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Uganda
Independence negotiated in 1962 through a UPC–Kabaka Yekka coalition that sought to reconcile the Buganda kingdom with the central state.
- Independence
- October 9, 1962
- Before
- Uganda Protectorate
- Metropole
- United Kingdom
- Leader
- Milton Obote
- Transition
- Negotiated
- Movement
- Uganda People's Congress (UPC); Kabaka Yekka; Democratic Party (DP)
Buganda and the Protectorate
Buganda entered the British sphere of influence in 1894, and the Buganda Agreement of 1900 made it formally a British protectorate, securing the kingdom a privileged place within the wider Uganda Protectorate. Unlike Kenya, Uganda did not become a settler colony, and its economy rested largely on African farming. Buganda's insistence on a separate political identity would shape, and later destabilise, the path to independence.
The Kabaka Crisis
In 1953 the British deported Kabaka Mutesa II after he refused to pass British recommendations to the Lukiko, Buganda's parliament. Buganda's leaders secured his return in 1955 as a constitutional monarch who nonetheless kept great influence. The crisis strengthened loyalty to the throne, and conservative Ganda leaders later organised Kabaka Yekka ('King Alone') as a rival to the Democratic Party of Benedicto Kiwanuka, which also drew its base from Buganda.
Alliance and Independence
Talks in London in 1961 led to full internal self-government in March 1962. Milton Obote's UPC, strongest in the north, formed a governing coalition with Kabaka Yekka, and Obote became Prime Minister in April 1962. Further talks in June 1962 gave Buganda wide autonomy within a federal relationship. Uganda became independent on 9 October 1962, and in 1963 Mutesa was elected to the largely ceremonial presidency with Obote's encouragement.
Chronology
- 1894 — Buganda enters the British sphere of influence
- 1900 — Buganda Agreement makes Buganda a formal protectorate
- 1953–1955 — Deportation and return of Kabaka Mutesa II
- March 1962 — Full internal self-government
- April 1962 — Obote becomes Prime Minister at the head of a UPC–Kabaka Yekka coalition
- 9 October 1962 — Independence
- 1966 — Troops led by Idi Amin attack the Kabaka's palace; Mutesa flees to Britain
- 1967 — Buganda and the other kingdoms abolished
- 25 January 1971 — Idi Amin seizes power
Aftermath
The UPC–Kabaka Yekka coalition broke down. In 1966 Obote sent troops under Idi Amin against Mutesa's palace, and in 1967 he abolished Buganda and the country's three other traditional kingdoms. Amin overthrew Obote on 25 January 1971; his regime, which lasted until 1979, is believed to have killed some 300,000 people.
Legacy
Buganda's special status and its insistence on a separate identity contributed to Uganda's destabilisation after independence. The failure to reconcile the kingdoms with the central state led to the 1966 crisis and a cycle of authoritarian rule, most notoriously under Idi Amin.