Buganda Must Recognise Today's Political Realities.

Byline: Peter Mulira

The current conflict between the central government and the Mengo administration over the federo demands and the return of the kingdom's assets traces its history to the imbalanced manner in which the Uganda protectorate was formed.

At the turn of the 19th century, the protectorate was divided into 13 districts and the province of Buganda was its administrative unit.

The districts thus formed were administered directly on behalf of the governor by district commissioners before they were given their own local governments under the Local Government Ordinance.

Buganda, on the other hand, was administered separately under the terms of an agreement it reached with the British in 1900 in which it agreed to join the protectorate as one of its four provinces and was allowed a fully fledged system of government with judicial, legislative and executive powers which to all intents and purposes made it a state within a state.

Under the agreement, the kingdom's parliament was given extensive powers "to discuss all matters concerning native administration of Buganda and to forward to the Kabaka resolutions which may be noted …