UGANDA AT 50: The Build-Up To Independence

The cries for Independence which prevailed in most of African colonies following World War II were somewhat muted in Uganda. This was attributed to several factors: the lack of widespread alein settlement, the high degree of African involvement in public affairs prior to independence, the strongly regional character of Uganda's politics, and lastly the strong probability that the status quo rather suited Uganda's Protestant Baganda elite.

The First Anti-Colonial Political Party: Uganda's first anti-colonial political party, the Uganda National Congress (UNC), was founded as late as 1952 and it took some years before it gained marked support, especially in parts of the underdeveloped North.

First Call For Independence: The first serious call for independence came from the most unlikely sources. Kabaka Mutesa II (head of the Buganda kingdom) made the first call for Independence. In 1953, Mutesa defied the British administration by opposing the mooted federation of Uganda with Kenya and Tanzania. The then Governor of Uganda refused to give Mutesa ang gurantees regarding federation, but Mutesa insisted atleast Buganda - alone - be granted Independence. Mutesa was declared to be disloyal to Britain, was deposed from the throne and exiled to Britain. This won immense support for Mutesa, not only in his kingdom Buganda, but as a National Hero. This was evident when he returned to his palace in 1955. On 18 October 1955, a Buganda Agreement was signed, giving the Kabaka and his government greater federal powers. This created mild alarms from non-Baganda.

Democratic Party (DP): Uganda's first indigenous political party of consquence was founded in 1956 by Matayo Mugwanya, after Mutesa rejected him as candidate for the Prime Minister of Buganda Kingdom on th grounds of his Catholicism. Therefore this party was formed on a platform for the legitimate grievances of Catholics, who had always been treated as Second-Class citizens og Uganda. In 1968, the Democratic Party rose to prominence when the party leadership was handed to Benedicto Kiwanuka, a lawyer.

Formation of the Uganda People's Union (UPU): In the wake of the 1958 elections, the Uganda People's Union was founded. This was the first public alliance of non-Buganda leaders, and this represented an important step in the polarisation of Ugandan politics.

Milton Obote's UPC: The Ugandan National Congress split in 1959 and this was along ethnic lines. The non-Baganda faction of UNC combined with UPU to form th Uganda People's Congress (UPC) and this was led by Milton Obote.

Kabaka Yekka (KY)- "Kabaka Forever": In 1961, the Baganda element of UNC combined with members of the Buganda government to form KY, an overtly pro-Protestant and pro-Buganda political party. This was nicknamed "Kill Yourselves" by its opponents.

1961 General Elections: In the 1961 elections, the main contenders were the DP, UPC and KY. The DP won. Benedicto Kiwanuka thus became the first Prime Minister of Uganda when self-government was granted on 1 March 1962.

1962 Elections: In April 1962, another general election was held. This bagun the process and build-up to granting of full Independence to Uganda. In this election, the UPC and KY formed an unlikely coalition, as a result of DP's success in the elections a year before. The UPC won 43 seats, DP won 24 seats and the KY won 23 seats, giving the UPC-KY alliance a clear majority. This allowed Milton Obote of UPC to lead Uganda to independence on 9 October 1962.

God Bless Uganda and its People.

Proud to Be Ugandan