100 YEARS OF LEGISLATING IN UGANDA
REFLECTING ON 100 YEARS OF LEGISLATING IN UGANDA
Images: Departments of Communication and Public Affairs and the Parliamentary Library, Parliament of Uganda.
In 1920, when the world was recovering from the effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic and the subsequent economic depression with its devastating effects, the British government, then in charge of a vast Empire, including Uganda, introduced an Order in Council, providing for the establishment of the Legislative Council, the precursor of the present day, Parliament of Uganda. The Order in Council, issued at the Court at Buckingham Palace on 17 May 1920, said that: ‘There shall be a Legislative Council in and for the Protectorate, and the said Council shall consist of the Governor and such persons, not being less than two at any time, as His Majesty may direct by any Instructions under His Sign Manual and Signet, and all such persons shall hold their places in the said Council during His Majesty’s pleasure’. On 23 March 1921, the Legislative Council (or LEGCO) held its first sitting. Its initial Members were all European, but were joined by Asian Members five years later (in May 1926). The Governor, H.E Sir Robert Coryndon, was the first President (Speaker) of the Council and indeed presided over the day’s morning sitting, which was held at the High Court Building in Entebbe, which lies southwest of Kampala, the present capital. This location, Entebbe, was the first seat of the colonial government before independence. Upon taking his special seat, surrounded by Judges, Bishops and invited guests, Sir Robert Coryndon asked the Clerk to read the proclamation. After the prayers and administration of oaths, Sir Robert Coryndon, who had been accompanied to the sitting by Lady Coryndon and Capt. Palmer Kerrison, made his speech. “It gives me great pleasure to address for the first time, as President, the first Legislative Council of the Uganda Protectorate. The Constitution of this Council marks a definite step in the development of the Protectorate, and I am confident that I express the views of the whole community when I tender our recognition and cordial thanks to His Majesty’s Government, and particularly to His Majesty’s Secretary of State for the colonies,” he said.
In his address, Sir Robert Coryndon noted the effects of the great depression that had negatively affected the sale of the country’s cotton, coffee and rubber. The depression, he said, had also caused a severe setback to all the import, export, bazaar and native trade hence proposing to offer financial assistance to the affected farmers. The Legislative Council comprised seven persons, who included: the Chief Secretary, the Attorney-General, the Treasurer, the Principal Medical Officer, all of whom were ex-officio and three unofficial nominated members. Twenty years later (in 1945), three Ugandans, two of whom were Prime Ministers of their respective Kingdoms: Michael Ernest Kawalya Kaggwa (Buganda); Petero Nyangabyaki (Bunyoro) and Yekonia Zirabamuzaale (Secretary General/ Busoga) were to join the Council, followed later by a fourth, a representative from the Northern Province. “The LEGCO generally had limited legislative powers, as most important decisions at the time came from the British Government in Whitehall. The main activity of the LEGCO was to legislate for law and order in the Uganda Protectorate,” said Rt Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, MP and Speaker of the 10th Parliament. Faustin Misanvu, a Ugandan journalist and researcher said that in 1921, LEGCO, comprising only whites, took over legislative duties, which were initially the preserve of the British High Commissioner and later the Governor – the representative of the Crown in the Protectorate. “It was claimed that at the time there was no Ugandan who understood or could speak fluent English or was knowledgeable to make legislation for Uganda,” he said of the lack of Ugandans in the Council. At independence on 9 October 1962, the British left in place a National Assembly consisting of nominated and directly elected Members in an election held on 25 April 1962. The representatives of Buganda Kingdom, which had a special status in the country, were elected by the Kingdom’s own Parliament or Lukiiko. Paying tribute to LEGCO, Misanvu said that despite its shortcomings, the institution made laws and contributed to the building of the country, the basis of what is happening Left: A model of the Parliament of Uganda building before the country’s coat of arms was added to the façade; also showing the East (right), North (background) and West (left) wings and tower before independence in 1962.
188 | The Parliamentarian | 2021: Issue Two | 100 years of publishing
