jSN= 614] PAPER WD. SAKEREKE INSTITUTE OF SOCTAL MESBARCH / TTERAATIOHAL ALA {me CoUMIAL A0UTS GP TES. Coarhacr 1 a Insrruté wy OF StVELOPAENT STUDIES sandra twauca-LoMIcO Usraay Department of Riatory ‘necavere University Paper presences 40 tha Tdeornatfonsl Ceninar on Tuterast Contiter, diet ~ 25th Eeyceauer, 1947; ayossored iy Tater netiecal Alar’, Lonwaj naeetery Institute of bockal wescarchy suerere University) Jnteruatioual Poace meovaren Tastee, at 1 Weig st Th Uadsoa.nataone aivere Views ano opnincue as geper o tthe author, wot shh sponsors" av Gneow cx chu eryaaioatson he author come fea. tthe cole renpoussissaeyeae ‘DHE_COLONIAL AUUTS OP INTERNAL cONPLIT IN UGANDA. By and large indopondent Uganda has ceen charactarioed by violence and e dictatorial ruthices leadership there has buen & pervasive atmosphere of despondeney and hopelessness asongst the majority of ler peuple until recently. Viable political inetitutions have not develoyed, there is no basic consensus and the country is hopelessly divided. Indeed independence has vecone/fraumatic and delibilitating ex- perience. The purpose of thie payer is to eztablish the role of colonialiss in the posteclonial agony of Uginda, colenial~ om we hope to desonstrate, failed.aiscrably, through oni~ scion or ecaniesion to ley tho foundations for the building of @ nation out of the protectorate, The manner in which ‘protect iont wae effect 4 the nature of the adaini- stration eotablished ana the colonial economy iaposed were ‘the basic eleacute of waich the recige for tue chace of the postcolonial period were formed. Both the svord and tne vible, those familiar twine or inperialian, vere effectively wielde? ageinet the pre~ colonia) leadershipe and people of what energed as the Uganda Protectorate at thy ceginning of this centary. Bible ‘and word becsae wonpona of Givieion. The bible planed a part of Uganda, Bugunda, into a civil war in the 16808 which Left hor divided and wenk, destroyed hur monareny in the process and left her sn cesy prey for incorporation into tho Britich Empire by Captain ugard ond his notley crew in the 18908, The divisions introduced ty tne bible aoon eabraced what decane the protectorate and these divisions still plague independent ganda und influsnce ner negative politics mightly, These divisions are a solid logacy of eolonialien.SS Between 1640 and 1920 inporiglics wielded the svord in earneet to secure and pacify ber colonial possession, Ugsnda, Those three ducates were decades of violence, a ‘ige shen the premiua was put by iapericlisn on the eete- biishwent of 1ew and order, when the virt¥el purpose of government was to police the populace. Violence or the ‘threat of the use of viclunce was usvd on any other cccasions to put down the natives during tne colonial period. Inperialien was intorelent of opposition and relied more on the eword then on dislogue, It is thag legacy of violence that inperislisn bequenthed to a whole generation of leadership in postevlonial Uganda. When Ugands acquired her finel geographical shape in ‘the early 19200 ene enoraced @ people frou three Linguistic groups, namely: Sudanie, Nilotic and Bantu, from two major African language femtliee - Nilo-Seharan and Congo ~ Kordo- fonian.t there was very little or no Linguistic and cultur ral affinity amongst these people and it snould have been ‘obvious to the people who brought thes togetuer into one central protectorate adsinistration thet @ lot of work hed to be done to mould thea into nationale of one country. This work was not done because British inpcrialiss thrive on division and it was never her intention to create nation-states out of her colonic ‘The BFitioh conquered Uganda through the use of force ‘and fraud and these two methods created wounds within the body=poditic of u 14a that independence has not yet healed.ae Im the ogtabliiohaont of colonial rule the British uesd Africans to fight for them, africane who then stayed under one adinietration with the conquered people and Ducmme oitizons of the eume country. Mudsans and Buganda played a proainent role in thy conquvst of Uganda and ditternces tranecending generations created which is part of tho tale of our mors recent agonies. Nubians were used ty Baker, Emin Pasha and Gordon ‘to men forte in Acnoli from the early 1870s to around 1090. Pain notes thet the behevour of the Nubian forces left @ bitter folk memory enong the acholi.? on the eve of hie sojourn into Ugenda, in 1630, captain Lugard eoscmbled seventyluoian askarig recruited for the Iaperial Britien Zast african Company by captain Williams in Eeypt. In 1892 captain williae joinca captain Lugara in Buganda with another seventy five Nubian ackaris, Lugard further nought the services of the remnante of Eain Pesha's troope unaer the command of Selis Bey otra ded on tho Zaire eide of the Sopliks river, In Qetober 2891 Selim Bey croswed the Sosliri river into Tore with around two thousand Nubian soldiere and another thirtven ‘thousand followers, woaen and oniléren, This Nubian co ntigent wae furthor consolidated in 1694 when anothor ‘ten thousand men and fanilics under anothor Mubian conma~ néor, Fadhl-ol-taula wore ferried into Bunyore acrousae ‘Lake “albert.” rt se tne 0 Nubiane who helped defeat Bunyore and Bugnnda in the 180s and helped in the many pacafication cappeigns thet the British carried out in Uganda and béyondup to the outbreak of the first world war They forsed the core of tho Uganda Rifle Gotablishedin 1895. An essentially alien foree hed forsed the core of tne Célonial aay in Uganda, Coasent~ ing on thé Waban Visitation H.H, Johnston, Veenda Coamiseioner (1839-1900), observed: shoaselve! cruelty ead aneorupalons Slavo-tradere, waose newea, religion they’ hed. inherited! ex-slaves; they hed all the of the Arab ‘The Brition were eware of tho eruilty and unserupulous- ness of the Nubiané when they set then loose in Uwinda: ‘Apollo Kage and Senet Kakungulu, rivel chiefs in Buganda, wer. used extoncively in the conquest of Uganda and a wring impression was, therefore, created ‘that Bogande paren was reazonathia yor the conquest and that Buganda ae a nation participated in the grand designs of British iopertalion in Uganda. If Bugenda had participated ae a ciation then why was wanes rebel? Why 'waa he hunted 150 a wild beast by Kakungu~ aw ‘Betwoon Decomber 1893 when Colonel Golvile declared war on Bunyore and 18Y5 whon conventions) warfare case to an ond there, Kagawa had deployed around twenty thousund nen to fight tno Bunyoro. In 1897 when xwangaoo started to struggle for the f-etormination of uganda in Buddu,Keggwa again mobilized @ large amy to fight Buganda nationalists, mwanga rendezvour od with @ Bunyoro general, Treta in wey 2698 and crossed the Nile An guly 1898 to join Kabarega in Lango where ‘they were both captured by Kakungulu on 9th april 1659. Kakungulu, thereattes, encouraged by Johnston, the British Compiesioncr, eabarked on the conquest of eastern Uganda in the oie kon undoretanding that that the Brition would allow hin to establish a kingdow and 12 dynasty of his onn as king of the Bakoai.* tht de~ predatiols of the Boganda mercenariva in Bunyoro and « eastern Uganda left a bitterness that has not yet @iveppoared, Through their usc of the Baganda to conguor Uganda the British had established lasting trea botwoon the Baganda and sizeable chunk of the rest of Uganda, weak premisse on which to build a nation, with thie all exbracing deploynent of the Bagands gy the Britieh a colonial ayth was woven into ‘the historiography of Uganda, nonely that the Baganda hhad a long{radition of martial dominance over their peighbours,® 70 make thie bitterness deeper, when ‘the Banyoro were conquered, tho British annexed all Bunyoro territory south of river Kefu to Bugonda ae a reward for the suppoft Kezawa and hie sen had given ‘to tho Britioh, This Bunyoro territory was incorporee ‘ted into the kingdoa of Bugands, when for the first time Buganda’e boundaries were defined both on the6s ground and on peper-in the 1900 Uganda (Buganda) Agreonsnt.® the territory excised fron Buryoro wae eetieated to have been. around one quarter of procolon= tal Bunyore territory and included the heartland of precolonial Bunycro, xubende whare the precolonial roysl burial grounde were located, colonialisa created the problen of Bunyore irridenta, = problea Which the British avoided te solve and thrust it upon Ugundan leaders, leaders who aid not create the probleu in the firet, instance, to solve on their de- parture, Kaggwa'e and Kakungulu's nen were set up by the Britton, once conquest had been accomplished, as agents of their iaperialion in western end eastern Usanda, they were deployed as aduinistratore whom Kabwegyere refers to as ‘tutor mscnanace!” to peddle ‘the 90 called Kiganda 0401 of aduinistration in other parts of the protectorate, The siseionaries used Baganda agonts to peddle the catechisn around es will. he Bagands had trully cone unto their own ae the ‘sapancse of africa'’, an agoolads that 4ia not endoar ‘thew to their neighbours. Bugenda becene the favourite child of scperialiea and arcused the envy of the other children, this partly explaine the many skulle that now Litter the Luwere Triamle. here foree yas not used to conquer fraud wae weed. Fraudlent agrvsavute wero coneluded betwen the Britishaa fend Bugenda, Toro and Nkore at the beginning of this century providing forthe acceptante of British protec~ ‘ion and loyalty to the British crown and establishing @ local constitution. Ina Privy council judgesent (Sovhuze 11 ve Willer, 1926) it was eotablished thet agreotents with Native Rulers can never bind the British Crown.°, Tbingira observes that agreesenta lacked the force of law and bounaAFStish crown during its poasury.2° Initially the Native (agrosuent) relere 44d not ehow°that the agreenente they concluded aid not have the fores of lew but'even'when they found out ‘they continusé the charade of tho efficacy of these ‘agresasnte, ‘hey, indesd, turned then into fortresses fgninet Ugandan nationalisa. To thie thene we shall return lator. Suffice it to note thet the Britioh had created a big divide in Uganda betne the agroonent and non jgrecaent are ) @ divide which eoured political development in Uganda, Having used force and fraud to cetablioh the pro~ tectorate the British proceoded to use the ease neane to ‘auintain theuoolves in power. they eotablished a force of intemal coereion whose loyalty to thew had to be above board. he Uganda Rif} ordinance (1895) speci- ‘fieaL3y included a clause (clause 58) enpowering the Ueanda Rafi to take action against any local group(s) in the Protuctorate which engeged in active opposition te to the adainiatration.-8- ‘hie foraation of a Loyel force had exercised the Binds of the founders "ef tacUgenda Protectorate, According to Lugard, tho founding father of the colony, ‘tho Nubiane constituted the best material for eoldiery in africa.tt By the vopinsing of this century and de finitely by the beginning of the Pirst world war the British hnd uede up their aind ae to whoa they wanted ‘Yo nan their colonial amiies in Africa. They had evolved ‘the acrtial tribes thusist. according to thie thesis the Central African traces! possess uili- tary qualitice in dixvet proportion to the auount of influence left by forvign invaders.1? In-the Ugenda context "the Wilotic end Sudanic tribes of northern gan show eigns of the effects of former ssiatic invasions to which they ovo thoir warlike character Setican,23 Coare-Otuhuu argues convincingly that the factors governing the deploynent of colonial troops were thet a soldier should be of a different ‘aco! frea the people of the arca in which he is deplc-e that ho should be gvograhicelly distant from the people into which he ie dopleyed and tnat he should be of a aigfercnt religious faith froa the population "to which ho is pusted. the British tried as much as possible to look for soldiers who fulfilled sue or all of the above criteria, As a natter of policy colonial armies in africa wore recruited froa ‘reaote! ‘tribes detached and even hustile to tribes contral to the colonies. tn Ghana, for exemple, 60% uf theaoe colonial amy at the tise of independente ha to be recruited froa the northern agtionalities, In Nigeria, the Hansa dowineted the cvlonial emay and in Sierra ‘Hoone, At wae the northorn Kerantos, the Nandineos, the ule and the Linbe.?> hess tribes were also largely oslea, the religion preferred in the african colonial forces. Tn Wanda the Nubians wore ranked first in the order of preference because thuy wore an entirely alien ereenazy eleuent who 4id not have any sentiuental . attachuent to Uganda and would be trusted to be bestaal without any reserve or eompuctivn. They more alec noe slone which ensured thet they ruseined safe frm tne virus of vesternisation, a virus which was cultured through the agency of obristiscity. At the ond of the 19th century (2897) the Nubians u.noud thonselves up through the 'Sadanoge xutiny', a sutiny whica becane the most serious threat to the esta~ blishnent of colonial rule in Usande the British hed faced yet. The Bayanda and the Indiane wore called in to rescue tho Union Jack." ho Nubians never quite povovercd their ground w.thin the colonial eny and it was not until the overthrow of the first Obote regine An 1971 that they recovered their douinsnt position within thy amwed forees. By 1914 the Aonold had yained the scendancy; Onara-Dtunnu observes, "the largest contigent (of suldiere) was recruited from the north, cepecielly frus the people of acholi and by 1924 achvli-10- had booone the main recruiting ground for tho K.A+Re (Kings african Rifles) @ pattern which continued well anto the postcolonial peraodt,”? onara-Otunna argues that it wee not tin warticl race concept that guided ‘tho British into recruiting keholi; the Acholi were the ones who offered lenst resistance to the establichuent of British rule, we further notes: phe Acholi vere preferred to the Bugands Decaue of thoir puliticel aispocition. Having becu exposed to British rule for Tengen, the Bagunda were fauiliar with the Brition and wore hore asgarvive of their interection with thea. whereas the Baganca were percieved by British nilstary offioore to be arrogant and Gh-subordinete, It was hoped thot the Aoheli muald bo nore ansnable to the Suthoraty of the British. Ths Ackold sere gies preferred beseies tay oad Gaal poittical and am SS SS (caphasis edasa) It 4s not true that the acholi offervd tho least resistance tu the estcblishoont of cvlonial rule. Bo- tween 1911 and 1922 the Lawogi people of achold rebelled against the Britioh and cunsideratle rseouree: Aeployed by the British tu put’ down this rebellion, A Lot of ive wore lost asonget the Lanogi.!? gnat ondes red the British and to northerners in general was their runotenoas frou the cantze of the country, their relative lack of the trappings of w era civilization and their rather single polities) and uilitary organisativnal Dbackgrounde, Around these factors was woven the uythof the marti] races of the north, a nyth which pro- spered éuring the colonial period and until January 1986 when tho reanants of the Kings! African Rifles wore at 2a Griven fren power in Kaapale, So power fui was tho nyth that the northerners believed that they wore the only unce who had becn divinely ordained to Year amis in Uganda while the ret believed that ‘they were incepable of bearing thes. ‘the colonial amy reuainly largely inviesble, Since independence ,in 2962, ans specially after the 1964 watiny of the Usanda Army the amy beoase very vieible and a key institution in the political life of the country, soldiers have neintained that vieibi- Lity and inportande up to ta-ay, This key inotitu- tion wae neither netional nor nationalist and given ‘the above background, it coulé not have been expected to have beon go. 4 lot of internal conflict leading to virtusl genocide in sue parts of Uganda in the Anetitution of the postcolonial period wae built on ‘the Brstish foundations of resoteneas and hostility to people in tue centre of the countzy, coloninliss built up the amy ao an instrusent of ecereion, as a pacifzing aray and not as a peoples! force to cater for their defence a ‘net externa) aggression, Until recently the aray in Uganda was an instrument of inter nal coereion, It could not be trully national because-32- ‘cme Ugendans wore not thought or meant to have the precious sartial qualitive which the Britieh had attri- batéa to Ugendans of northern origin, This concept beautifully fitted obote and sin. Both were northernere who clearly appreciated tho political advantages of having amics where they had a close Linguistic end cultural Link, So confident wae Gbote about thie Linkage that in the caupaigns leading to the gencral election of December 1980 he could ack his rivals, the leaders of the other political parti ‘no happened to ‘cone frou the south and west of the country, where ‘their amy wae and if they aid not have thou , he asked ‘then how they hoped to take power. To Obote, with nis ethnic amy in place, the ballot wae irrelevant. For sone twenty four y of Uganda's independence the hogenony cf the north was uade possible ty the faithful persuit of colonial policies in the recruituent and Geploysent of the amay aud by ectuelly reteining K-A.Rs veterano of the evlonial era, veterans who had only Littie or no education at all, as the ailitery leaders, It is no coincidence at all thet all the defeated ari and fections of aries fron the Anin coup aletart of 1y7L to the debacle of the Okellos in January 1986 have re- tired to the north and beyond into the southern Sudan and northeastern Zaire to take refugee anongst their relatives land St ie no cosneidence that arsed opposition to the National Resistance Novenent government is froa the north.“ne ‘This ie one of the ost bitter legacies of cvlonislisa. Pron the triuaph of conquest the British moved on ‘to the next Logical stage requisite to the consolidation of power, naively to adzinistration. A dual eyeten was devised, that of native authorities and a central ad Binistration. In the dceain of native edzinistrations ‘tho bounderios of the native authorities were delineated, wherever possible, along ethnic Lines. So that with @ fow exceptions of the districts of west Nile, Bugiou, Boke i, Toro and Kigoti whore the ethnic units were not considered viable enough for each of then to fora e @istrict, in the rest of Usanda native authorities coincided with ethnic boundaries, thie ethnic dei- neation of adwinistrativo buundaries aid not enange oven after independence. To accuspany the ethnic delineation of boundaries was the indirvet rule policy which w introduced by Lugard, first in northern Nigeria but which, in tine, cane to enbrace the wnole of Brition Africa, conen vbser= yes that the policy of indizect rule developed as result of local initiative without the poliey being eid down fron London and that it wae not until the 19308 that the Colonial Office beyan to encourage the persuit of such @ policy. phat great historian of British Africa, M. Portion found merit in the poliey of indirect rule because it broke the shock of western annexation,- ue econcmicel, kept the peace and induced a eyapathetic inquiring attitude in colonial officials towards african soctety.2? nis policy of indinect rule held centre stage in the field of administration and politics in Uganda until tne late 19409 when in a deepaten to the eclonies the culonial Secretary Creeeli-Jones in 1947 enurciated & new policy on local governsent eiwed at converting the eyeten of indirect mule into e deuo- cratic efficient and uvdem syoten of local govern- mont. It 49 this dospaten which led tv the enact nent of the Local Goverment Ordinance in 1949. This ordinance gave legal and corporete powers and res- poneibilities to the district councils end introguced the elective principle within local adainistrations. The ordinance, however, did not apply to Bugandas On anelysing the ordinence Burke reaches the conclusion ‘thet Yas the administrative districts (including king- dons) generally coincided with tribal residence, the 2949 ordinance in effect provided for the institu- ionisation of parochial tribally oriented loce) governentor,?) Within the dooaan of antive adsinistrations Bugands was governed by the Uganda Ayreenent of 1900 and the rest of Uganda by the Native authority Ordinance of 1919, a constitutional arrangesent which emphasized the aivi- sion between Bugands and the rest of the country.-35- Although Buganda was legelly just another province of Ueands and although the agreement, as noted earlier, ound the British crown et ite pleasure and was not justifieble, Tbingira observes that agreeuents with African rulere were for politics) rei lone strictly ‘dhered to by the British rulers who departed from ‘then only in rere cages when it sesued in the best interests of peace, gcod goverment or inperial autho- rity to do 20,2 Many historians of Busande euphaeise the snportance of the agreeuent in creating the distance between Buganda and the rest of the country. Morris argues thet: "the Kingdon of Buganda stood in a coapletely different position fro the rst of the countzy, In Bugsnda there existed wast aay conveniently, if not accurately, be tommud a native state, whose relationehip with the Protectorate Governsent was defined in considerable detail by the terus of the Agreeuent of 1900",°% In a book published thie year Guara-Otunns asserte: ‘the agrecnent ensured for then (the Baganda) a previle~ g08 status viowvie the rest of Ugands, thereby fegu- Larising and fostering imqualities between Buganda and 2 $0 whether or the other provinces of the country. not Buganda's agreesent gave Duganéa a epeciel and pre- vileged position in Uganda that is what botn the Bagande fend non-Baganda believed. The British encouraged this belief although legally Buganda was just another provinceease of Usanda. This conestutsonal division wade the unity of Uganda extremely difficult t0 achieve and was potenticah? cause of confilot in indoyendent Uganda. Indirect rule operated within the frasework of the ganda Agreenent and the Native Authority Ordinance, Porhaps Pratt's definition of indirect rule ie 9 geod avery. He eays thet by indirect rule ie veant the appointuent of tribal chiefe an agents of Local rule the uso in local goverment of those nen whos: ‘the people wore accustoued to obey.*7 In Uganda, despite ‘the claine to the contrary, classical indirect rule was practiocd by Lugard in northorn Nigeria could not be applied to tne whole of Usenda and "indirect rule" was inposed wholesale on the atouistic svcietios of ‘the yt and north of Uganda where the search for the traditional authoritie proved to be on uphill task. Buganda hed a highly centralised and hierarchical syeten of traditional adwinietration, Although the ‘nonarehy had becose seriously enasculated by 1900, the rest of the traditional aduinistration still held, It was @ oyoten much adaired by the Britioh. So the'Kiganda model! of adsiniotration was exported to the rest of Ugands. The node was acconpanied by experts, fron Bugenda, the agente who iaposed it wherever the British estatlished a civilian adwinietration, This imposition of the ‘kigenda mode! wont againet the grain of classical indirect rule<9 Throughout the colonial period, governsont meant local administration to most people, the protectorate adainistration at Entebbe remained reuote and the people largely uninvolved in it, To most people the protectorate adninistration was a whitenant affair, It remained mysterious and was deliberately mystified by tho colonial adnimietratre, It ie true thet the people, from tine to fine saw the District com:issioner on barazs That was the inst to wich protectorate adzinietration stretched itself in most case! The daily and basic concoms of the ordinary people wore ‘taken care of ty the local or native adninistrations, Very few people looked beyond their local adeinistra- tone either to the other local administrations or to the protectorate adminietration and those woo aid were looked upon as trouble ashore ty the protectorate adninistretion, During the inter-nar period British colonial policy makers began to think avout tne future of their colonies. They envisaged the possibility of governsent within the British coasonvealth for their ae colonies bat at sone ronote future not yet on the hori~ son and they believed that they had almost unlisited ‘time in which to work on the politicel development of te natin Indeed whore solf-governsent was mentioned ai all it wes casually presented ae the end product of infirect ru‘e, Even when the British bogan to envisage=a - 1f-governsent in thé remote future they continued ‘to regard Uganda nerely a6 an adsinistrative unit and never in tome of @ nation. Pooples' participation in or the creation of nations) institutions were not encouraged, Por exa- ple, in 1922 there was a suggestion thet en African Gentrel Aesoably should be forned to provide #11 the natives of Ugenda with a single politics! forun but ‘this suggestion was vetoed by the Governor. Again in 1925 the Govemor vetoed a necting proposed for the leaders of Bugends, Bunyoro, Busoge and Tore. when both the Legislative and Executive Councils were cata blished by Ordexin-counctl in 1920, the Legislative Couneit becane @ planters! end werehants' forun for ‘the chaupiuning of European and Africen political and econcuie interests. Africans did not gain access to the Legislative counesi untii 1944 and to tho Excouti- ye Counosi untsi the early 1950, Representative institutions were opgosed ty inper= jalisu and the basie of the colonial state was auto- ceracy. How could a legacy of autocracy translate into dezocracy overnight once independence was granted? It was foared that representative institutions may divers ‘the attention of the educsted Africans away froa their ‘tribal institutions and bring these éetribelized Africans utc provinunee. __‘Tuperialies also sade the falee elain ‘that the educated Africans wore unrepresentative and-a ‘more importantly that they would be leas anenable to official guidance than the native adsinistration chiefe, British policies, both dinctly and indirectly favoured and aided the continuation of tribel loyalties and blocked the dovslopuent of oupra-tribad Links and the participation of africans in centralising or nationalieing inotitations, Natives Like Kulubya wore the fevourite children of imperialien because they wont along beautifully with their mactere whon it oaue to preventing Ugenda fron becouing a nation. As) 4 why he was opposed to reprose~ tation in the Legislative Council, Kulubye answored that; "IE we get a reprosontative in the Legselatsve counei? At Sw quite poseible that with one or two representatives ‘thet he will be outvoted... by the majority and when he hoo boon outvoted in that way it wilt be aiffioult for tus to open tho Guustions because we have our represents ative therot33 (euphacie added). clearly Kulubya was ‘thinking in the narrow temas of Buganda; the we and the outvoting was within the Bugunda context, Those re presentatives were not coneieved to persue the interests of Uganda but thove of Buyanda. It is thet thinking that Girectly lead to the resection of direct elections in Buganda, to the advocacy of electoral college status for ‘the Lukiiko in the 1962 elections, to the foruation of Kabaka yokks to act as a power broker in the National Aeooably and ultiantely to the deoveration of mute Kingdoa in 1966.34 me- 2m ‘Tho nature end shapo of Solf-governing Uganda exer- cised “the minds of colonial policy makers during the world war, Tho foruct We pereievea in tore of a loose federition of indeyendent netive states, in an assendly of native authority delegetes to stand alongside the Legislative council which would eventually hive powers endo status equal to it, in temas of regional councils of native autnority end urban representatives te which eventually ido delegations of power would be given and also in tems of a central esseably whose uenbors would bo arewn from the native authoritios."° qt thie junot- ture netropelitan institutions were deeued unsuitable for ‘the politicelly primitive evlonies euch as Usenda was. And yet at indspondence we wre bequeathed the west~ minister nodelt As noted earlior, creech-Jonos, Colonial Secretary, issued @ new locel government policy in a despatch to ‘the yovurnors in 1947, This nw policy mus intended to offer the pegsibility of building a foundation of local Aenoeracy on which the structure of perliaucntary governucnt wie, hopefully, to be based. In Uganda the deepateh was translated into the Luce) Goverment Ondi~ nance of 1949. his ordinanoe did not apply to Bugenda at all and it wee rejected in suveral cther places ae wei1.5® go the new policy wae nut the denooratioing agent 1t wae concieved to be and was superceded by the-2- District couneiie (District dsinietrations) Ordinance of 1955 whore the district councile euerged as the loca authorities in chorge of a variety of local services and with an increased access % finance to ‘take on the serviccs.?7 the new style local admini- strationsepamed local noteables who represented their respective largely ethnically hosogeneous districts in the Legislative council, aany of the peddled enti- colonialist slogans but they were by no neane nationale dete having Uganda-wide ccneoiousness or appeal. ‘They reprosented the narrow interests of their districts ‘and not those of Uganda as a whole. obote, for 6: uple, who becaue Prize Minister of Ugunda in April 1962, could, as late as 1960,accept the chairmanship of the Lango District council! this is the Kind of politician that the colonial policies of indirect rule and parochislisn had helped create. Once the anti- colonialist rhetoric was over would these brand of politiciane be avle to forge @ nation or would they use the cuntral goverment bequeathed by impericl- isa to advance parochial interests tu which they were acoustosed during the ovlonial period? It ie signi- ficant than an insignificant nuber of politicians stood outside thear tribal arvas of origin for elect- ions either before or after independence. © In the 1950s the British persued a contradictory policy in Uganda. Cuhen telle us that the policy wae fon the one hand to build up central institutions,- me nanely the executive and the legislative and on the other to build up the political and social institutions of ach part of the country. In Buganda thie neant the wiving of the Lukiiko an clected aajority end the Buganda Governcent a minieterial systen of ite om and in the rest of the country an increa: 4 elected elenent in ‘the district couneile. How could both central and Jooal Anetitutions be strengthoned concurrently? was not iaperiadiea setting the two on a corrison sourse? In the perouit of this policy the Bugands agrvenent of 1955 virtually ervated a state within the state eitua- ‘tion for which Uyanda hae had to pay in considereble biocay3? purko!e, rosarke on the development of local governnent in the 19508 ie instructive, He says: ‘Weal governsent in Uganda had develo ‘od inthe shadiw “ofthe ‘Uganda agrees ‘Tho dua dcovereign statue of thie Winggea encourged the aualler and ieee. powerful sumazeniee te aoauire aigtuar statue, ‘ho prestige, ‘coresony ana opeoial provitogee surrounding. the ingen guvernaenterin tury evloma the dewelopsont of loca) guvermbent through Gor the remainder of the country, Not Sly were British againietratsre’accusto- ed’ so thinking, sn temas. of apecta prior conoultatien, hereditary BGe'tne deadore of’ the nowy Ehergent huneaonarohieal Gietricto wor Gvick to custate the kingdons and t~ cana’ oiitler greroghtives for thaswe2ven, Tooe in contrast to Kenya. and Zangarya {ocaa governuont in Ugagga evolves tn s guasi-foderal aiziews* 40 In the fret your of Usunda'e independence (1952-53) ost of the nunaonarehiea) districts appuinted, their Aietrict cunstitutional huads and districts coupeted with~B- Gach other in théir inegination to invent inpressive tities for ‘their cunetitutional neade.#! Each aiegrict decane a mini-otate with ite oonetitutional non-horedi- ‘tory monéreh, This was the quasi~federal milieu and yet Uganda was not © federal state. The 1962 independ ‘once constitution mas a composite ono coneicting of ele- nents of unitaries, federetion and soni-federalioa, not the baeie for a successful forging of a pexceful fond united nation, the contradicbsy policies refer red to varlior perouod by tho great reforwr Sir Andrew Cohen, unintended by his, were to lead to tne constitun ‘tional erises of the 1960s, erises that were noderated by the enord. If sir andrew nad been lees tinid he would have seized the opportunity offered by the de— portation of Seekabaka Muteas II, in 1953, to supose @ unitary ayoten on Sunnde across tho boerd and he was enclined towards unitarisa. Instead cohen and hie less nble successors at Entebbe allowed cvnstitutional develo- puent to drift helplessly without any reel guidance or indeed policy. In order to nuddie through the co- netitutional jungle of tho 19508 end early 1960s prior ‘to independence the British appointed ooasission after constitutional cunaiseion in order to buy tine, tine ‘to jettioon the colony and sot it adrift after a dooont periud of constitutional development confusion. *? The fsa — problec wae thet the British neither @ared to agree nor to disagree with Buyanda. Theyeuuply uuadled through the: cunetitutional problene with a9 buch @issiuulation as only the British cam auster, The constitution waich the BEitish bequeathed ‘to Uganda at independence was @ rea) disaster, It is true tnat africans wore brought into the Legislative Council at a recevnable pace in the 19508 it Le true that cuhen prusised direct elections by 1961 and apwinted the firet african winieters tu his Executive Council in 1955. It is elev true that in 1958 sue aeubere of the Legislative council were Girectly eleated by the peuple for tno first tine in the biotory of Uganda, Karanoja, Bugiu, ankole and Buganda were nut part of thi exercise - a eize~ fable chanck of the country. In the 2961 general elections the Mengy establishnt nancuvered Buzenda into alacst coupletely boycotting the pu12.3 Uyanda had very Lite experience in the uponation of the parlinventary deuveratic aysten and nost of Uganda! s leaders joined the Legislative cuuneil, ‘for the first Yige, in 1962, on thy eve uf independence. Sunehom, with thio preparation the British expected vur leaders, without any experience behind then, to operate tne Westoinieter uvdel euccesafully! Besides, colonial rogulatione had prevented civil servants froa part Seipation in pulities ou that, in the asin, politics attructed people who wer uncuployed or uneaployable. ‘Ae Professor Ingo Von Kunch observe, ‘pulitioiane ion are @ great misfortune: without a proft-a- ‘That was Uganda's aisfcrtano at independence becaues political practices iaprted witnuut modification frap the eetrpolie were dapssed in the cvlunies. ‘These type of politicians locked for scourity of tenure in puliticel posts. So how could they have boon denveratically nauvved? Daring the colonial perivd very Little effort as nade tu train africanefur reapunsibilitios in ‘the civil service, Although sone three ainisters were appointed by Cohen in 1955, there were very few soniur African civil servants, Pur exauple the first Assistant District commis Jonere were not appvinted until 1958 end there was no Africansperenent secre- tary until after independence, Pratt nad this to say on the aatter, “there were oti21 no Africans in ‘the provinesal aduinietraticn in responsable pusitions. In 1951, for exenple, only five Africans had senior posts in the Protectorate departuents, there wed therefure, in these eruciel years no serivus efforts ede to baild tae inetitutione and to train the non for the eclf-governuent that «wuld cuse far svoner ‘than imtebbe dered adait.f rt is clear that ‘the Britien intended to retain reidual reeponsibi- Lities tn Usands, Pais wt 8 uteroadiny of post ovlonial nationalion. Ugendans hed no contun language and sti] have no couaun language in which to cumonicate te one anotherme ‘and how oan a people whw cannut eumunieate ty une another really becuse united? In the interwar perivd there ware attenpts by ‘the cclonial governunt to introduce Kiswahili in the ‘school curriculus and betwon 1430 end 1943 the teaching cf Kiowahili was enforced in prineries three and fur vateide Buganda but after thet the pulley was te oub- ordinate verneculars (and that apparently included Kiowahi2i) to englich. at a cunference on language eduoution policy in 1945 it wae decided that, "the developuent of a Lingua france has very Little cunnec- tion with inedinte expediency, boing yentially cu novrnvd with enduring valuse and hence with @ ponotra- ‘tion which, however gradual, shall steadily beeoue cu-extunsive with the ovuntry".4° Applying these erste rie neither Kiswahili nur Loyenda nor any other 'r0~ sainder' had adaiscable class, The policy was there= Torw, tw cnevurage ongiien and xiewanaii wae abandoned. Kiswahili was seen by thy christian Jeadurship, which wae vory influcntinl during the evlunial perica, ae the Language vf Isla and they disovuraged it. fo the Bu wanda cunsorvativee Kiswahili wae even a the languages of prostitutes and thivves, Xiewahili was uaintain 4 An tho culoniel any and after independence Kiswahili acquired nuturiety as tho Language of violence, In spite of @ culonial language policy intent on the prouution of english, thruughuut the cvlonial-3- period english’ was only taught fron the upper prinary elesscs onwarde and by the tine aust Usundans ended ‘their furual education (priaary six) they nurcelly hud had only two years of english and never really learnt the language to have been able to conuunicate effectiwiy. sv, unlike Tanganyika and Kenya, Usandens, because of what happened tu kiewahili in 1945 cannot yot cosaunicate to each otner across the beard. This ie a sorivus inpedioont te unity, again a Iseacy uf evlonial bungling. colonies were basically lucked upon of raw neterials needed to feed the industries of ‘their onners and as uorkets fur their nanufactures. ‘The colunial covnustes were, tnerefore, geared to this baci function and nut tu tne dewlossent of the ect nonies and pevples in the ovlunivs, The little de- velupaent thet did take place mae incidental to the The infra basic fuucticns of structure that was devolved was designed to feci2i- tate the suvenente of raw asterials fron the evlonies fand the eveial infrastructure was largely developed by non-guvormisntel ongenisaticns but mainly atesion aries. Cohen tells us that, "there was sore waphasis pat on the protection of African suciety than on helping Africans tu develop and this upinion perva- aca the colonial officer? he ovrner-stene of Gindsten's finance principles was self-sufficiency-~- and sclf-oufficivncy wae the policy which guided the colonial aduinistrationa fur avet of the evlunial, period, Grante-in-aid wore grudgingly given by the British treesory and then only in cases of extreae difficulty, Deficit financing wae nct allowed at all. Uganda wae considered tu be etlf-susficient in 1925 and grante-in-aid fron tho British treasury wore etupped, thie policy was acdifie sonenow at ‘the beginning of the Second World war, when through ‘the Ovlonial Develupuent and Welfare Acts, British honey wae wade availcple turugh the Cvlonial Deve- Lopuent Curpuratien fur sveal and eounvaicsl dever Lopsont. the anounts were suall and had cuae late. In 1903 culonialien found a raw naterial thet Uganda oculd pruducc - ovtton tu which the peasants Literally becaue slaves, King outtun and plantation rubber, cvevs and later coffee divided the cuuntey Ante "productive" and "non-pruductive runes, runes > Uf producticn and labvur recruntuent respectively. hie divioivn of Uganda inty tw. weuncnic zunve had dengervus pulitical and sveial ravificatiuns. Cotten was {iret introduced inte Buganda end ‘thon into the Hesturn province cainly because of caslar comunicaticns ~ water and rail tranepurt boing aveiluble. burcywan planters alec establioned ‘their pluntations ueinly in Buganda, Banyory and-n- Busoga, again mainly for th of cvauunioaticns. » therefure, in British colonial officielaus becaue the "productive" aunes and the rest of the cuuntry, the nurth and the weat, the, *non-prduet~ ive" gune by the carly 19208, hire was a delibe- rate pulicy of hulding back agricultural develupuent of the "nun-produetive” une. In 1925 the Director of Agriculture wiv wae mvt yet amare of tnis pelicy or had overlked it started encvuraging cotton pro~ duction in get nile but cartiy warned by the chief Secretary thet "tho pulioy of goverment te et present to refrain fru actively stinulating the priduction of cotten or vthor econsaie erepe in out Liying districts on waien it to dependant fur a eu pply of labuur ror the carrying oat of essential services in the central producing aistricte.48 ‘hie policy had the effect vf keeping the *nun-prow Gactiven sone underdeveluped veccuse ust the able bodied wen inigrated tu the "productive" gone tu lebuur in the ovtton fields and in the rubber, ceffee and ccoos plantations. It also enclucated inferiority and suyerivrity cuaplexos azongst Usandane clong tno *non-productive"/*preductiver eunee axis ‘The Orusby-Gure Cuasission warned: ghen auvng such peuple as the Bogcnda ‘and Basvae, labvarcre were introduced (the caso ffua tribee cunsidered inferior fnnd who worked under eunditions whieh ho Baganén end the Basuga could not ‘theusedves accept the iniwrtended to fee) that unskilled uanual Jabuur was a'for of suplayuent euitaole only for~3e- inferior tribes. there war yen" a danger that ‘tho qut— in wight tp eine becuse. oie of tonate! 89) 80, culunial vounouie policy had helpa bring about a polarisr on auonget Uganéane and ma in- advertently encouraged "developuent in the ‘predue~ tiver 2une and ty the eaue token prevented develo- uont in the *nun-prvductiver gone, unfortuna‘ely the colonial ecunwie structures are etill-with ue and ‘thore hae been very Little effort uade eines intepe= dence tu take dovelvment ty the *nun-productiven zone especially tv the nurth of tne country, the enthusiags with which the destruction of property me undertaken in the Luvero Triangle wae a logical ov clusion to the coluniel econvaie policies, the ty: were evening scores, Since there wore no raw nateriale to oxtract frou ‘the "non-proguctive ane there was aléo no neod ‘to develop infrastructure and there was therefore total neglect of this zone. the eccnvate suning of the coungry ie perhaps the moot terrivle legacy of Britieh taporialisi which wae to Snvariaoly lead to conflict in the ebsunce of a vigurvus vounouie plan for the *nun-preductive" aune after independenet do have boon inuspendunt fur eluvet a quarter of ‘2 contury and we cannvt indefinitely continue te harungue the inyerialiste fur the chaos t! obtains in vur cvuntry, If the will ie there, we cau bogin to build viable pulitical cunusic and svcial insti-aS tutions but in this effort thore will not be auch to ‘tho weotus- learn frum our forwer evlonial aaste: nister node ie not cay to replicate. It will nut bo ensy to replicate the coununie revolutions that tam- 62 British inte an induetrieliazed svoiety ; we hove ‘to establich our oun pothe tv puiitical social and econonic develupuunt but abeve all we have tu reue~ ber that we ae Ugsadane neve une destiny and that we shall riso or sink toyether,a a a rn 6 20. a a2. a3. For a detailed survey of the Linguistic ovuplexity of Uganda, see, Ladefvged, Glick and Criper, Language in Uganda, Part f, (Nairubi: Oxfvrd Univer aie ny D.R. Pain, gens24 ang Nubians: yeuncute ‘Pores gnd uilitary Explvyoent, pp. 25-36; in CaP. Dodge otyaly ‘Beyond crisie; Scoial Devel SER GnUganas.Proceedines Of 8 UNICER/iaieeeke UNIVERSITY Seuinary veya Loage, 12%-8th, keri, 1986, HoH, Johnston, ‘The Uganda Prewoterate, Vel. iy A heogs etenianet ions Huteninesn & Cus 3962) ‘pp.237-3. As Ruborte, “the Sub-inoeriehian of the qgnaety dutrnal of african ister) WotstITy Words 1962, Beg ke P.G. Powesiand, eounvate Puliey and Labuury (east african Sesdice No-id, Keupala: E4188, 1397) P- For a couprehensive study uf thy agrecnent, pee, JV. Wild, ‘The Story cf the Uushee aares- Prose, 1950). TAB. Kabwegyere, ‘Tho Polities cf state Puma Fin fiw fates enaeiiecte ‘Sf C.tvptatias inUeeniay ‘{horroie vast african Titers Sure Bureau, 1974), p27. Hu. Johnston, ‘The Uganda Protectunete Bare Quoted in 6,5.K, Ibingira, The Purging of an Siricen hatiog (new YeoreyRenpatar Viking ane Vean ‘Pibiabing woaoe 373) 0° Peds Did, PP14HI5. Gavted in D.R. Pain, "acheli and the Nubiansy..." Pe Hy Moyoo-Bartictt, Tho Kina'e African giflee ee Pie big,ue Un 6 an 28. 1. a. 2 Be WoF. Gutteridge, Military and police furces in Colonial Africa", in Latl.cann fend P,Dudgnan, cllonialien in Hissea, 1870-1980; ob 27-287 oid, 288. Por a detailed study of tho autiny oce,d.v.wildy he Sudanooo Mutiny, (Naireb}; The Zagle Prose 1950) ‘A.Onera-Otunna, Politics and the military in Kiggeaacpanaone eos p Chendonr Waeaitiay 7 B43 pire AB, Adinola, ‘| "Phe Lenogi Rebe2ivn 192-22", Uganda Seared, veiiBy 10.2, ‘A2L the amy ovmandere thet Uganda hod between Sndepundoncs and January 1986, Oper, Jatnyannd. ito, OkOLIO were Kal Veruronh who Guinea, ¢ in-éhe Bettiah boltey tn chensing atrin Paul, 1959), Ps 2 M.Perhan, ho Colonial Reckoning (Hew YorRy ArFeGAsRHOpE; 1962), Ps 68 P.G. Burke, Loca) Goveraent ond polit: ‘rUganae Tayraswse;~ symaouse TaTVereity Prose, 1964), pe39- 6.5K. qbingira, he yorging uf on Afrigen Nation Foes ee aes W.P, Norrie and Read, Indirect quie and the gonrch faa Yastioe(Loncch; store Unive ‘prose, 1972) p. 27. ‘As Ouare-Otunns, polities end the Wi2ite > A.c. Pratt, "Be Bsties of indirect 8 = oa One wc. Bratt, Buginda aba Britien ovar- ale, aBOieteoe repeat ontoes RIWSFEIWY PPeBs, 1960), D163.-%- N.vavigne, the xyanyangire, 1907: Ps Revolt against British Over wale in BoA. Ogct (0a), War and Seo! 45 Bete feet (oe) tare fetes 3972), pp-d73-24. 2. FG. Buri, Local Goverment...) Ps 233+ 30. For a pore detested e¥udy of the uuvesente; gee 2, wha, "The Origin and Develo- Paent of tho Rvenzurara Moveuent, 3900-2962, Mawazo vol.5, Nos?) Decouber, 1983, pp.60-75. 31, Barazae were open air nestings called ty ‘ctlonial ‘Sdsinioteations to Lie tn to grievances end provleas. 32, the firet Africans te be appointed to the Executive Councii in 1952, wore Mukasa and Kulubya end to. tho Legislative Council in 1945, Kevalye-Kegewa, Zirabanuzasle and Nyangetyakl. 33. Report of tho Joint select coupittee on Closer Union, BPE OE Ne Oe ee ay Te 34, Obote unilaterally aburogated the 1962 independence constitution and replaced it with Bie own constitution, in which ho Made hiusclf exsoutive president Gnd roscved the feazral statue of Buganda and the soaicfederel Stetust of the western Kinadon, aking Uganda e'unitary state, 35+ Those views are nininiood in R.c. Pratt, "the Politics Of Indirect Rule". +y ps278. 36. Busoya and Bunyuro did not welevae thie urdinance, 31. Por e sore detailed account of the Legislation bee CvA.G. Walia, fopurt cf an Tngalzy into afeicen-Loset Govern ‘Gort in-the protectorate oF Uranaa, 3B. J. Kakunge etvod in the Bast iengo constituency of Buganéa and not in nie native Bu Byers and vas returned in: the payee coauee that cunstituency wae fod by the Lugae! Sugar ‘whofe the werkere Who wore ‘Sho Guasnant wtera were not oF Aesal Celgle, “Dauds"Ochiong, oe 3,60, Soe at tonad:aeanseiy tn ASo8'o0'a fatain Yoke oaber-3- for althvugh ho was not a ‘uganda ho was © great friend vf seckabaka nuteea “11. 39. Between 1964 and 1965, starting win the Naku ‘Laoye ineiaent in waien Dellee opened tire ena ki2led Innocent peuple at a night clus, through tho large eeale Billings Bugenda cage follow ing the 190 ovnetitugicnal, chauges tv tne Luwre Triangle Genveige ve the 19808, tne Blvcdeletting in Bogedaa was ciivet endless 40. FG. Burke, Local Guvernuen +9 9.230 42, The Langi get a won-nyaci, the Sebei, the Kingvoy the ‘Baxige, the Autakirws, the Bu kod District, the seamulu end 42, The £viluwing reports were prvoueeas (4) gepurte of tho constitutional Gent Printer, 1359.) (44) sepert of the Ugenda gelen (Bebaeap pecassson,(eette: ‘overheat Prantery 1961). (332) gepart of he const ttuttgnad Fin neis2), 96). 43. Only 3% of tho potential ytere in Boganda rveiotered For'the pil in the 196) general lectin. 44. Quuted in the Geman tribune, No.275 3st may, 1987. 45. Rec. Pratt, 45. 6B, Kebweeyere, The Politics ur stato Puruatin...# ie eT the Pulitics uf Indirect fule...",p. 284. 47. As Cohen, British politics’ in Changing Africe,P.18-19. 48. Entebbe Scorotariate arenives, Sk? 6297 (v.e) paraara~ ‘phe 86'~ 84, 49. Heport of the gaot afrioan oye? cuasissiun cud EET Ie BTThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivs 3.0 Licence. To view a copy of the licence please see: http://creativecommons.orgilicenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/