Title: The Buganda Agreement, 1955

Description

By the late 19th century, Buganda was a powerful East African kingdom, running along the northwest shore of Lake Victoria, in present-day south-central Uganda. The Buganda Agreement of 1900, which gave Buganda a large degree of internal autonomy within the British-ruled Uganda Protectorate, was modified by this 1955 treaty. The Buganda Agreement, 1955 was made on October 18 of that year, between Sir Andrew Cohen, Governor and Commander in Chief of the Uganda Protectorate, on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the one part; and Edward William Frederick David Walugembe Mutebi Luwangula Muteesa II, Kabaka of Buganda, for and on behalf of the Kabaka, Chiefs, and People of Buganda. The new agreement resolved an impasse between the governor, who wanted Uganda to develop as a unitary state, and the kabaka (king), who had wanted Buganda to become a separate entity to protect its identity. The kabaka, on behalf of the people of Buganda, agreed to loyally cooperate with the governor and to secure the British protectorate and assist and guide himself, his people, and dominions. Signatures of the governor, the kabaka, and other witnesses appear at the end of the agreement.

From the National Archives of Uganda, Entebbe. Digitized at the National Library of Uganda with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Last updated: December 23, 2011