Ignatius Kangave Musaazi (1905–1990) formed the first political party in Uganda, namely the Uganda National Congress (UNC) party on 2 March 1952. [1] Musaazi became its first president, and Abubaker Kakyama Mayanja was the party's first secretary general. Other key figures of the UNC included Apollo K. Kironde [2] who was the legal advisor to the party. Towards the end of 1951, Musaazi rented part of the ground floor of a house on what is now known as Musajjalumbwa Road near the Lubiri (palace) in Mengo. The house belonged to the late Yakobo Musajjalumbwa, a former treasurer (Omuwanika) of the Buganda kingdom. This house became a centre of political activity and in 1952 witnessed the birth of the Uganda National Congress.
I. K. Musaazi is a national hero (1990), and agreeably the father of the nation, of the republic of Uganda in East Africa, and is buried at Kololo heroes ground, in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. He participated in the Buganda riots of 1945 and 1949 [3] [4] which resulted in the burning down of houses belonging to pro-government (British Colonial Government) Baganda chiefs. [5] Buganda is part of Uganda, and the people of Buganda are called Baganda; they speak Luganda.
Briefly, the background to the Buganda riots mentioned above, is that the rioters demanded the following: (1) the right to bypass the price controls on the export sales of cotton imposed by the British colonial government, (2) Removal of the local Asian monopoly over cotton ginning – the Asians in Uganda were deemed to have an unfair advantage by having exclusive rights over cotton ginning, (3) The right to have their own representatives in local government and thus replace the chiefs appointed by the British Colonial Government. Ignatius Musaazi was viewed by the British Colonial administration as being behind the riots. The British governor at the time, Sir John Hathorn Hall (Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Uganda 1945–1952), regarded the riots as the work of Communists. He refused to give way to the rioters' demands.
Musaazi had formed the Uganda African Farmers Union (UAFU) in 1947 and the UAFU was blamed for the 1949 riots. The Union was banned as a result. Many supporters went into hiding. Musaazi himself was no stranger to prison as the colonial establishment tried to stop his efforts to bring about change in favour of the African farmers and Ugandans in general. I. K. Musaazi formed the Federation of Partnerships of Uganda African Farmers (FPUAF) union following the banning of the Uganda African Farmers Union. He gave up his job as a teacher at the department of education, at what was then Makerere University College (later became Makerere University), in order to help African farmers oppose the prevailing unfairness in trade, especially for cotton.
I. K. Musaazi went to London in 1950 and lobbied the British Parliament for support of the FPUAF and its aspirations. Among many in the British Parliament who supported him was Fenner Brockway, a British Labour Party Member of Parliament(MP). He also received support from many intellectuals, particularly from the London School of Economics (LSE), who were sympathetic and supportive. While in London, Musaazi had the opportunity to speak to LSE students and among them was an American, George Shepherd who was completing a PhD in political science. George Shepherd accepted Musaazi's invitation to provide technical help for the FPUAF. The main aim was to fight the agricultural policies in Uganda which greatly disadvantaged Africans in favour of Asians and Europeans. [6]
George W. Shepherd arrived in Uganda in 1951 when he was only 25 years old. His presence in Uganda was unwelcome by the British colonial government. Although Musaazi was already perceived as a troublemaker by the colonial government, George Shepherd and his FPUAF colleagues managed to succeed on several fronts: (a) they reorganised the accounting books of the FPUAF, (b) the FPUAF by-laws were redrafted, (c) transport issues affecting the FPUAF were sorted out. Significantly Shepherd and his FPUAF colleagues drew up a strategy to address the unfair agricultural policies.
Shepherd's approach to racial reconciliation is perhaps one of the most significant contributions he made for Musaazi and his Federation of Partnerships of Uganda African Farmers (FPUAF) union, and indeed for Uganda as a whole. Shepherd was in Uganda for only two years but with the help of his FPUAF colleagues left a significant mark on the political landscape of the country.
The arrival of Sir Andrew Cohen (Governor of Uganda, 1952–1957) in January 1952, provided for a more progressive climate in colonial Uganda. Sir Cohen constituted a commission to look into the farmer's demands and conceded to most of them. Prior to the arrival of Sir Cohen, there was much needed change in Uganda. Up to that point matters tended to progress very slowly, for example it was not until 23 October 1945 that the then new governor, Sir John Hall, approved the nomination of 3 Africans as members of LEGCO – the Legislative Council, in effect the Parliament of that colonial period. Up to then LEGCO was dominated by Europeans. The three African representatives who joined LEGCO were sworn in on 4 December 1945. They were: Michael Ernest Kawalya Kaggwa (Katikiro, i.e. Prime Minister in the government of Buganda Kingdom), Petero Nyangabyaki (Katikiro of Bunyoro), and Yekonia Zirabamuzale (Secretary General of Busoga) [7] LEGCO was set up by the Colonial authorities in March 1921 and at the very start it was a small group composed of Europeans: the colonial governor, four officials, and 2 nominated non-officials.
With the success of having most of the farmers' demands accepted by Sir Andrew Cohen, Ignatius Kangave Musaazi and Abubaker Kakyama Mayanja formed the Uganda National Congress party (UNC) on Sunday 2 March 1952. The party was a force for political change in colonial Uganda.
The UNC party split up later into factions but the groundwork for Uganda's independence was laid by the UNC and its founder, Ignatius Kangave Musaazi, who died in 1990 at the age of 85 at Namirembe hospital. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the current president of the republic of Uganda is patron of the I. K. Musaazi Memorial Foundation. President Museveni was present and delivered a speech about Musaazi, when Professor George W. Shepherd delivered the first annual I. K. Musaazi memorial lecture at the Kampala Sheraton Hotel on Friday 28 September 2007. [8]
Musaazi was born in a village called Timuna, near Wobulenzi, Uganda. He attended King's College Budo and then gained a scholarship to study divinity in the UK. On completion of his studies in the UK he was told that he could only graduate in his own country Uganda. [9]
Musaazi met Mary Ritah Nansikombi while he was at King's College Budo and she was at Gayaza High School. In 1936 they were married in Kenya. They had 11 children. Mary is the granddaughter of Sir Apolo Kaggwa who was a Katikkiro (Prime Minister) in the kingdom of Buganda Government, and is the daughter of Mary and Sepiriya Kaddumukasa. She recalls the difficulties which she and her family faced because of her husband's resolve to fight for Uganda's independence: "My husband was imprisoned 37 times.... he was charged with treason for organising Ugandans to rebel against the colonialists". [10]
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southern part includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region, it lies within the Nile basin, and has a varied equatorial climate. As of 2024, it has a population of over 49 million, of which 8.5 million live in the capital and largest city, Kampala.
Kampala is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala, Kawempe, Makindye, Nakawa, and Rubaga.
The history of Uganda comprises the history of the people who inhabited the territory of present-day Uganda before the establishment of the Republic of Uganda, and the history of that country once it was established. Evidence from the Paleolithic era shows humans have inhabited Uganda for at least 50,000 years. The forests of Uganda were gradually cleared for agriculture by people who probably spoke Central Sudanic languages. The Empire of Kitara grew out of the Urewe culture in the 10th century. Following the migration and invasion of Luo peoples c. 15th century, Kitara would collapse, and from the ashes rose various Biito kingdoms such as Bunyoro alongside Buganda.
Apollo Milton Obote was a Ugandan politician who served as the second prime minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and the second president of Uganda from 1966 to 1971 and later from 1980 to 1985.
The Protectorate of Uganda was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1894 to 1962. In 1893 the Imperial British East Africa Company transferred its administration rights of territory consisting mainly of the Kingdom of Buganda to the British government.
Sir Edward Frederick William David Walugembe Mutebi Luwangula Mutesa II was Kabaka, or king, of the Kingdom of Buganda in Uganda from 22 November 1939 until his death. He was the 35th Kabaka of Buganda and the first president of Uganda from 1962 to 1966, when he was overthrown by Milton Obote. The foreign press often referred to him as King Freddie, a name rarely used in Uganda. An ardent defender of Buganda's interests, especially its traditional autonomy, he often threatened to make the kingdom independent both before and after Uganda's independence to preserve it. These firm convictions also later led to conflicts with his erstwhile political ally Milton Obote, who would eventually overthrow him.
The Uganda People's Congress is a political party in Uganda.
The Democratic Party is a moderate conservative political party in Uganda led by Norbert Mao. The DP was led by Paul Ssemogerere for 25 years until his retirement in November 2005. John Ssebaana Kizito replaced Ssemogerere, and led the party until February 2010, when Norbert Mao was elected party president.
The Conservative Party (CP) is a centre-right political party in Uganda. It is led by Ken Lukyamuzi.
Busoga is a kingdom and one of four constitutional monarchies in present-day Uganda. The kingdom is a cultural institution which promotes popular participation and unity among the people of the region through development programs to improve their standard of living.
Makerere University is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of nine colleges and one school, offering programmes for about 36,000 undergraduates and 4,000 postgraduates. These colleges include College of Natural Sciences (CONAS), College of Health Sciences (CHS), College of Engineering Art & Design (CEDAT), College of Agriculture and Environmental Studies (CAES), College Of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS), College of Humanities & Social Sciences (CHUSS), College of Computing and Information Sciences (COCIS), College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources & Bio-security (COVAB), College of Education and External Studies (CEES) and Makerere University Business School (MUBS). In addition, Makerere has onother campus in Eastern Uganda Jinja City.
Sir Andrew Benjamin Cohen was Governor of Uganda from 1952 to 1957.
King’s College Budo is a mixed, residential, secondary school in Central Uganda (Buganda).
Abubaker Kakyama Mayanja was the first Secretary General of the Uganda National Congress party, the first political party in Uganda set up on 6 March 1952 by Ignatius K. Musaazi. He became the Secretary General of the UNC in his youth when he was still an undergraduate student at Makerere University College, which later became Makerere University. Abu Mayanja helped Musaazi draft the Constitution of the Uganda National Congress party. Abu was a fighter for independence in Uganda and Africa, a strong parliamentarian and one who disliked injustice. He contributed greatly to the political life of Uganda as a constitutional expert, formidable parliamentarian, government minister at various times, and as an excellent Barrister in private practice. His written contributions in the Tribune magazine, Transition, Uganda Argus and New Vision newspapers were well received and much respected.
The Uganda Legislative Council (LEGCO) was the predecessor of the Parliament of Uganda, prior to Uganda's independence from the United Kingdom. LEGCO was small to start with and all its members were Europeans. Its legislative powers were limited, since all important decisions came from the British Government in Whitehall.
Katikkiro is the official title of the head of cabinet and government in Buganda under the Kabaka of the Kingdom of Buganda. He is the equivalent of a Prime Minister is some governments but it is important to note that the Katikkiro does not assume office through elections like in other countries. His authority is symbolized by the Ddamula stick which is given to him by the Kabaka as a tool to 'kulamula' in the kingdom on his behalf. Buganda is a traditional kingdom in modern-day Uganda located in the central region of the East African country. The current Katikkiro is Mr. Charles Peter Mayiga of the Mutima clan and was appointed by the current monarch, the Kabaka of Buganda, Muwenda Mutebi II of Buganda in May 2013, replacing Engineer John Baptist Walusimbi.
Kirya Balaki Kebba the ex-rebel leader now-defunct rebel Uganda Freedom Movement who was kidnapped by security agents from Jamuhuri estate in Nairobi while in exile in the Republic of Kenya and brought back to Uganda. Kirya Balaki Kebba was acquitted of Treason charges in 1983 but was detained.
Michael Kintu was a Ugandan politician who served as Katikkiro of the Kingdom of Buganda from 1955 to 1964.
Uganda National Congress (UNC) was the first political party in Uganda. It was a socialist party.
John Baptist Walusimbi is a Ugandan politician and engineer who served as the Katikkiro of the Kingdom of Buganda from 2008 to 2013.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
