The Question of Ethnicity in Uganda’s Politics: Exploring the Period 1960s to 1970s and Implications for Ugandan Development

Abstract

Most of the third world countries yearned and achieved for independence in the period 1960s and Uganda was no

exceptional after having been under the British rule for a long time (of about 60 years). 9th October 1962 is the day

to remember for this independence event. Being a new independent state implied that the social, political and

economic problems and challenges inherited from the British were numerous and this gave the then Prime Minister

Milton Obote ‘the formidable and unenviable task of welding the various identities of the country into a modern

nation-state.’ Indeed, in 1962 Uganda was still a rather fractured and desperate entity, divided by a multitude of

ethnic, religious, linguistic, classes and regional cleavages. During the early 1960s there remained a persistent and

‘almost unbridgeable gap between the various communities in Uganda.’ This is why moreover, in 1957 Sir Andrew

Cohen, Governor of Uganda from 1952-57, noted that ‘nationalism is still a less powerful force in Uganda than

ethnic or tribal loyalties.’ In the run up to independence Uganda’s politicians failed to form a united nationalist

front, and ‘managed to arrive at the threshold of independence with very little to show in the way of political

struggle.’ This contributed to the lack of unity within Uganda’s political system, and meant that broadly speaking,

political parties were split along ethnic lines. This trend has been ongoing since the independence and post

independence era.