Governor issues warning as Buganda declares self independence

To show their resolve to get independence from the rest of Uganda, the Buganda Lukiiko (parliament) appointed the Buganda Constitutional Committee in 1959.

This prompted the protectorate government on May 23, 1959, to declare Buganda “a disturbed area”. For a couple of months, the protectorate police and officials made approaches to the people directly, ignoring the normal procedure of going through the local chiefs.

Writing in the book The Forging of an African Nation: The Political and Constitutional Evolution of Uganda from 1894 to 1962, Grace Ibingira says the protectorate government had the right to do whatever was in their powers to keep law and order in Buganda region.

“It is a most unfortunate result of indirect rule that a conversion was established in Buganda which gave the Baganda a seemingly moral basis for claiming that protectorate officials were constitutionally bound to act through Buganda chiefs only,” writes the former UPC secretary general.

However, on October 8, 1960, the Lukiiko sent another memorandum to the colonial secretary. Unlike the previous ones prepared by the Lukiiko, this was prepared by the Buganda Constitutional Committee and endorsed by the Lukiiko.

The same committee went to London to present to Her Majesty’s government the Buganda independence roadmap. The memorandum expressed fear of a backlash from outside Buganda if by independence it was still part of the bigger Uganda.

“If Buganda ‘s legitimate constitutional demands have caused all these most unlikely reactions while the treaty of relations are even existing between Buganda and Her Majesty’s government, the Lukiiko’s apprehensions as to what the future Uganda governments attitude towards Buganda will be are greatly intensified,” the memorandum read in part.

“We don’t expect the government to do much better than Her Majesty’s government as they are going to inherit this form of disguised dictatorship. In order to avoid another ‘Katanga’ in this country immediately after independence, Buganda has decided and is determined to go alone.”

This was based on the comments made by some members of the Legislative Council (LEGCO), mostly those outside Buganda. But this did not deter the colonial government from drawing the timetable for Uganda’s constitutional changes and roadmap to independence.

The timetable called for a number of far-reaching changes and it was these changes that led Buganda to change goalposts. Secession became conditional, which was not the case when the idea was first put before the colonial office.

Buganda now said they were willing to drop the secession demands if the colonial secretary was willing to state that “Buganda was to have a federal relationship vis a vis the future central government of Uganda.”

According to Ibingira’s book, the Buganda administration wanted commitment from the protectorate government before any of the four items on the Uganda independence roadmap was implemented.
But when they realised that the protectorate government was not going to give in to their demands, the Buganda administration went ahead and presented what they called ‘the plan for an independent Buganda.’

List of Buganda demands
The plan had different claims categorised as general demands – relationship with neighbouring countries in Eat Africa, international relations, international rearrangements of services and finance, among others.

In general, Buganda wanted to have her own army, establish her own foreign relations and also be allowed to seek aid from other countries besides Britain.

In relations with her East African neighbours, Buganda wanted to be a member of the customs union and member of the rail, road, water and air transport boards.

It demanded that all educational institutions in Buganda be turned over to her with the exception of Makerere College (now university), which was to remain inter-territorial, although Buganda would be given a share in the management of the college. Buganda also demanded a high court.

The kingdom also demanded that should it get independence, it be allowed to become a member of the United Nations and the Commonwealth.

However, the colonial secretary was not ready to entertain any of the Buganda proposals. In a reply to the katikkiro coded NO EAF/71/6/03 dated December 2, 1960, the colonial secretary stated that he was determined to go ahead with the appointment of the relationship commission; the general election of 1961; and the constitutional conference to draw up Uganda’s self-rule constitution.

This was something the Baganda neo-traditionalist did not want to hear about. The last paragraph of the letter from the colonial secretary read in part: “Buganda still has the opportunity to use this period of continued security to negotiate with Her Majesty’s government a satisfactory relationship with the other parts of the country designed to preserve the Kabakaship and the Lukiiko and to confirm them in the exercise of their powers.”

“I, therefore, call upon His Highness to join me with His Excellency the governor in an urgent effort to restore co-operation and goodwill between us.”

Despite the colonial secretary holding out an olive branch, the Mengo authorities ignored the letter and pressed ahead with their independence preparations. They appointed the Buganda independence committee which was to work out the details of the independence preparations.

Ibingira in his book says: “Much money and time was spent by members of this committee as they travelled abroad seeking advice and support for their cause, but to no avail.”

Independence declaration
As it had been planned, the Buganda Lukiiko on the afternoon of December 31, 1960, held a special session in which the issue of independence was discussed. Crowds gathered around the Bulange building and chanted independence. And the following day, January 1, 1961, Buganda declared itself independent.

But then governor Frederick Crawford was quick to issue a warning, saying Buganda’s declaration was to have no effect whatsoever and everything would go on normally as before.
The Uganda Argus newspaper of January 2, 1961, says Crawford issued a warning to anyone who would want to give the declaration of independence meaning.

“The forces of law and order are such that should any misguided person attempt to interfere with the orderly life of the people, the law will take its course and retributions will surely follow,” the governor said.

Following the declaration, nothing happened in reality. The protectorate government continued operating in Buganda as normal.

In his book, Ibingira says the declaration was a nonstarter. “In the long history of the struggle for self-determination and sovereign power, no declaration of independence by any people has ever been meaningless and ineffective as one announced by Buganda,” he writes.

Just four weeks after Mengo’s declaration, there was a bitter split within the Lukiiko. The Buganda independence plan committee was split into two and a minority report was presented opposing what had been presented before the independence declaration.

Three of the elite members of the committee, two of them lawyers and a teacher, decided to write a minority report.

The three members – W. W. Kalema, Luyimbazi Zake and Godfrey Binaisa – on January 10, 1961, issued their report which partly stated that: “Unilateral declaration by the Lukiiko that Buganda was independent on December 31, 1960, without putting her independence into effect would be a mere bluff and positively unwise and would belittle the importance of the Lukiiko in the eyes of the world and the people of Uganda.”

“We consider all our deliberations by the Lukiiko that unilateral declaration by the Lukiiko was not the best road to independence. That is precisely why we think that the best would be to negotiate with the colonial secretary if we are to achieve the best for Buganda and her throne.”

The trio went on to say: “It’s time to elect this Lukiiko directly on universal adult suffrage as an indication that Buganda is now for self-government.”

List of claims
The plan had different claims categorised as general demands – relationship with neighbouring countries in Eat Africa, international relations, international rearrangements of services and finance, among others.

In general, Buganda wanted to have her own army, establish her own foreign relations and also be allowed to seek aid from other countries besides Britain.

In relations with her East African neighbours, Buganda wanted to be a member of the customs union and member of the rail, road, water and air transport boards.

It demanded that all educational institutions in Buganda be turned over to her with the exception of Makerere College (now university), which was to remain inter-territorial, although Buganda would be given a share in the management of the college. Buganda also demanded a high court.

Next week read about the formation of the district known today as Tororo