Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Crises of Legitimacy and Political Violence in Colonial Uganda, 1890–1962

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Crisis of Legitimacy and Political Violence in Uganda, 1890 to 1979

Part of the book series: African Histories and Modernities ((AHAM))

  • 360 Accesses

Abstract

K.W. Grundy and M.A. Weinstein noted how imperialism normalizes and justifies political violence against the target population: Beyond the double-morality…is the idea that one’s own group has a civilizing mission with respect to other groups. This civilizing mission involves the notion that one’s own group has a duty to impose its normative order on other peoples....The view that some people have a civilizing mission became widespread in the nineteenth century as a justification for imperialism....The major justification of violence in the expansionist ideology is that it functions to facilitate the domination of a superior group over an inferior group.... In an expansionist’s ideology violence against the inferior is justified as a right and in some instances even the duty of the superior.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    K. W. Grundy and M. A. Weinstein, The Ideologies of Violence. Ohio: Charles E. Merill, 1974: 50–1.

  2. 2.

    R. Robinson and J. Gallagher, Africa and the Victorians: The Official Mind of Imperialism. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan Press, 1961: 198–202, 290–378, 465. See also, C. Cross, The Fall of the British Empire, 1918–1968. London: Hodder and Stroughton, 1968: 74; F. D. Lugard, The Rise of Our East African Empire: Early Efforts in Nyasaland and Uganda. Vol. I. London: Frank Cass, 1968: 480–484; M. de K. Hemphill, “The British Empire, 1884–94,” in R. Oliver and G. Mathew, eds., History of East Africa, vol. I. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963: 391–432; D. A. Low, “Uganda: The Establishment of the Protectorate, 1894–1919,” in V. Harlow and E. M. Chilver, eds. History of East Africa, vol. II. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965: 62.

  3. 3.

    A. G. Hopkins, “The Victorians and Africa: A Reconsideration of the Occupation of Egypt, 1882,” Journal of African History, 27 (1986): 363–391.

  4. 4.

    See, for a start, Lugard, The Rise of Our East African Empire: Early Efforts in Nyasaland and Uganda: 380–81; Mamdani, Politics and Class Formation in Uganda: 40; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 1; Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 15.

  5. 5.

    Lugard, The Rise of Our East African Empire: Early Efforts in Nyasaland and Uganda: 380–81. See also, Lugard, Ibid: viii, 318, 382, 398. The Times, London, June 2, 1892; J. D. Hargreaves, West Africa Partitioned. Vol. I. Madison, Wisc.: University of Wisconsin, 1974: 12.

  6. 6.

    Cited in Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 120.

  7. 7.

    Ibid: 120–124, provided a good analysis of how Britain, Germany and Belgium rivaled over Uganda. For other works that discussed how economic imperatives forced the imperial powers to partition and colonize Africa, see A. A. Boahen, ed., General History of Africa. London: James Currey (UNESCO), 1990: 14–15; African Perspective on Colonialism. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987: 32–39; J.M. Mackenze, The Partition of Africa, 1880–1900. London: Methuen, 1983: 27; W. Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Publishing House/London: Bogle-L’ Ouverture, 1972; Boahen, ed., General History of Africa: 10–14.

  8. 8.

    See, for a start, Mamdani, Politics and Class Formation in Uganda: 40; Karugire, A Political History: 53–54; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 1; Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 15; E. A. Brett, Colonialism and Underdevelopment in East Africa. London: Heinemann, 1974: 54.

  9. 9.

    Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 161–208. See also, Brett, Colonialism and Underdevelopment. 54.

  10. 10.

    See, for example, J. Rex, Race and Ethnicity. Stratford, England: Open University Press, 1986: 40; M. Mamdani, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University, 1996: 5–7; Boahen, ed. General History of Africa: 15; R. H. Jackson and C. G. Rosberg, “Sovereignty and Underdevelopment: Juridical Statehood in the African Crisis,” Journal of Modern African Studies, 24, 1 (1986): 5–6; A. D. Smith, State and Nation in the Third World. Sussex: Wheatsheaf Books, 1983: 26; Brett, Colonialism and Underdevelopment in East Africa: 37–52; Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident? : 5–15; Lugard, The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa: 69–70.

  11. 11.

    According to Smith, State and Nation in the Third World: 27, colonial regimes began their project by defining the territorial boundaries of the states because boundaries were the first of the identifying features of modern European states.

  12. 12.

    See Uganda Order in Council, 1902. Part II, in Uganda Protectorate, Despatch from the Governor of Uganda to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1956: 82–84, 92–96; Uganda Protectorate, Proceedings of the National Assembly. Part III. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1962: 578; Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 120–123; A. C. McEwen, International Boundaries of East Africa. London: Oxford University Press, 1971.

  13. 13.

    See Uganda Order in Council, 1902, in Uganda Protectorate, Despatch from the Governor of Uganda to the Secretary for Colonies: 82; McEwen, International Boundaries of East Africa: 231–40.

  14. 14.

    McEwen, International Boundaries of East Africa: 234, 241.

  15. 15.

    H. B. Thomas and A. B. Spencer, A History of Uganda Land and Surveys and of the Uganda Land and Survey Department. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1938: 34. See also, McEwen, International Boundaries of East Africa: 242.

  16. 16.

    McEwen, International Boundaries of East Africa: 240–248. See also, Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 56–67; “Extracts from Lt. Col. C. Delme-Radcliffe’s Typescript Diary Report on the Delimitation of the Anglo--German Boundary, Uganda, 1902–1904,” Uganda Journal, n.d.: 9–29; H. B. Thomas, “The Kagera Triangle and the Kagera Salient,” Uganda Journal, 31, 1 (March 1959): 73. Among the works that examined the nature and implications of colonial boundaries in Africa are S. Touval, The Boundary Politics of Independent Africa. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1972; C.G. Widstrand, ed. African Boundary Problems. Uppsala: African Institute of African Studies, 1969.

  17. 17.

    For a similar view about the effects of political violence, see League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Working with Refugee and Asylum Seekers. Geneva: League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 1991: 86–91; A. Zwi and A. Ugalde, “Towards an Epidemiology of Political Violence in the Third World,” Social Science Medical Journal, 28, 7 (1989): 633–42; M. Eisenbruch, “From Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to Cultural Bereavement: Diagnosis of Southeast Asian Refugees,” Social Science and Medicine, 33, 6 (1991): 673–680; E. Ehrensaft, “Culture in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” Transcultural Psychiatric Review, 4 (1995): 395–406; A. Dawes, C. Tredoux and A. Feinstein, “Political Violence in South Africa: Some Reflections on Children of the Violent Destruction of their Community,” International Journal of Mental Health, 18, 2 (1989): 16–43; E. Cairns and R. Wilson, “Mental Health Aspects of Political Violence in Northern Ireland,” International Journal Mental of Mental Health, 18, 2 (1989): 38–56; I. Martin-Baro, “Political Violence and War as Causes of Psychosocial Trauma in El Salvador,” International Journal Mental of Mental Health, 18, 2 (1989): 3–20; Gupta, The Economics of Political Violence; Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth: especially: 102–4.

  18. 18.

    S. Aaronovitch, Crisis in Kenya. London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1947: 24. See also, A. T. Matson, “Uganda’s old Eastern Province and East Africa’s Federal capital,” Uganda Journal, 22, 1 (March 1958): 43–53; M. S. Kiwanuka, “Colonial Policies and Administration in Africa: The Myths of the Contrasts,” African Historical Studies, III, 2 (1970): 302.

  19. 19.

    McEwen, International Boundaries of East Africa: 248–50, 252; Uganda Protectorate, Despatch from the Governor of Uganda to the Secretary for Colonies: 92–3.

  20. 20.

    See McEwen, International Boundaries of East Africa: 253–56. See also, G. Bennett, “The Eastern Boundary of Uganda in 1902,” Uganda Journal, 33, 1 (March 1959): 69–72; Matson, “Uganda’s old Eastern Province and East Africa’s Federal capital”: 43–53.

  21. 21.

    McEwen, International Boundaries of East Africa: 256–7.

  22. 22.

    Ibid: 257–64.

  23. 23.

    See Major C. H. Stigand, Equatorial: The Lado Enclave. London: Frank Cass, 1968: 2–3. See also, Stigand, Ibid: 230–234; Barber, “The Moving Frontier of British Imperialism in Northern Uganda”: 39–40.

  24. 24.

    J. Middleton, “Some Effects of Colonial Rule Among the Lugbara,” in V. Turner, ed., Colonialism in Africa. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971: 6.

  25. 25.

    Mzee A. Musa Lobidra, trader, 78 years, interview with author, Ajumani, West Nile, June 18, 1984. The observation made by Mzee Lobidra is part of a popular folklore in Uganda.

  26. 26.

    See Stigand, Equatorial: The Lado Enclave: 1–13; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 9–12, 26, 56–67, 70; Barber, “The Moving Frontier of British Imperialism in Northern Uganda, 1898–1919,”: 29, 39–40.

  27. 27.

    Jackson and Rosberg, “Sovereignty and Underdevelopment,”: 5–6.

  28. 28.

    See Mackenze, The Partition of Africa: 27; W. E. F. Ward, Emergent Africa: London: George Allen and Unwin, 1967: 65.

  29. 29.

    M. Perham and M. Bull, eds., The Diaries of Lugard. Volume Four. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1963: 36–45; Ward, Emergent Africa: 67.

  30. 30.

    R. Robinson, “Non-European Foundations of European Imperialism: Sketch for a Theory of Collaboration,” in R. Owen and B. Sutclife, eds., Studies in the Theory of Imperialism. London: Longman, 1980: 120–123, suggested the types of “collaborators” who were best suited for the colonial project.

  31. 31.

    See Perham and Bull, eds., The Diaries of Lugard. Volume Four: 18–19.

  32. 32.

    J. A. Rowe, Lugard at Kampala. Kampala: Longmans, 1969: 17.

  33. 33.

    J. R. L. Macdonald, Soldiering and Surveying in British East Africa, 1891–1894. London/New York: Edward Arnold, 1897: 90.

  34. 34.

    Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 118.

  35. 35.

    Sir F. Jackson, Early Days in East Africa. London: Edward Arnold, 1930: 260. See also, Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 122.

  36. 36.

    Sir C. Eliot, The East Africa Protectorate. London: Edward Arnold, 1905: 28.

  37. 37.

    Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 82; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 53,56, 90; Perham and Bull, eds., The Diaries of Lord Lugard, Volume Four: 15–26; Rowe, Lugard at Kampala: 1, 6, 23; Macdonald, Soldiering and Surveying in British East Africa, 1891–1894: 91; Lugard, The Rise of Our East African Empire. Vol. II. London: Frank Cass, 1968: 1–543.

  38. 38.

    Rutiba, Towards Peace in Uganda: 7.

  39. 39.

    Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 82; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 53, 90; Perham and Bull, eds., The Diaries of Lord Lugard, Volume Four: 15–26; Rowe, Lugard at Kampala: 1, 6, 23; Macdonald, Soldiering and Surveying in British East Africa: 91; Lugard, The Rise of Our East African Empire, Vol. II: 1–543.

  40. 40.

    Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 83–85; Hemphill, “The British Empire, 1884–94,” in Oliver and Mathew, ed. History of East Africa: 391–393.

  41. 41.

    See Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 67.

  42. 42.

    “Memorandum from Grants dated 12.9. 1897 and 14.9.1897,” cited in Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 70.

  43. 43.

    For the purpose of this work, unrestrained violence refers to violence which is overwhelmingly disproportionate to the level of actual, as opposed to perceived, threat. The underlying assumption is that the level of threat determines the level of regime violence and terror.

  44. 44.

    Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 70. Similar objectives are highlighted in many accounts including Macdonald, Soldering and Surveying in British East Africa: 296, 306; A. G. Boyle, Sub-Commissioner’s Office at Jinja, to H. M. Acting Commissioner, Entebbe, Memorandum, March 4, 1905. CO536/1; Punitive Operations, Entebbe, 25 October, 1905. CO536/3. For informative discussions on objectives and utility of political violence, see K. W. Grundy and M. A. Weinstein, The Ideologies of Violence. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merill, 1974: v, 14, 29–68; B. Woodward, “Moral Reasoning and Repressive Violence,” in M. Hoefnagels, ed., Repression and Repressive Violence. Amsterdam: Swets & Zeitinger, 1977: 14–16; J. J. Paust, “A Definitional Focus,” in Y. Alexander and S. M. Finger, eds., Terrorism: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York: The John Jay, 1977: 19–22.; T. D. Gurr, “The Political Origins of State Violence and Terror: A Theoretical Analysis,” in M. Stohl and G. A. Lopez, eds. Government Violence and Repression: An Agenda for Research. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1986: 45–70; Schelling, Arms and Influence: 9–34.

  45. 45.

    See Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 91, 95–96.

  46. 46.

    See Omara-Otunnu, Politics and the Military in Uganda: 222; Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 91, 95–96.

  47. 47.

    For informative works about the 1900 Agreement, see D.A. Low and R.C. Pratt, Buganda and British Overrule, 1900–1955. London: Oxford University Press, 1960: especially: 3–179; Low, The Mind of Buganda: Documents of the Modern History of an African Kingdom. London: Heinemann, 1971: 32–41; T.B. Kabwegyere, “Land and the Growth of Social Stratification in Uganda: A Sociological Interpretation,” in B.A. Ogot, ed., History and Social Change in East Africa. Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam: East African Literature Bureau, 1976: 118–120; A. D. Roberts, “The Sub-imperialism of the Baganda,” Journal of African History, III, 3 (1962): 435–450; M. Twaddle, Kakungulu: The Creation of Uganda, 1868–1928. London: James Currey, 1993: 173–4.

  48. 48.

    See Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Disturbances in Uganda During April, 1949. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1950; D. P. Ghai, “The Buganda Trade Boycott: A Study in Tribal, Political and Economic Nationalism,” in R. I. Rotberg and A. A. Mazrui, eds., Protest and Power in Black Africa. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970: 755–770; Sathyamurthy, The Political Development of Uganda: 300–21; G. F. Engholm and A. A. Mazrui, “Violent Constitutionalism in Uganda,” Government and Opposition, 2, 4 (July–October, 1967): 587–8; Uganda Protectorate, Proceedings of the National Assembly. Part II. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1962: 578; Uganda Government, Uganda Parliamentary Debated (Hansard), 1962–1963. Vol. I. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1963: 154–5.

  49. 49.

    See F.G. Burke, Local Government and Politics in Uganda. New York: Syracuse University Press, 1964: 13; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 11.

  50. 50.

    Low and Pratt, Buganda and the British Overrule, 1900–1955: 163,176. See also, N.U. Akapan, Epitaph to Indirect Rule: A Discourse on Local Government in Africa. London: Frank Cass, 1967: 13–45; P. E. Mitchell, “Indirect Rule,” Uganda Journal, 5, 1 (July 1936): 101–107. Mitchell later declared that this policy only existed in theory. The primary objectives of “indirect rule” were to reduce the severe crisis of legitimacy of the regime and control the financial cost of administering the colonial state.

  51. 51.

    P. E. Mitchell, “Native Administration: Note by the Governor, 1939,” cited in Sathyamurthy, The Political Development of Uganda: 339. See also, Kiwanuka, “Colonial Policies and Administration in Africa”: 299–303.

  52. 52.

    Cited in Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 85–86.

  53. 53.

    See G.N. Uzoigwe, “The Kyanyangire, 1907: Passive Revolt Against British Overrule,” in B.A. Ogot, ed., War and Society in Africa. London: Frank Cass, 1972: 190.

  54. 54.

    Ibid: 188.

  55. 55.

    Ibid: 179–214.

  56. 56.

    For the development of the myth about Buganda’s superiority and the myth about Buganda’s sub-imperialism, see, for example, Uzoigwe, Ibid: 188; M. Twaddle, “Ganda Receptivity to Change,” Journal of African History, XV, 2 (1974): 303–315. For a work that perpetuated the myth about Buganda’s sub-imperialism, see Roberts, “The Sub-imperialism of Buganda,” Journal of African History, III, 3 (1962): 435–450.

  57. 57.

    Burke, Local Government in Uganda: 35–36. See also, Roberts, “The Sub-Imperialism of the Baganda”: 435–450; Kiwanuka, “Colonial Policies and Administrators in Africa: The Myths and Contrasts,”: 295–315; Sathyamurthy, The Political Development of Uganda: 202–205, 251–254; Hailey, Native Administration in British African Territories. Part 1, East Africa: Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika. London: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, 1950: 27; Low and Pratt, Buganda and British Overrule, 1900–1955: 163–178; Twaddle, “Ganda Receptivity to Change”: 303–315.

  58. 58.

    See Macdonald, Soldering and Surveying in British East Africa: 296; Rutiba, Towards Peace in Uganda: 6; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 23.

  59. 59.

    A senior employee of the IBEAC, and later the Acting British Commissioner, Major J.R.L. Macdonald, made the following observation: “Since Lugard in the early days had refused Kabarega’s proffered friendship, that dusky potent had been our inveterate enemy, and had practically cast off the alliance he owed to his suzerain, Mwanga…. Having regard to the development and prosperity of Uganda, I could see that in no distant date Kabarega’s power must be broken and his prestige destroyed.” See Macdonald, Soldering and Surveying in British East Africa: 296. See also, Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 23; Beattie, Bunyoro: An African Kingdom: 21; Lugard, The Rise of Our East African Empire: Early Efforts in Nyasaland and Uganda. Vol. I. London: Frank Cass, 1968: 400.

  60. 60.

    See Macdonald, Soldering and Surveying in British East Africa: 296–300.

  61. 61.

    Macdonald, Ibid: 307–8. Macdonald declared that he intended to “overthrow Kabarega’s force, drive him from his capital, do as much damage to his power as possible, and then return to Uganda [Buganda], after giving our enemy due notice that the raid would be repeated if necessary unless he made peace, received a British agent and escort at his capital, opened his country to trade, and gave us a free and secure passage to Lake Albert.” See Ibid: 306.

  62. 62.

    See, for example, A.D. Roberts, “The “Lost Counties” of Bunyoro,” Uganda Journal, 25, 1 (March 1961): 194.

  63. 63.

    Macdonald, Soldiering and Surveying in British East Africa: 312. According to Omara-Otunnu, Politics and the Military in Uganda, 1890–1985: 17; Colvile’s division comprised some 16,135 Sudanese and Baganda. Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 89, suggested that a section of the troops sent against Kabalega consisted of “8 European officers, 2 maxim guns, one steel boat which was transported in sections, about 450 Sudanese troops and a vast number of Baganda rifle and spearmen variously estimated to be between 20 and 43 thousand strong.” See also, Beattie, Bunyoro: An African Kingdom: 21–22.

  64. 64.

    See Macdonald, Soldering and Surveying in British East Africa: 306–309. See also, A. R. Dunbar, “The British and Bunyoro Kitara, 1891–1899,” Uganda Journal, 23, 1 (March 1959): 229–241; Omara-Otunnu, Politics and the Military in Uganda, 1890–1985: 18; Beattie, Bunyoro: An African Kingdom: 16–22.

  65. 65.

    C. E. Welch, “Warrior, Rebel, Guerrilla and Putschist,” in A. A. Mazrui, ed., The Warrior Tradition in Modern Africa. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1977: 89.

  66. 66.

    Macdonald, Soldiering and Surveying in British East Africa: 306–309; Dunbar, “The British and Bunyoro Kitara, 1891–1899”: 229–241; Omara-Otunnu, Politics and the Military in Uganda: 18; Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 88–91; Beattie, Bunyoro: An African Kingdom: 16–22; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 70–1.

  67. 67.

    See A.G. Boyle, the Sub-Commissioner’s Office Jinja, to H.M. Acting Commissioner, Entebbe, Report, September 1, 1905. CO 536/3; Commissioner to Sub-Commissioner Jinja, Report, September 1, 1905. CO 536/3; L. H. Cubit, Acting Sub-Commissioner, to H. M. Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief, Entebbe, Report, October 17, 1905. CO 536/3; Punitive Operations, Entebbe, 25 October, 1905. CO 536/3; Entebbe to H. M. Secretary for Colonies, Report, 27 July, 1905. CO 536/2; Uganda Protectorate, Collective Punishment, No. 1 of 1909. CO 648/1; Uganda Protectorate, The Collective Punishment Amendment Ordinance, 1910, No. 17 of 1910. CO 648/1; Uganda Protectorate, No. 8 of 1920. An Ordinance Relating to the Prevention of Crime in Kigezi. CO 684/2; Uganda Protectorate, No. 7 of 1921. An Ordinance relating to Witchcraft. CO 684/2; Rutiba, Towards Peace in Uganda: 10; Raids and Punitive Expeditions in the Kigezi District, cited in Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 74; J. Tosh, Clan Leaders and Colonial Chiefs in Lango: The Political History of an East African Stateless Society, c. 1800–1939. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978: 114; “H. H. J. Bell, Glimpses of a Governor’s Life.” Cited in D. A. Low, “Uganda: The Establishment of the Protectorate, 1894–1919,” in V. Harlow and E. M. Chilver, eds., History of East Africa. Vol. II. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965: 60.

  68. 68.

    See Dunbar, “The British and Bunyoro Kitara, 1891–1899”: 229–241; Omara-Otunnu, Politics and the Military in Uganda: 18.

  69. 69.

    See Dunbar, “The British and Bunyoro Kitara, 1891–1899”: 229–241; Beattie, Bunyoro: An African Kingdom: 16–22; Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 91.

  70. 70.

    Beattie, Bunyoro: An African Kingdom: 22.

  71. 71.

    On April 9, 1899, government troops, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Evatt, killed 300 people in Oyom and captured 400 head of cattle. See Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 23, 26, 70; Dunbar, “The British and Bunyoro Kitara, 1891–1899,”: 229–241; Macdonald, Soldiering and Surveying in British East Africa: 261–321. Twaddle, Kakungulu and the Creation of Uganda: 174, noted the presence of slavery in Buganda during this period: “While forcible acquisition and purchase of slaves were clearly unacceptable under the terms of the Berlin and Brussels Acts, other forms of plunder were another matter..... Slavery also continued as an important indigenous institution in Buganda for at least a generation.”

  72. 72.

    Beattie, Bunyoro: An African Kingdom: 22.

  73. 73.

    See Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 223; Uganda Protectorate, Proceedings of The Legislative Council. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1959: 159–73.

  74. 74.

    Among others, see W. F. Nabwiso-Bulima, “The Evolution of the Kyabazingaship of Busoga,” Uganda Journal, 31, 1 (1967): 89–99; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 34–36, 69; L. A. Fallers, Bantu Bureaucracy: A Century of Political Evolution among the Basoga of Uganda. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1970, especially: 1–45, 204–224; D.W. Cohen, The Historical Tradition of Busoga. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972: 154–170; D. A. Low, “Warbands and Ground-Level Imperialism in Uganda, 1870–1900,” Historical Studies, XVI (1975): 592.

  75. 75.

    Cited in Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 126–7. See also, H.B. Thomas, “More Early Treaties in Uganda, 1891–96,” Uganda Journal, 13, 2 (September 1948): 173–182.

  76. 76.

    Nabwiso-Bulima, “The Evolution of the Kyabazingaship of Busoga”: 89–99; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 34–36, 69; Low, “Uganda: The Establishment of the Protectorate, 1894–1919,”: 66–68; Fallers, Bantu Bureaucracy: A Century of Political Evolution among the Basoga of Uganda: 1–45, 204–224; Cohen, The Historical Tradition of Busoga: 154–170; Lugard, The Rise of Our East African Empire: Early Efforts in Nyasaland and Uganda. Vol. 1: 368–370; Macdonald, Soldiering and Surveying in East Africa: 76–77.

  77. 77.

    See, for example, Nabwiso-Bulima, “The Evolution of the Kyabazingaship of Busoga”: 89–99; Fallers, Bantu Bureaucracy: A Century of Political Evolution among the Basoga of Uganda: 1–45, 204–224; Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 28–31. For similar views in African studies, see, for a start, F. M. Stark, “Theories of Contemporary State Formation: a Reassessment,” Journal of Modern African Studies, 24, 2 (1986): 335–347; R. Fatton, “The State of African Studies and Studies of African State: The Theoretical Softness of the “Soft State,”” Journal of Asian and African Studies, XXIV, 3–4 (1989): 170–187; Chabal, ed. Political Domination in Africa: 1–16. On some of the problems related to dominant theories of revolution, socialism and class contradictions, see, for example, E. Laclau and C. Mouffe, “Post-Marxism without Apologies,” New Left, 66 (November/December, 1987): 79–106; A. Leftwich, “Is there a socialist path to socialism?,” Third World Quarterly, 13, 1 (1992): 27–42.

  78. 78.

    See Twaddle, Kakungulu and the Creation of Uganda: 173; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 71; Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 106; Sathyamurthy, The Political Development of Uganda: 116–117.

  79. 79.

    Twaddle, Kakungulu and the Creation of Uganda: 161.

  80. 80.

    Ibid: 168, 170, 173.

  81. 81.

    Kakungulu was constantly reminded by the regime that he was an employee of the Protectorate Government. See Twaddle, Kakungulu and the Creation of Uganda: 169–70, 179–180. Twaddle: 183, noted that Kakungulu was only paid some little salary towards the end of his administration in Bukedi.

  82. 82.

    Ibid: 171.

  83. 83.

    See Uzoigwe, cited in Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 188.

  84. 84.

    For this myth, see Roberts, “The Sub-imperialism of the Baganda”: 435–450.

  85. 85.

    See Twaddle, Kakungulu and the Creation of Uganda: 160.

  86. 86.

    Rutiba, Towards Peace in Uganda: 7.

  87. 87.

    See, for example, Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 106; Tosh, Clan Leaders and Colonial Chiefs in Lango: 117–120; Low, “Uganda: The Establishment of the Protectorate, 1894–1919”: 88–91; Roberts, “The Sub-imperialism of the Baganda,”: 440; Twaddle, Kakungulu and the Creation of Uganda: 159.

  88. 88.

    See H.M. Secretary of State for Colonies, Memorandum, 27 July 1905. CO536/2; Twaddle, Kakungulu and the Creation of Uganda: 177–190; J. Gray, “Kakungulu in Bukedi,” 27, 1, Uganda Journal (1963): 31–59.

  89. 89.

    See Twaddle, Kakungulu and the Creation of Uganda: 177.

  90. 90.

    See Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: : 76; Gray, “Kakungulu in Bukedi”: 31–59.

  91. 91.

    See Twaddle, Kakungulu and the Creation of Uganda: 187.

  92. 92.

    See A.G. Boyle, Sub-Commissioner’s Office Jinja, to H. M. Acting Commissioner, Memorandum, March 4, 1905. CO536/1.

  93. 93.

    See The Commissioner, Entebbe, to Sub-Commissioner, Jinja, Memorandum, September 1, 1905. CO536/3.

  94. 94.

    The Acting Sub-Commissioner, L. H. Cubitt, to H. M. Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief, Memorandum October 17, 1905. CO536/3.

  95. 95.

    Uganda Protectorate, Punitive Operations, Entebbe, 25 October, 1905. CO536/3. See also, Uganda Protectorate to H.M. Secretary for Colonies, Memorandum, 27 July 1905. CO536/2.

  96. 96.

    H.H.J. Bell, Glimpses of a Governor’s Life, cited in Low, “Uganda: The Establishment of the Protectorate, 1894–1919”: 60.

  97. 97.

    F.H. Newman, ADC, “Teso Tour 18.4.10 (E.A.)”, cited in Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 76.

  98. 98.

    Twaddle, Kakungulu and the Creation of Uganda: 169, 179, noted how the Europeans insisted on their racial superiority.

  99. 99.

    See Low, “Uganda: The Establishment of the Protectorate, 1894–1919”: 59–60.

  100. 100.

    See Karugire, A Political History: 109.

  101. 101.

    E. I. Steinhart, Conflict and Collaboration: The Kingdoms of Western Uganda, 1890–1907. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1977, 256–257.

  102. 102.

    Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 109–110; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 27–33; Sathyamurthy, The Political Development of Uganda: 174–175; Low, “Uganda: The Establishment of the Protectorate, 1894–1919”: 73.

  103. 103.

    The Acting Commissioner, G. Wilson, to the Secretary for Colonies, Memorandum, January 22, 1906. CO 536/5. See also, The Acting Commissioner, Wilson, to the Colonial Office, Telegram, January 4, 1906. CO 536/5.

  104. 104.

    See, among others, Uganda Protectorate, An Ordinance Enacted by the Acting Commissioner for the Protectorate, October 21, 1907, Entebbe. Ordinance No. 5 of 1907. Removal of Undesirable Natives. CO 648/1; Schedule Form of Order: The Uganda Removal of Undesirable Natives Ordinance, 1970. CO 684/2; An Ordinance Relating to the Removal of Undesirable Natives. Ordinance No. 2 of 1916. Co 684/2; An Ordinance Enacted by the Governor of the Uganda Protectorate, November 20, 1908, Entebbe. Deportation Ordinance, No. 15 of 1908. CO 684/1; Schedule Form of Order of Deportation. The Uganda Deportation Ordinance, 1908. CO 684/2; An Ordinance Relating to Deportation, No. 1 of 1916. CO 684/2; An Ordinance Enacted by the Governor of the Uganda Protectorate, January 1, 1909. Collective Punishment, No. 1 of 1909. CO 648/1; The Collective Punishment Amendment Ordinance, 1910. No. 17 of 1910. CO 648/1; An Ordinance Relating to the Prevention of Crime in Kigezi, NO. 8 of 1920. CO 648/2; An Ordinance Relating to Witchcraft, No. 7 of 1921. CO 648/2.

  105. 105.

    According to Max Weber, The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. New York: Free Press of Glencoe, 1964: 156, force or violence is considered legitimate so far as it is either prescribed or permitted by the state. The underlying assumption is that the state and the incumbents are legitimate.

  106. 106.

    See M. M. Edel, The Chiga of Western Uganda. London: Oxford University Press, 1957: 2–28; E. Hopkins, “The Nyabingi Cult of Southwestern Uganda”, in R. I. Rotberg and A. A. Mazrui, eds., Protest and Power in Black Africa. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970: 258–336; F. S. Brazier, “The Incident at Nyakishenyi, 1917,” Uganda Journal, 32, 1 (1968): 17–27; P. Mateke, “The Struggle for Dominance in Bufumbira, 1830–1920,” Uganda Journal, 34, 1 (1970): 35–47; M. Rutanga, “People’s Anti-Colonial Struggles in Kigezi under the Nyabingi Movement, 1910–1930,” in M. Mamdani and J. Oloka-Onyango, eds., Uganda: Studies in Living Conditions, Popular Movements and Constitutionalism. Vienna and Kampala: JEP Series, 1994: 229.

  107. 107.

    Hopkins, “The Nyabingi Cult of Southwestern Uganda”: 258–336; Brazier, “The Incident at Nyakishenyi, 1917”: 17–27; Mateke, “The Struggle for Dominance in Bufumbira, 1830–1920”; Edel, The Chiga of Western Uganda: 4–5; Rutanga, “People’s Anti-Colonial Struggles in Kigezi under the Nyabingi Movement, 1910–1930”: 248–9.

  108. 108.

    In this study coercive and unpaid labor in a colonial setting is referred to as slave labor. This is consistent with the view of the colonial power, Britain, on forced labor. This view was aptly echoed by one of the most prominent British colonial administrators in Egypt, Lord Cromer. “Here, therefore, is the explanation of British views which M. de A … seeks. The answer to this question, what we mean by slavery? is that we reluctantly admit the necessity of compulsory labour in certain cases, and that we do not stigmatise as slavery such labour when, under all possible safeguards against the occurrence of abuses, it is employed for recognized and indispensable purposes of public utility. On the other hand, we regard the system, when employed for private profit, as wholly unjustifiable and synonymous with slavery.” See the Spectator, February 1914, cited in K. Simon, Slavery. New York: Negro University Press, 1969: 174–175. According to the British government, therefore, forced labor for private profit was synonymous with slavery. The same system of coerced labor for government services, however, was not presented as slavery.

  109. 109.

    Brazier, “The Incident at Nyakishenyi, 1917”; Mateke, “The Struggle for Dominance in Bufumbira, 1830–1920”; Hopkins, “The Nyabingi Cult of Southwestern Uganda”: 258–336; Edel, The Chiga of Western Uganda: 149–158; Rutanga, “People’s Anti-Colonial Struggles in Kigezi under the Nyabingi Movement, 1910–1930,”: 256.

  110. 110.

    Brazier, “The Incident at Nyakishenyi, 1917”; Mateke, “The Struggle for Dominance in Bufumbira, 1830–1920”; Edel, The Chiga of Western Uganda: 149–158; Rutanga, “People’s Anti-Colonial Struggles in Kigezi under the Nyabingi Movement, 1910–1930”: 236–258.

  111. 111.

    Cited in Hopkins, “The Nyabingi Cult of Southwestern Uganda”: 293

  112. 112.

    Ibid: 293–294.

  113. 113.

    T. O. Ranger, Revolt in Southern Rhodeshia, 1896–97: A Study in African Resistance. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1967: x, correctly doubted the reliability of such information and echoed a view shared by this study: “It will be one of my arguments, for example, that official beliefs about African society were mostly ill founded and yet I am dependent upon material produced by these officials for my own reconstruction. Moreover a good deal of evidence comes, as one would expect, from spies, or from prisoners under interrogation, or from evidence given in preliminary examinations into charges of murder.”

  114. 114.

    Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth: 21–2, 72, 87, captured some of the feelings expressed by the colonized in Kigezi. The claim that resistances to colonial projects were reactionary struggles against the forces of modernization, education and economic development was presented quite forcefully by R.E. Robinson and J. Gallagher, “The Partition of Africa,” in F. H. Hinsley, ed. The New Cambridge Modern History. Vol. XI. London: Cambridge University Press, 1962: 593–640. The claim that resistance to colonial presence was an indication of laziness, ignorance and inherent violence of the colonized is found in most earlier works on resistances to colonialism. See, for a start, O. Stollowsky, “On the Background to the Rebellion in German East Africa in 1905–1906,” The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 21, 3 (1988): 677–696.

  115. 115.

    See Rutanga, “People’s Anti-Colonial Struggles in Kigezi under the Nyabingi Movement, 1910–1930”: 249, 255.

  116. 116.

    Raids and Punitive Expeditions in the Kigezi District, cited in Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 74. See also, Brazier, “The Incident at Nyakishenyi, 1917,”: 20.

  117. 117.

    See Uganda Protectorate, Collective Punishment, No. 1 of 1909. CO 648/1. See also, Uganda Protectorate, The Collective Punishment Amendment Ordinance, 1910, No. 17 of 1910. CO 648/1.

  118. 118.

    Rutiba, Towards Peace in Uganda: 10.

  119. 119.

    See Hopkins, “The Nyabingi Cult of Southwestern Uganda”: 293–4.

  120. 120.

    See “Phillip’s Report, June 1919,” cited in Rutunga, “People’s Anti-Colonial Struggles in Kigezi”: 230; Y. Sebalijja, 1911, cited in Rutunga, Ibid; P. Ngorogoza, 1969, cited in Ibid; J. M. Rwampigi, 1980, cited in Ibid. A similar assumption influenced the contention that disparate nationalities needed charismatic leadership to mobilize resistance to colonial projects. It is, therefore, not surprising that the historiography on African resistance placed undue emphasis on the presence or absence of charismatic leadership. See, for a start, Ranger, Revolt in Southern Rhodeshia: 9, 32–47, 87–8; “The Role of Ndebele and Shona Religious Authorities in the Rebellions of 1896 and 1897,” in E. Stokes and R. Brown, eds., The Zambesian Past: Studies in Central African History. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1966: 94–136; “Connexions between ‘Primary Resistance’ Movements and Modern Mass Nationalism in East and Central Africa. Part 1,” Journal of African History, IX, 3 (1968): 437–453, especially: 447–453; J. Cobbing, “The Absent Priesthood: Another Look at the Rhodesian Risings of 1896–1897,” Journal of African History, XVIII, I (1977): 61–84. D. N. Beach, “‘Chimurenga’: The Shona Risings of 1896–1897,” Journal of African History, 20, 3 (1979): 395–420, suggested that resistance could take place without unity. G.C.K. Gwassa and J. Iliffe, eds. Records of the Maji Maji Rising. Part One. Historical Association of Tanzania Paper # 4. Dar es Salaam, East African Publishing House, 1967, demonstrated that a resistance did not require a conspiracy because mobilization of the oppressed often took place in the open.

  121. 121.

    Uganda Protectorate, No. 8 of 1920. An Ordinance Relating to the Prevention of Crime in Kigezi. CO 684/2.

  122. 122.

    Hopkins, “The Nyabingi Cult of Southwestern Uganda”: 293–4; Uganda Protectorate, No. 7 of 1921. An Ordinance relating to Witchcraft. CO 684/2.

  123. 123.

    See Rutunga, “People’s Anti-Colonial Struggles in Kigezi under the Nyabingi Movement”: 229–249; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 74.

  124. 124.

    Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy: 2.

  125. 125.

    The roles of traditional prophetesses, prophets, priests, diviners and herbalists or dispensing medical doctors in traditional Africa are exhaustively discussed by Taylor, The Primal Vision: 137, 144–7, 150; E. I. Metuh, African Religions in Western Conceptual Schemes: The Problems of Interpretation. Ibadan: Pastoral Institute, 1985: 153; Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy: 201–202.

  126. 126.

    Rutanga, “People’s Anti-Colonial Struggles in Kigezi”: 262–266. For a similar and informative discussion about the views the Christian missionaries had about African religions and peoples, see Taylor, The Primal Vision: 5; N. L. Erskine, Decolonizing Theology: A Caribbean Perspective. New York: Orbis, 1981: 6; Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy: 7–8; O. p’Bitek, African Religions in Western Scholarship. Kampala: Uganda Literature Bureau, 1980, especially, 1–8, 52–69.

  127. 127.

    Edel, The Chiga of Western Uganda: 5. See also, Ibid: 157–158; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: : 74.

  128. 128.

    Hopkins, “The Nyabingi Cult of Southwestern Uganda” 132.

  129. 129.

    See J. P. Barber, “The Moving Frontier of British Imperialism in Northern Uganda, 1898–1919,” Uganda Journal, 29, 1 (1965): 27–43; Tosh, Clan Leaders and Colonial Chiefs in Lango: 110–111. The Fashoda crisis is discussed at length by R. G. Brown, Fashoda Reconsidered: The Impact of Domestic Politics on French Policy in Africa, 1893–1898. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1970; P. Wright, Conflict on the Nile: The Fashoda Incident of 1898. London: Heinemann, 1972; Robinson and Gallagher, Africa and the Victorians: 346–359, 346–359; C. M. Andrew and A. S. Kanya-Forstner, “Gabriel Hanotaux, The Colonial Party and the Fashoda Strategy,” Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, III, 1 (October 1974): 55–95.

  130. 130.

    See Uganda Protectorate, No. 4 of 1932: An Ordinance to make necessary provision on the Transfer of the Lango District from Eastern Province to the Northern Province. CO 684/4. H. B. Thomas, “More Early Treaties in Uganda, 1891–96,” Uganda Journal, 13, 2 (September 1948): 174, observed that the regime signed a treaty with a certain Acoli chief, Abura, in 1896 to look out for any southward movement of the Mahdists.

  131. 131.

    See Omara-Otunnu, Politics and the Military in Uganda: 1–2. Many works on Lango, including Tarantino, “Lango Wars;” and Ingham, “British Administration in Lango District”, presented the Langi in this light.

  132. 132.

    See Punitive Expedition, 1905. CO 536/1.

  133. 133.

    See Punitive Expedition, 1905. CO 536/1; Tosh, Clan Leaders and Colonial Chiefs in Lango: 114; Bell, H.M. Commissioner, 13.8.1906, cited in Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 72.

  134. 134.

    Some scholars claim that concentration camps, in their modern forms, were invented by the British for use against the Boers during the 1899–1902 Anglo-Boer war in South Africa. Yet, concentration camps had been used by the British in Bunyoro-Kitara as early as 1893. For discussions about the Anglo-Boer war, see, for example, A. Atmore and S. Marks, “The Imperial Factor in South Africa in the Nineteenth Century: Towards a Reassessment,” Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, III, 1 (October 1974): 105–139; G. H. L. Le May, British Supremacy in South Africa, 1899–1907. Oxford: Carendon Press, 1965: 1–93.

  135. 135.

    Cited in Tosh, Clan Leaders and Colonial Chiefs in Lango: 119. See also, Ibid: 125; Sathyamurthy, The Political Development of Uganda: 268.

  136. 136.

    Cited in Tosh, Clan Leaders and Colonial Chiefs in Lango: 121.

  137. 137.

    Ibid:

  138. 138.

    Ibid: 116; Barber, “The Moving Frontier of British Imperialism in Northern Uganda, 1898–1919”: 27–36, 38.

  139. 139.

    See Stigand, Equatorial: The Lado Enclave: 1–13; Uganda Protectorate to H.M. Secretary for Colonies, Memorandum, The Move of the Natives from this side of the Nile (Nile Province) to Congolese Territory, 2/8/1905. CO 536/2; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 56–67; Hemphil, “The British Sphere, 1884–94”: 391; Barber, “The Moving Frontier of British Imperialism in Northern Uganda, 1898–1919”: 29, 39–40.

  140. 140.

    See Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 155.

  141. 141.

    J. Middleton, “Political Incorporation Among the Lugbara of Uganda,” in R. Cohen and J. Middleton, eds., From Tribe to Nation in Africa. Scranton, Pennsylvania: 1970: 55–70; Middleton, “Colonial Rule Among the Lugbara,” in V. Turner, ed., Colonialism in Africa, 1870–1960: 6–48; A. Southall, “Ethnic Incorporation among the Alur,” in R. Cohen and J. Middleton, eds., From Tribe to Nation in Africa: 71–92; Uganda Protectorate, A Few Punitive Measures, 4/11/1912. CO 536/53; R.O. Colins, “Ivory Poaching in the Lado Enclave,” Uganda Journal, 23, 2 (September 1960): 217–228.

  142. 142.

    R. M. Bere, “Awich – A Biographical Note and a Chapter of Acholi History,” Uganda Journal, 10, 1 (March 1946): 77.

  143. 143.

    See Garling, The Acholi of Uganda: 150; Bere, “An Outline of Acholi History,” Supplement to the Uganda Journal, 10, 2 (1946): 6–7.

  144. 144.

    See, for example, Garling, The Acholi of Uganda: 150; Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 126–7; H. B. Thomas, “More Early Treaties in Uganda, 1891–96,” Uganda Journal, 13, 2 (September 1948): 173–182.

  145. 145.

    Bere, “Awich – A Biographical Note,”: 77; “An Outline of Acholi History,”: 7.

  146. 146.

    Garling, The Acholi of Uganda: 151; Bere, “Awich – A Biographical Note”: 77; “An Outline of Acholi History”: 7.

  147. 147.

    Bere, “An Outline of Acholi History”: 77. The terror that “Langa-Langa” unleashed in Acoli is recorded in Acoli war songs, otole.

  148. 148.

    Bere, “Awich – A Biographical Note” : 77–8.

  149. 149.

    Bere, Ibid: 77–8.

  150. 150.

    Girling, The Acholi of Uganda: 151.

  151. 151.

    C.W. Guy Eden to H.M. Acting Commissioner, Memorandum, 27 March, 1905. CO 536/1.

  152. 152.

    Girling, The Acholi of Uganda: 131.

  153. 153.

    See p’Bitek, African Religions in Western Scholarship: 12.

  154. 154.

    See A. B. Adimola, “The Ramogi Rebellion of 1911–1912,” Uganda Journal, 18 (1954): 166–177; Girling, The Acholi of Uganda: 82–124; Barber, “The Moving Frontier of British Imperialism in Northern Uganda, 1898–1919,”: 27–43; R.M. Bere, “An outline of Acholi History,” Uganda Journal (Supplement to vol. 10, 2), n.d: 8.

  155. 155.

    See a motion introduced in parliament by Okello on Monday, March 25, 1963: “Resettlement of the East Bank of the Nile,” in Uganda Government, Uganda Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). First Session, 1962–3. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1963: 179; Uganda Protectorate, The Uganda Official Gazette, No. 344 of 1914; Uganda Protectorate, The Uganda Outlying Districts Ordinance, 1904 and the Uganda Outlying Ordinance, 1908. Signed on 28th July, 1914 by Acting Governor, H.R. Wallis. CO 612/4.

  156. 156.

    See Girling, The Acholi of Uganda: 84–5; Barber, “The Moving Frontier of British Imperialism in Northern Uganda, 1898–1919”: 27–43; Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 116.

  157. 157.

    Mzee J. Tolit, trader, 65 years, interview by author, Kitgum, July 2, 1983.

  158. 158.

    Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 116.

  159. 159.

    See Bere, “An Outline of Acholi History,”: 7–8. Bere, a colonial administrator who became one of the most prominent colonial historians of Acoli, did not understand the meaning of the proverb he cited. In fact, the proverb has absolutely no relevance to the point he labored to put forward.

  160. 160.

    See, for example, Mukherejee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 73–76; Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 176.

  161. 161.

    See, for example, Okot P’Bitek, Horn of My Love, cited in Ocaya-Lakidi, “Manhood, Warriorhood and Sex in East Africa”: 155; Ludolo, evangelist from Kitgum, 76 years, interview by author, Oxford, December 15, 1995.

  162. 162.

    See C. Ochan, “Pastoral Crisis and Social Change in Karamoja,” in Mamdani and Oloka-Onyango, eds., Uganda: Studies in Living Conditions: 97–100.

  163. 163.

    See for example, J.P. Barber, “The Karamoja District of Uganda: A Pastoral People under Colonial Rule,” Journal of African History, III, 1 (1962): 111–124.

  164. 164.

    See Barber, Ibid: 111–124.

  165. 165.

    See Barber, Ibid: 111–124.

  166. 166.

    Ibid: 118.

  167. 167.

    Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 47; Sathyamurthy, The Political Development of Uganda, 1900–1986: 5, 271–272, 345–346; Barber, “The Moving Frontier of British Imperialism in Northern Uganda, 1898–1919,”: 32–33; R. Baker, “‘Development’ and the pastoral people of Karamoja, North-Eastern Uganda. An example of the treatment of symptoms,” in T. Monod, ed., Pastoralism in Tropical Africa. London, Ibadan, Nairobi: Oxford University Press, 1975: 201.

  168. 168.

    For a similar view, see C. Geertz, ed., Old Societies and New States. New York: The Free Press, 1963: 107–112; W. Connor, “A nation is a nation, is a state, is an ethnic group is a …,” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1, 4 (October 1978): 450; W. Isajiw, “Definition of Ethnicity,” Ethnicity, 1 (July 1974): 111–123; M. Sithole, “The Salience of Ethnicity in African Politics: the Case of Zimbabwe,” Journal of Asian and African Studies, XX, 3–4 (1985): 181–192.

  169. 169.

    One of the proponents of the situational nature of ethnicity, A.C. Paranjpe, “Ethnic Identities and Prejudices: Perspectives from the Third World,” Journal of Asian and African Studies, XX, 3–4 (1985): 133, had this to say about the changing nature of ethnicity: “The psychosocial identity of a person, being rooted in individual needs and subjective perceptions, is open to redefinition in the light of his or her new experiences and developmental changes during the life cycle. As well, the condition of an ethnic group as a whole is changeable historically under the influence of large scale economic, political and demographic changes in the world.” D.L. Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1985: 66, on the other hand, emphasized the primordial definition, while providing space for situational definitions of ethnicity.

  170. 170.

    P.H. Gulliver, ed., Tradition and Transition in East Africa. Studies of Tribal Element in the Modern Era. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1969: 13–14, maintained that colonialism sometimes created new ethnic groups. He presented the Etesot, Lugbara and the Bagishu in Uganda as ethnic groups that were created by colonialism. For a similar perspective, see also, G. Bennett, “Tribalism in Politics,” in Gulliver, Ibid: 60.

  171. 171.

    See Burke, Local Government and Politics in Uganda: 14; See also, Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 128; Uzoigwe, ed., Uganda: The Dilemma of Nationhood: xii

  172. 172.

    See, for example, Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict: 12. See also, Burke, Local Government and Politics in Uganda: 38–42; Karugire, A Political history of Uganda: 123–126, 135; Kiwanuka, “Colonial Policies and Administrations in Africa: The Myths of the Contrasts”: 303; Sathyamurthy, The Political Development of Uganda, 1900–1986: 1–3; M. Doornbos, Not all the King’s Men: Inequality as a Political Instrument in Ankole, Uganda. The Hague, Paris, New York: Mouton Publishers, 1978; M. H. Segall, M. Doornbos and C. Davis, Political Identity: A Case Study from Uganda. New York: Syracuse University, 1976: 26–176.

  173. 173.

    See A. D. Smith. State and Nation in the Third World. Sussex: Wheatsheft Books, 1983: 25–35. See also, Uganda Protectorate, Uganda Order in Council, 1962. Part II. Buckingham Palace, August 1902, contained in Uganda Protectorate, Sessional Paper No. 4 of 1956/57. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1956: 84–116; Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 24, 26–8.

  174. 174.

    See, for example, Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 31–34; C. Pratt, “Colonial Governments and Transfer of Power in East Africa,” in P. Grifford and W. M. Roger Louis, eds., The Transfer of Power in Africa: Decolonization, 1940–1960. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982: 260.

  175. 175.

    See, for example, Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 36. In East Africa, the terms “Asians” and “Indians” are used interchangeably to refer to people of Indian and Pakistani origins.

  176. 176.

    Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 12, 120.

  177. 177.

    See Uganda Protectorate, Petition to His Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Colonies, London. CO 536/52.

  178. 178.

    See H.R. Wallis, Acting Governor, Memorandum, 13/9/1912. CO 536/52.

  179. 179.

    Ludolo, evangelist from Kitgum, 76 years, interview by author, Oxford, December 15, 1992.

  180. 180.

    Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 36, provided an excellent analysis of how the Asians performed the intermediary role in the colonial state.

  181. 181.

    H.S. Morris, The Indians in Uganda. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968: 178. In a letter to the Uganda Herald in July 1921, Z.K. Sentongo, expressed similar anti-Asian sentiment: “It is now becoming increasingly evident day by day that Indian influence is operating against our economic advancement. Indian artisans and fundis with their unsanitary and low style of living, pose an almost insurmountable barrier to the native who wishes to engage in skilled labor.” Cited in Low, The Mind of Buganda: 55.

  182. 182.

    Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Disturbances in Uganda During April, 1949. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1950, especially: 16–17, 71; Ghai, “The Bagandan Trade Boycott: A Study in Tribal, Political, and Economic Nationalism”: 755–770; Morris, The Indians in Uganda: 161–179; Uganda Protectorate, Government Statement on the Report of the Committee appointed by His Excellency the Governor to make Recommendations for the Advancement of Africans in Trade and Commerce. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1955.

  183. 183.

    Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Disturbances in Uganda During April, 1949. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1950, especially: 16–17, 71; Ghai, “The Bagandan Trade Boycott: A Study in Tribal, Political, and Economic Nationalism”: 755–770; Morris, The Indians in Uganda: 161–179; Uganda Protectorate, Government Statement on the Report of the Committee appointed by His Excellency the Governor to make Recommendations for the Advancement of Africans in Trade and Commerce. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1955.

  184. 184.

    For a good discussion of nationalism, see W. Conner, “A nation is a nation, is a state, is an ethnic group is a …”: 441–472. For a work that refers to almost any sentiment as a form of nationalism, see Smith, State and Nation in the Third World: 37–39.

  185. 185.

    A. I. Richards, ed., East African Chiefs. London: Faber and Faber, 1960: 74–75, 94–95, 123–125, 142–143, 170–171, 274–275, 308–309, 324–325.

  186. 186.

    Burke, Local Government and Politics in Uganda: 34–35. See also, G. S. K. Ibingira, The Forging of an African Nation: The Political and Constitutional Evolution of Uganda from Colonial Rule to Independence, 1894–1962. New York: The Viking Press, 1973: 19–23. Indeed, not even the limited reforms initiated by the District Administration (District Council) Ordinance of 1955 changed the despotic nature of colonial chiefs. To be sure, it was unrealistic to expect colonial chiefs, who were civil servants, to be less despotic than the regime, the state and the institutions for which they worked. For the 1955 proposed reforms, see Uganda Protectorate, The District Administration (District Councils) Ordinance, 1955. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1954. Various reports into increased political instability and political violence during the decolonization period noted that the proposed reforms did not reform the despotic institutions and their local agents. See, for a start, Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the affairs of the Bugisu District Council. Entebbe: Government Printer, October 1960; Uganda Protectorate, Sessional Paper on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Disturbances in certain areas of the Bukedi and Bugisu Districts of the Eastern Province during the month of January, 1960 (Sessional Paper No. 3 of 1960). Entebbe: Government Printer, 1960; Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Management of the Teso District Council. Entebbe: Government Printer, March 1958; Uganda Protectorate, Memorandum by the Protectorate Government on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Management of Teso District Council. Entebbe: Government Printer, April 1958.

  187. 187.

    Burke, Local Government and Politics in Uganda: 38–42. See also, Lord Hailey, Native Administration in the British African Territories. London: His Majesty’s Stationary Office, 1950: 1–85.

  188. 188.

    For an excellent analysis of colonial economic policy and its effects on Uganda, see Mamdani, Politics and Class Formation in Uganda: 40–146.

  189. 189.

    See Ibid: 40–64, 120–146.

  190. 190.

    See Ibid: 51–52; Ghai, “The Bugandan Trade Boycott: A Study in Tribal, Political and Economic Nationalism”: 755–770.

  191. 191.

    Mamdani, Politics and Class Formation in Uganda: 52. See also, Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 118; A. G. G. Ginyera-Pinycwa, Issues in Pre-independence Politics in Uganda. Kampala, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam: East African Literature Bureau, 1976: 28; Omara-Otunnu, Politics and the Military in Uganda: 12–47.

  192. 192.

    Cited in Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 161.

  193. 193.

    For an excellent analysis of colonial tax systems, see Ibid: 156–161.

  194. 194.

    Ibid: 54–5.

  195. 195.

    Ibid: 166–203.

  196. 196.

    Mamdani, Imperialism and Fascism in Uganda: 7.

  197. 197.

    See Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?: 156–198.

  198. 198.

    The foregoing suggests that the colonial state was a totalitarian state. Here, totalitarianism means “[a]absolute control by the state of most aspects of the daily lives of its citizens, according to the dictates of a ruling party that professes some exhaustive ideology (say fascism or communism).” For this definition, see C.J. Nolan, The Longman Guide to World Affairs. New York: Longman, 1995: 392. Relationship between colonialism and economic underdevelopment in the colonial state is extensively discussed by many scholars. For a start, see Mukherjee, Uganda: An Historical Accident?, especially: 166–208; Mamdani, Politics and Class Formation in Uganda: 40–188; Brett, Colonialism and Underdevelopment in East Africa: 1–162, 239–265; W. Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. London: Bogle-L’Overtiure, 1972.

  199. 199.

    C. Gertzel, Party and Locality in Northern Uganda, 1945–1962. London: The Athlone, 1974: 3–4; D. A. Low, Political Parties in Uganda, 1949–1962. London: The Athlone Press, 1962: 8–10, 13–16.

  200. 200.

    See Ghai, “The Bugandan Trade Boycott: A Study in Tribal, Political and Economic Nationalism”: 755–770; Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Disturbances in Uganda During April, 1949. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1950: 71.

  201. 201.

    See Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Disturbances in Uganda During April, 1949: 108–109.

  202. 202.

    See Ibid: 71–101; Sathyamurthy, The Political Development of Uganda: 300–321.

  203. 203.

    Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Disturbances in Uganda During April, 1949: 15–81; Low, Political Parties in Uganda, 1949–1962: 37.

  204. 204.

    Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Disturbances in Uganda During April, 1949: 73.

  205. 205.

    Ibid: 73–101.

  206. 206.

    Ibid.

  207. 207.

    Ibid: 16–17.

  208. 208.

    Ibid: 21–23.

  209. 209.

    Ibid: 24–27. See also, Low, Political Parties in Uganda, 1949–1962: 37; Sathyamurthy, The Political Development of Uganda: 201–321.

  210. 210.

    Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Disturbances in Uganda During April, 1949: 31–43; Sathyamurthy, The Political Development of Uganda: 201–321; Low, Political Parties in Uganda, 1949–1962: 37.

  211. 211.

    See Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Disturbances in Uganda During April, 1949: 43–65.

  212. 212.

    See Ibid: 54–58.

  213. 213.

    Ibid: 93.

  214. 214.

    Ibid: 17, 48–51.

  215. 215.

    Gertzel, Party and Locality in Northern Uganda, 1945–1962: 46–85; Welbourn, Religion and Politics in Uganda, 1952–1962: 16; Low, Mind of Buganda: 181–183; Political Parties in Uganda, 1949–1962: 18–19.

  216. 216.

    See, for a start, P. Kavuma, Crisis in Buganda, 1953–1955: The Story of the Exile and Return of the Kabaka, Mutesa II. London: Rex Collings, 1979:12–36; Welbourn, Religion and Politics in Uganda, 1952–1962: 16–17.

  217. 217.

    P. Kavuma, Crisis in Buganda, 1953–1955: The Story of the Exile and Return of the Kabaka, Mutesa II. London: Rex Collings, 1979:12–36; Welbourn, Religion and Politics in Uganda, 1952–1962: 16–17.

  218. 218.

    Kavuma, Crisis in Buganda, 1953–1955: 12–36.

  219. 219.

    Ibid: 31–70; Karugire, A Political History of Uganda 154; Welbourn, Religion and Politics in Uganda, 1952–1962: 17.

  220. 220.

    Kavuma, Crisis in Buganda, 1953–1955: 20.

  221. 221.

    Ibid: 16–17, 21–22; Low, Political Parties in Uganda, 1949–1962: 20–22; K. Ingham, Obote: A Political Biography. London and New York: Routledge, 1994: 59.

  222. 222.

    J. B. Mujaju, “The Illusion of Democracy in Uganda, 1955–1966,” in W. O. Oyugi, E. S. A. Odiambo, M. Chege and A. K. Gitonga, eds., Democratic Theory and Practice in Africa. London: James Currey, 1988: 88.

  223. 223.

    Ibid; Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 162–163.

  224. 224.

    See Ingham, Obote: 59–60; Welbourn, Religion and Politics in Uganda, 1952–1962: 18–19; Low, Political Parties in Uganda, 1949–1962: 22–24; Ginyera-Pinycwa, Issues in Pre-Independence Politics in Uganda: A case study on the contribution of Religion to Political Debate in Uganda in the Decade 1952–1962; Gertzel, Party and Locality in Northern Uganda, 1945–1962: 2.

  225. 225.

    Mujaju, “The Illusion of Democracy in Uganda, 1955–1966”: 89.

  226. 226.

    Ibid. An excellent analysis of the violence is Ghai, “The Bugandan Trade Boycott: A Study in Tribal, Political, and Economic Nationalism”: 756, 757, 758.

  227. 227.

    Ghai, “The Bugandan Trade Boycott: A Study in Tribal, Political, and Economic Nationalism”: 755–770. See also, Low, Political Parties in Uganda, 1949–1962: 32, 39.

  228. 228.

    Welbourn, Religion and Politics in Uganda, 1952–1962: 21–22.

  229. 229.

    Ibid; Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 165–169.

  230. 230.

    Low, Political Parties in Uganda, 1949–1962: 31.

  231. 231.

    See C. Pratt, “Colonial Government and the Transfer of Power in East Africa”: 250–263.

  232. 232.

    Interestingly, neither the colonizer nor the colonized knew when independence would be granted until the very last moment. See Jackson and Rosberg, “Sovereignty and Underdevelopment”: 7–9; Pratt, “Colonial Government and the Transfer of Power in East Africa”: 250–263.

  233. 233.

    Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission appointed to Review the Boundary between the Districts of Bugisu and Bukedi. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1962; Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Enquiry into Disturbances in the Eastern Province, 1960. Entebbe: Government Printer, 31 March, 1960; Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the affairs of the Bugisu District Council. Entebbe: Government Printer, October 1960; Uganda Protectorate, Sessional Paper on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Disturbances in certain areas of the Bukedi and Bugisu Districts of the Eastern Province during the month of January, 1960 (Sessional Paper No. 3 of 1960). Entebbe: Government Printer, 1960; Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Management of the Teso District Council. Entebbe: Government Printer, March 1958; Uganda Protectorate, Memorandum by the Protectorate Government on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Management of Teso District Council. Entebbe: Government Printer, April 1958. See also, Ginyera-Pinycwa, Issues in Pre-Independence Politics in Uganda: A case study on the contribution of Religion to Political Debate in Uganda in the Decade 1952–1962: 5; Low, Political Parties in Uganda, 1949–1962: 33–34.

  234. 234.

    See “The Speech of the Owekitinisa of Bunyoro-Kitara at Mengo on 22nd of August, 1956.” Reprinted in Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 223; G. F. Engholm and A. A. Mazrui, “Violent Constitutionalism in Uganda,” Government and Opposition, 2, 4 (July–October, 1967): 587.

  235. 235.

    Karugire, A Political History of Uganda: 170–176; Kabwegyere, The Politics of State Formation: 42–45, 158–163.

  236. 236.

    See Uganda Government, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Recent Disturbances amongst the Baamba and Bakonjo People of Toro. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1962: 2–3, 5–6.

  237. 237.

    Ibid.

  238. 238.

    Ibid: 29.

  239. 239.

    Ibid: 7–11.

  240. 240.

    Ibid.

  241. 241.

    Ibid: 3–4, 11–12, 19–25. For a discussion about the criteria of sovereignty under normative international law, see Jackson and Rosberg, “Sovereignty and Underdevelopment”: 11.

  242. 242.

    See Uganda Protectorate, An Ordinance To Provide For The Manner In Which Elections To The Legislative Council Shall Be Conducted, The Declaration Of Electoral Districts, The Qualifications Of Electors And Candidates, The Registration Of Electors, The Procedure At Elections And For Matters Connected Therewith And Incidental Thereto. No. 20 of 1957. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1957.

  243. 243.

    See Mengo, Buganda’s Independence. Kampala: The Kabaka’s Government, 1960: 15.

  244. 244.

    See Uganda Protectorate, Proceedings of the Legislative Council. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1959, especially: 159–173.

  245. 245.

    See Mengo, Buganda’s Independence; Uganda Protectorate, Uganda Legislative Council Elections, 1961. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1961, especially: 1–23.

  246. 246.

    See Uganda Protectorate, Uganda Legislative Council Elections, 1961, Ibid: 1–23. See also, Welbourn, Religion and Politics in Uganda, 1952–1962: 22–24; Uganda Protectorate, Report of the Uganda Relationships Commission, 1961. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1961.

  247. 247.

    See E. Mutesa, Sir Edward’s Appeal to the Secretary General of the U.N.O.: Uganda’s Constitutional Crisis. Mengo: Department of Information, 1966: 10.

  248. 248.

    Mutesa, Sir Edward’s Appeal to the Secretary General of the U.N.O.: 10.

  249. 249.

    Colonial Office, Report of the Uganda Independence Conference, 1962. London: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, July 1962.

  250. 250.

    Welbourn, Religion and Politics in Uganda, 1952–1962: 26.

  251. 251.

    Cited in Low, The Mind of Buganda: Documents of the Modern History of an African Kingdom. London, Ibadan and Nairobi: Heinemann, 1971: 214–215.

  252. 252.

    Welbourn, Religion and Politics in Uganda, 1952–1962: 30–36; “Archbishop Joseph Kiwanuka on ‘Constitutional Monarch’, November 1961,” in Low, Ibid: . 211; Buganda Lukiko, Buganda’s Position on the Draft of Constitution. Mengo, Kampala, 1994: 33.

  253. 253.

    See Mujaju, “The Illusion of Democracy in Uganda, 1955–1966”: 93. See also, Mittleman, Ideology and Politics in Uganda: 75.

  254. 254.

    Mujaju, “The Illusion of Democracy in Uganda, 1955–1966”: 93.

  255. 255.

    Ingham, Obote: 76–77.

  256. 256.

    See, Uganda Protectorate, Proceedings of the National Assembly. Part III. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1962: 515–575.

  257. 257.

    See, for example, Uganda Protectorate, Proceedings of the Legislative Council. Part I. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1959: 196–202; Proceedings of the Legislative Council. Part II. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1959: 143, 150, 157, 162–3; Proceedings of the Legislative Council. Part III. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1959: 133–4; Ingham, Obote: 2, 53–56.

  258. 258.

    Uganda Protectorate, Proceedings of the Legislative Council. Part III: 518. See also, Ibid: 555–6.

  259. 259.

    Ibid: 535. See also, Ibid: 521. Here, Mr. Bataringaya pointed out that: “The UPC and Kabaka Yekka supporters in the villages are spreading a rumor that on or soon after the 9th October the DP supporters will lose their life and property, that the DP men will become the slaves of UPC and Kabaka Yekka supporters, that women and girls who support the DP will become play things of UPC, Kabaka Yekka men and young men, that possessions belonging to DP supporters will become public property.”

  260. 260.

    Uganda Protectorate, Proceedings of the National Assembly. Part II. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1962: 578. See also, Uganda Protectorate, Standing Committee on the Recruitment, Training and Promotion of Africans for Admission to the Higher Posts in the Civil Service. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1955: 1. See also, Ibid: 2–15; Uganda Protectorate, Government on the Report of the Committee appointed by His Excellency the Governor to make Recommendations for the Advancement of Africans in Trade and Commerce. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1955: 1–5; Uganda Protectorate, Despatch from the Governor of Uganda to the Secretary of State for Colonies. Entebbe: Government Printer, 1956.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. DePaul University, Chicago, USA

    Ogenga Otunnu

Authors
  1. Ogenga Otunnu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Otunnu, O. (2016). Crises of Legitimacy and Political Violence in Colonial Uganda, 1890–1962. In: Crisis of Legitimacy and Political Violence in Uganda, 1890 to 1979. African Histories and Modernities. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33156-0_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33156-0_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33155-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33156-0

  • eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation