There is
general
scholarly
consensus
for the
view that
the entire
extent
of human
evolution
was enacted
in the
Rift Valley
and plains
of East
Africa.
This view
has been
established
mainly
by archaeological
discoveries.
Many scholars
argue that
Uganda
has supported
hominid
life for
as long
as any
other part
of East
Africa
though
it has
not yielded
hominid
remains
of comparable
antiquity
to those
unearthed
in Kenya,
Tanzania
and Ethiopia.
There are
only a
few places
in the
country
where fossils
of such
age might
be sought.
In one
of these,
the Moroto
district,
fossils
have been
discovered
that belong
to the
semi-bipedal
proto-hominid
Dryopithecusis,
thought
to have
lived about
15 million
years ago.
East Africa
saw two
major human
immigrations
in the
period
between
1000BC
and 1000
AD, both
of them
involving
people
of West
African
of slight
physical
stature
who were
similar
Bunyoro-Kitara
towards
the end
of the
15th century.
In
the second
half
of the
15th
century,
the Nilotic-speaking
Luo left
their
homeland
on the
plains
of southern
Sudan,
and migrated
southwards
along
the Nile
into
what
is now
Uganda.
There
they
splintered
into
three
groups.
The first
of these
remained
at Pubungu
(probably
near
modern-day
Pakwach);
the second
occupied
the region
of Uganda
that
lies
west
of the
Nile;
and the
third
continued
southwards
into
the heart
of Bunyoro-Kitara.
The arrival
of the
Luo coincided
with
the emergence
of several
other
kingdoms
in the
south
and east
of Bunyoro.
These
include
Buganda
and Ankole
in modern-day
Uganda
(and
Rwanda
and Burundi)
and the
Karagwe
kingdom
in what
is now
northwest
Tanzania.
These
kingdoms
share
a common
Bacwezi
heritage.
Bunyoro
was the
largest
and most
influential
of these
kingdoms
until
the end
of the
17th
century.
It had
a diversified
economy,
a loose
political
structure,
and a
dominant
trade
position
due to
its exclusive
control
of the
region's
salt
mines.
Prior
to 1650,
Buganda
had been
a small
kingdom
ruled
by a
kabaka.
Of similar
size
to Buganda,
the kingdom
of Mpororo
founded
circa
1650,
covered
much
of the
Kigezi
region
of Uganda
and what
is now
northern
Rwanda.
In the
period
between
1650-1850,
the kingdom
of the
Bunyoro
shrank
to a
fraction
of its
former
size,
giving
regional
dominance
to Buganda.
The most
fertile
of the
Ugandan
kingdoms,
Buganda
stretched
by the
mid-19th
century
from
the Nile
almost
as far
as Mubende
and over
the entire
Lake
Victoria
region
as far
south
as the
Kagera
River.
Colonial
History
British
colonization
of Uganda
began
around
1860.
In 1888
Britain
assigned
political
and economic
power
over
the region
to the
British
East
Africa
Company
by royal
charter.
The Company's
control
over
the area
was consolidated
in 1891
when
a treaty
was signed
with
the Buganda,
then
the area's
principal
kingdom.
In 1894
the British
government
assumed
power,
declaring
Baganda
a protectorate.
This
protectorate
was expanded
in 1896
to include
areas
of the
Bunyoro,
Toro,
Ankole
and Bugosa.
Colonial
rule
altered
local
economic
systems
dramatically,
partly
because
Britain's
principal
concern
was financial.
The British
commissioner
of Uganda
in 1900,
Sir Harry
H. Johnston,
had orders
to establish
an efficient
administration
and to
levy
taxes
as quickly
as possible.
Johnston
approached
the chiefs
in Buganda
with
offers
of employment
in the
colonial
administration
in exchange
for their
collaboration.
The main
concerns
of the
chiefs,
whom
Johnston
later
characterized
in demeaning
terms,
lay in
preserving
Buganda
as a
self-governing
entity,
continuing
the royal
line
of kabakas,
and securing
private
land
tenure
for themselves
and their
supporters.
After
hard
bargaining,
the chiefs
ended
up with
all their
demands
satisfied,
including
half
of all
the land
in Buganda.
The remaining
half,
which
was ceded
to the
British
as "Crown
Land," was
later
found
to be
covered
largely
by swamp
and brush.
Nonetheless,
Johnston
imposed
a tax
on huts
and guns,
designated
the chiefs
as principal
tax collectors,
and generally
fomented
the continued
alliance
of British
and Baganda
interests.
The British
signed
much
less
generous
treaties
with
other
kingdoms
in the
region
(with
Toro
in 1900,
Ankole
in 1901,
and Bunyoro
in 1933),
which
did not
permit
large-scale
private
land
tenure.
Smaller
chiefdoms,
that
of Busoga
for example,
were
simply
ignored.
The Baganda
immediately
offered
their
services
to the
British
as administrators
over
their
recently
conquered
neighbors,
an offer
which
was attractive
to an
economically
minded
colonial
administration.
Baganda
agents
served
as local
tax collectors
and labor
organizers
in areas
such
as Kigezi,
Mbale,
and Bunyoro.
Wherever
they
went,
the Baganda
insisted
on the
dominance
of their
language,
Luganda.
They
planted
bananas
which
they
considered
the only
food
worth
eating.
They
regarded
their
own traditional
dress--long
cotton
gowns
called
kanzus--as
the sole
civilized
apparel;
all other
clothing
was considered
barbaric.
They
also
encouraged
mission
work
and attempted
to convert
locals
to Baganda
interpretations
of Christianity
or Islam.
The
people
of Bunyoro,
who had
fought
both
the Baganda
and the
British,
were
particularly
aggrieved
by this
new domination.
A substantial
section
of their
land
had been
annexed
to Buganda
as "lost
counties." They
resented
having
to obey
orders
by "arrogant" Baganda
administrators,
having
to pay
taxes,
and furnishing
unpaid
labor.
In 1907
the Banyoro
rose
in a
rebellion
called
nyangire,
or "refusing," which
led to
the withdrawal
of Baganda
subimperial
agents.
Meanwhile,
in 1901,
the completion
of the
Uganda
Railroad
from
the coast
at Mombasa
to the
Lake
Victoria
port
of Kisumu
led colonial
authorities
to promote
the growth
of cash
crops
to help
pay the
railroad's
operating
costs.
The railroad
also
led to
the 1902
decision
to transfer
the eastern
section
of the
Uganda
Protectorate
to the
Kenya
Colony,
then
called
the East
African
Protectorate,
in order
to keep
the entire
railroad
line
under
a single
local
colonial
administration.
When
costs
overran
initial
estimates
in Kenya,
the British
justified
its expense
and paid
its operating
costs
by introducing
large-scale
European
settlement
in a
vast
tract
of land
that
came
to be
known
as the "white
highlands," which
soon
became
a center
of cash-crop
agriculture.
Buganda,
with
its strategic
lakeside
location,
immediately
reaped
the benefits
of cotton
cultivation.
The advantages
of this
crop
were
quickly
recognized
by the
Baganda
chiefs,
who had
recently
acquired
freehold
estates.
Income
generated
by cotton
sales
made
the Buganda
kingdom
prosperous,
compared
with
the rest
of colonial
Uganda.
By the
beginning
of World
War I,
cotton
was being
grown
in the
eastern
regions
of Busoga,
Lango,
and Teso.
Many
Baganda
spent
their
new earnings
on imported
clothing,
bicycles,
metal
roofing,
and even
automobiles.
They
also
invested
in their
children's
education.
Christian
missions
emphasized
literacy
skills,
and African
converts
quickly
learned
to read
and write.
By 1911
two popular
monthly
journals,
Ebifa
(News)
and Munno
(Your
Friend)
were
being
published
in Luganda.
Supported
by African
funds,
new schools
in Baganda
were
soon
graduating
classes
at Mengo
High
School,
St. Mary's
Kisubi,
Namilyango,
Gayaza,
and King's
College
Budo--all
in Buganda.
The chief
minister
of the
Buganda
kingdom,
Sir Apolo
Kagwa,
personally
awarded
a bicycle
to the
top graduate
at King's
College
Budo,
together
with
the promise
of a
government
job.
Unlike
Tanganyika,
which
was economically
devastated
during
the prolonged
campaign
between
Britain
and Germany
in the
East
Africa
during
World
War I,
Uganda
prospered
from
sales
of agricultural
products
to feed
the European
troops.
Having
suffered
population
declines
in the
era of
conquest
as well
as losses
due to
disease
(particularly
the devastating
sleeping
sickness
epidemic
of 1900-1906),
Uganda's
population
was once
again
increasing.
Even
the depression
of the
1930s
seemed
to affect
Ugandan
cash
crop
farmers
less
severely
than
it did
the white
settlers
in Kenya.
Ugandans
simply
grew
their
own food
until
rising
prices
made
exporting
their
crops
attractive
again.
Two
issues
continued
to cause
grievance
through
the 1930s
and 1940s.
The colonial
government
strictly
regulated
trade
in cash
crops,
setting
prices,
and giving
Asians,
considered
more
efficient
by the
British,
the role
of intermediaries.
The British
and Asians
combined
to repel
African
attempts
to break
into
cotton
ginning.
Asian-owned
sugar
plantations
were
frequently
worked
by migrants
from
peripheral
areas
of Uganda
and even
from
outside
Uganda.
The
Struggle
for
Independence
In
1949
the Baganda
rioted,
burning
down
the houses
of pro-government
chiefs.
The rioters
had three
demands:
the right
to bypass
government
price
controls
on the
export
sales
of cotton,
the removal
of the
Asian
monopoly
over
cotton
ginning,
and the
right
to representation
in local
government
in place
of the
chiefs
appointed
by the
British.
They
also
criticized
the young
kabaka,
Frederick
Walugembe
Mutesa
II (also
known
as Kabaka
Freddie),
for his
neglect
of the
needs
of his
people.
The British
governor,
Sir John
Hall,
rejected
the suggested
reforms
on the
grounds
that
the riots
were
allegedly
the work
of communist-inspired
agitators.
In
1947
the Uganda
African
Farmers
Union
was formed,
but later
it was
banned
by the
British
authorities.
Musazi's
Uganda
National
Congress
replaced
the Farmers
Union
in 1952.
Because
the Congress
never
developed
into
an organized
political
party,
it stagnated
and expired
just
two years
after
its inception.
Meanwhile,
the British
began
to prepare
for Uganda's
inevitable
independence.
Britain's
long-standing
attitudes
toward
colonial
power
had been
severely
challenged
by its
postwar
withdrawal
from
India,
by emergent
nationalist
movements
in West
Africa,
and by
the emergence
of a
more
liberal
philosophy
in the
Colonial
Office
that
looked
more
favorably
on future
self-rule.
The impact
of these
changes
were
soon
felt
in Uganda.
In 1952
an energetic
reformist
governor,
Sir Andrew
Cohen
(formerly
undersecretary
for African
affairs
in the
Colonial
Office)
took
over
Uganda's
administration.
Cohen
set about
preparing
Uganda
for economic
and political
independence.
He removed
restrictions
on African
cotton
ginning,
rescinded
price
controls
on African-grown
coffee,
encouraged
cooperatives,
and established
the Uganda
Development
Corporation
to promote
and finance
new projects.
Politically,
he reorganized
Uganda's
Legislative
Council,
which
had heavily
favored
the European
community,
and included
African
representatives
elected
from
districts
throughout
Uganda.
This
system
came
to be
a prototype
for the
future
parliament.
The
prospect
of elections
caused
a proliferation
of political
parties
that
alarmed
the old-guard
leaders
within
Uganda's
kingdoms
when
they
realized
that
power
would
be redelegated
away
from
local
control
to national
rule.
Opposition
to Governor
Cohen's
reforms
was further
inspired
by a
speech
by the
secretary
of state
speech
in London
in 1953
that
considered
the possibility
of a
federation
between
the three
East
African
territories
of Kenya,
Uganda,
and Tanganyika,
on similar
lies
to the
federation
established
in central
Africa.
The
British
announced
that
elections
for "responsible
government" would
be held
in March
1961
as a
precursor
to formal
independence.
Those
who won
the election
would
gain
valuable
experience
in office,
preparing
them
for the
responsibility
of independent
governance.
Buganda
leaders
urged
a boycott
of the
election
on the
grounds
that
the British
had ignored
their
attempts
to secure
promises
of future
autonomy.
Consequently,
when
voters
went
to the
polls
throughout
Uganda
to elect
eighty-two
National
Assembly
members,
Buganda
voters
were
largely
unrepresented.
Only
Roman
Catholic
supporters
of the
DP braved
severe
public
pressure
to vote
in the
election,
capturing
twenty
of Buganda's
twenty-one
allotted
seats.
This
gave
the DP
a majority
of seats,
in spite
of the
fact
that
they
had only
416,000
votes
nationwide
compared
with
495,000
for the
UPC.
Benedicto
Kiwanuka
was elected
as the
new chief
minister
of Uganda.
Caught
unprepared
by these
results,
Baganda
separatists,
who had
formed
a political
party
called
Kabaka
Yekka
(KY--The
King
Only),
reconsidered
their
election
boycott.
They
quickly
welcomed
the recommendations
included
in a
British
proposal
for a
future
federal
government
in which
the Buganda
would
enjoy
a measure
of internal
autonomy
if it
participated
fully
in the
national
government.
For its
part,
the UPC
was equally
anxious
to eject
its DP
rivals
from
the government
before
they
became
entrenched.
Obote
reached
an understanding
with
Kabaka
Freddie
and the
KY, accepting
Buganda's
special
federal
relationship
in return
for a
strategic
alliance
that
could
defeat
the DP.
The kabaka
was promised
the largely
ceremonial
position
of Uganda's
head
of state,
which
the Baganda
considered
of great
symbolic
importance.This
marriage
of convenience
between
the UPC
and the
KY made
inevitable
the defeat
of the
DP interim
administration.
In the
aftermath
of the
April
1962
election
leading
up to
independence,
Uganda's
national
parliament
consisted
of forty-three
UPC delegates,
twenty-four
KY delegates,
and twenty-four
DP delegates.
The new
UPC-KY
coalition
led Uganda
into
independence
in October
1962,
with
Obote
as prime
minister
and the
kabaka
as head
of state.
[1]
The
Post-Independence
Era
The
Obote
regime:
Under
the compromise
constitution
of October
1961,
which
had been
framed
primarily
to meet
Buganda's
political
demands,
Uganda
became
independent
neither
as a
federation
nor a
unitary
state.
Neither
was the
country
a monarchy
nor a
republic.
It was
described
at the
time
as "the
sovereign
state
of Uganda".
The relationship
between
Buganda
and the
central
government
remained
a crucial
political
problem,
since
the people
of the
three
western
kingdoms
resented
the special
status
accorded
to Baganda
and were
to demonstrate
their
dissatisfaction
by voting
for DP
in 1962.
In
April
1966,
Obote
suspended
the constitution
and declared
himself
Executive
President.
The Buganda
declared
Obote's
actions
null
and void,
passing
a resolution
demanding
the withdrawal
of the
central
government
from
Buganda
soil
by March
30 1966.
On May
24 government
troops
stormed
the Kabaka's
palace,
seizing
it after
a day's
fighting.
Mutesa
consequently
fled
to Britain,
where
he died
three
years
later.
To consolidate
his power,
Obote
introduced
a republican
constitution
that
abolished
the four
kingdoms
and made
Uganda
a unitary
state.
In 1969
he introduced "the
Common
Man's
Charter," which
was designed
to transform
Uganda
into
a socialist
state.
Opponents
of these
measures
believed
that
Obote
was trying
to turn
Uganda
into
a communist
state.
On
January
25, 1971,
when
Obote
was attending
the Commonwealth
Conference
in Singapore,
Major-General
Idi Amin
seized
power
with
considerable
internal
and external
support.
Immediately
after
the coup,
Amin
adopted
a strong
pro-Western
stance.
He declared
that
Israel
and Britain
were
favored
allies.
Within
two years,
Amin
had imposed
one of
the severest
dictatorships
in Africa.
Throughout
1971
he systematically
eliminated
soldiers
suspected
of remaining
loyal
to Obote.
After
an abortive
invasion
of Uganda
by Obote's
supporters
in September
1972,
Amin
began
to murder
civilians
in large
numbers.
In January
1973
the regime
was forced
to admit
that
86 prominent
citizens
had mysteriously
disappeared,
including
Chief
of Justice
Kiwanuka,
the
Vice-Chancellor
of Makerere
University,
and the
Governor
of the
Bank
of Uganda.
Many
other
disappearances
were
to follow
in coming
years.
After
several
years
of terror
and killings,
the death
toll
had risen
as high
as 300,000,
according
to Amnesty
International
estimates.
In 1972
relations
between
Uganda
and the
Western
powers
began
to deteriorate.
The United
States
closed
its embassy
in Kampala
in protest
against
the death
of two
Americans
at the
hands
of Amin's
soldiers.
Amin
expelled
Israeli
nationals
from
Uganda
in 1972
and adopted
a strong
pro-Palestinian
stance.
In August
1972
Amin
announced
that
alien
Asians
would
be expelled
from
the country.
Uganda
turned
to the
Soviet
Union
and Arab
states
for military
and financial
support.
Early
in 1978
Amin
endorsed
the mass
slaughter
of Acholis
and Langis.
Human
rights
violations
soon
led the
US government
to ban
trade
with
Uganda.
On October
31, 1978
Amin's
forces
crossed
the border
with
Tanzania
and occupied
the Kagera
area.
Tanzania
retaliated,
seeking
to punish
Amin
severely.
Under
pressure
from
President
Nyerere,
a meeting
was convened
in March
1979
at Moshi
in Tanzania;
this
meeting
resulted
in the
formation
of a
coalition
of 18
Ugandan
groups
of various
ethnic,
ideological
and political
alignments,
which
came
to be
called
the Uganda
National
Liberation
Front
(UNLF).
On January
22, 1979
the joint
liberation
forces
crossed
the border.
Libya
subsequently
sent
1,500
troops
to support
the Amin
regime
but proved
unable
to stop
the liberation
forces.
The UNLF
and Tanzanian
forces
occupied
Entebbe
early
in April
1979.
As they
advanced
on Kampala,
Amin's
soldiers
and the
Libyans
fled
for other
parts
of the
country.
On April
11 1979
the UNLF
entered
Kampala.
Amin
fled
to Libya
and later
to Saudi
Arabia.
Professor
Lule
arrived
in Kampala
on April
13 1979
to be
sworn
in as
head
of state
of a
provisional
government.
The 30-representative
National
Consultative
Council
(NCC)
of the
UNLF
became
the interim
legislature,
pending
general
elections
to be
held
within
two years.
On June
2, 1979
President
Lule
stepped
down
and Godfrey
Binaisa
was elected
as the
new President.
President
Binaisa
sought
to achieve
political
stability,
broadening
the political
base
of the
government
by enlarging
the NCC
to 91
members.
Each
of Uganda's
31 districts
was to
nominate
three
representatives
whose
credentials
would
be examined
by the
NCC.
This
measure
resulted
in the
inclusion
of the
Uganda
Liberation
Group
and the
Ugandan
National
Union,
both
of which
had been
operating
underground
during
Amin's
rule.[2]
Binaisa
enjoyed
a relatively
short
term
in office
since
he was
removed
by the
Ugandan
army
in May
1980.
A military
commission
was established
under
the leadership
of P.
MuWanaga,
a strong
supporter
of former
President
Obete.
The
military
commission
organized
elections
for December
1980.
By this
time
Obote
had returned
to Uganda
to lead
the UPC.
His party's
main
opposition
came
from
the reborn
DP and
from
the Uganda
Patriotic
Movement
(UPM),
led by
the young
radical
Yowri
Museveni.
The UPC
won a
majority
of twenty
seats
in the
new National
Assembly,
and Obote
resumed
the presidency.
Moreover,
he simultaneously
held
the posts
of Minister
of Finance
and Minister
of Foreign
affairs.MuWanga
was made
vice
president
and Minister
of Defense.
Though
the DP
and the
UPM complained
of electoral
fraud,
Obote
had made
an unprecedented
political
comeback
to win
thee
election
and the
support
of the
army.
Obote's
comeback
did not,
however,
bring
an end
to Uganda's
problems.
Under
Obote,
as under
Amin,
detentions,
torture,
and killings
betrayed
an essentially
unstable
and violent
political
situation.
Claiming
that
Obote
had rigged
the elections,
Museveni
proclaimed
a guerrilla
war of
resistance
with
the goal
of overthrowing
him by
force.
Museveni's
National
Resistance
Army
(NRA)
gained
support
in Buganda.
This
army
brought
an end
to the
second
Obote
presidency
in August
1985.
One ethnic
leader,
General
Tito
Okello,
used
the support
of his
fellow
Acholi,
the dominant
ethnic
group
in the
army,
to force
Obote
into
exile.
In January
1986
the NRA
defeated
Okello's
forces
and drove
him from
Kampala.
The NRA
thereupon
established
a new
government
with
Mueseveni
as president.
Although
Museveni
put national
reconciliation
at the
top of
his government's
priorities,
various
groups
opposed
his takeover,
in some
cases
forcefully.
Thus
the government
was engaged
in various
types
of military
and security
operations
against
dissident
groups
from
1987
through
1991.
Museveni
maintained
that
the nation
needed
time
to recover
from
dictatorship
and war
before
democratic
elections
could
be held.
[3]
While
awaiting
a new
constitution,
the government
in 1993
restored
the indigenous
monarchies
abolished
by the
1967
Republican
Constitution.
President
Museveni
also
put in
place
some
measures
of restitution
to Asian
victims
of Amin's
rule.
On
May 4,
1993
the government
announced
restrictions
on the
activities
of all
political
parties.
A new
prime
minister,
Kintu
Musoke,
was appointed
on November
18, 1994.
The following
month
the government
announced
that
the Constituent
Assembly
would
continue
working
on the
new Constitution
until
May,
which
was to
be promulgated
in June.
New voter
registration
would
be carried
out in
the first
month
of 1995;
civic
education
programs
would
be carried
out from
September
to November;
and nominations
would
open
in October
for a
new parliament,
who would
be elected
by December
1995.
On March
29, 1995
it debated
a motion
calling
for a
Federal
system,
before
finally
rejecting
it.
On
June
21 1995
the Constituent
Assembly
voted
199 to
68 in
favor
of continuing
the current
party
system.
This
decision,
though
opposed
by many
Ugandans,
was incorporated
into
the new
constitution,
with
the proviso
that
there
would
be a
referendum
on the
Constitution
in 1999.
Until
then,
parties
could
legally
exist
and sponsor
candidates
for elections,
but they
could
not hold
rallies
or campaign
as parties.
Elections
were
scheduled
for April
or May
1996.
The presidential
elections
took
place
as planned,
with
Paul
Ssemogerere
running
as the
main
candidate
opposing
President
Museveni.
Museveni
was elected
with
a comfortable
majority,
winning
74.2%
of the
six million
votes
cast
[4].
[1]
Source:
Briggs,
Philip,
1996.
Guide
to Uganda,
Globe
Pequot
Press:
Old Saybrook,
CT, pp.13-20.
[2]
Uwechue,
Raph
(ed.)
1996.
Africa
Today,
Third
Edition,
Africa
Books
Limited,
pp.1554-1557.
[3]
Maxon,
Robert
M. (ed.),
1994.
East
Africa,
An Introductory
History,
West
Virginia
University
Press:
Morgantown,
pp. 262-267
[4]
Uwechue,
Raph
(ed.)
1996.
Africa
Today,
Third
Edition,
Africa
Books
Limited,
pp. 1562-1565