealeinBugandawere
al
lowedt oownpropertyandal
sower epr
otectedf r
om anyki ndof
depri
vati
onoft
heirpropert
ybyanypersonofill
ici
tac ti
ons.Theri
ghttoown
propert
ywasals
oemphas i
zedi
nthe1995constit
utionoft herepubl
icof
Ugandaasamended. Asperart
icl
e26.

Ther espectforhumandi gnit

yandpr ot ec t
ionf r
om inhumant r
eatmentasper
Arti
c l
e2 4oft heconst
it
ut i
onof1 995oft her epubli
cofUgandaasamended; i
n
ancientBuganda, ther
ewasr ampanthar ass mentandembar rassmentthat
charac ter
izedthepunishmentf orthec as eofc r
iminalsinsoc
ietywere
handl edpubl i
cl
y,manywer ekil
ledont heki ng’sorder s
,manywer efl
ogged
withs ti
ckswhi chwasunbec omi ngins oc i
etyandwasanembar rass
mentto
thepeopl eofBuganda. I
nt hisregard,exc eptional ci
rcums t
anceswouldupheld
theres pectforhumandi gnitythoughmaj orit
y,t
heac tsweresounbec omi
ng.
Protect
ionfrom sl
avery,
ser
vit
udeandf orcedl
abour.Thec hiefsandkings
earnedal otofincomefrom sl
avetrade,
theki
ndoft radewher emanyf amil
ies
ofthenat i
vesweredispl
acedandt husunbecomingt osociety.Thi
sri
ghtto
protec
tionfrom sl
aver
yasperAr ti
cle25ofthe1995Ugandanc ons
tit
uti
onisa
newper specti
veofthecurr
entlawswhi c
hnev erexi
stedint heancientsoc
iet
y
i
nBuganda.

Thenotionofhumanr i
ghtscannotbetrac
edasunder
stoodtoday,
butt
here
arealotofgest
urest
hatc r
oppeduprightfr
om t
heanci
entdaysofBuganda
soci
etyasdis
cussedabove.

REFERENCES.

The1
995c
ons
ti
tut
ionoft
her
epubl
i
cofUgandaasamended.
 

Eas
tAf
ri
caL
ivi
ngEnc
ycl
opedi
a

1
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2
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nes1
992
,p.
 
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nes1
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4. ^Ki
  mambo,
Isar
iaN.;
Maddox,
Gregor
yH.(
15Apr
il201
9).
ANewHi
  st
ory
ofTanzani
a.SBN 
 
I 978998
775 .
3994
5. ^Schoenbr
  un,Dav id L.( 1
993).
 
"We Are What We Eat :Anc i
ent
Agri
cul
turebetweent heGreatL akes.
"TheJ
  our
nalofAfri
canHist
ory.
34(
  1)
:
1
–31.
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doi1
0.1
017
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1
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1
4. ^
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W.Baker
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ti
on,
 
[1]
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Mac
mil
l
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187
9.p.
4
1
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nes1
992
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1
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W or
ksci
ted