Record-keeping and political advocacy in late colonial Uganda: the case of Abataka Abasoga, Busoga, 1940 to 1950

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses the nexus between record-keeping and political advocacy in the late colonial Busoga which formed one of eastern ethno-geographical regions of the Uganda Protectorate. It illustrates the vexed position of the Abataka Abasoga attempting to build and use archival knowledge while the colonial government moved against the indigenous use of archival records as a tool of anti-colonial defiance. By weaving together archival materials with secondary sources, the paper reveals the precarious position of Ugandan archival records as denoted by the subsequent regimes’ involvement in the management of documentary materials. Ultimately, the example shows how the ruling regimes’ interests have been central in determining the nature of information made available for future preservation and its accessibility for use by both the political elite and reading publics.

KEYWORDS:

• Uganda National Archives
• Jinja District Archives
• colonial legacy
• Abataka Abasoga Association
• colonial and post-colonial regimes

Acknowledgment

I am grateful to the Archivists at the Uganda National Archives, Wandegeya, who allowed me access to the national records, Dr. Edgar Taylor and Professor Archangel Byaruhanga Rukooko (Makerere University), Dr. Duane Jethro (University of Cape Town) and Dr. Alirio Karina (Princeton University) who shared their reflections and offered immense guidance towards this publication. May the Lord reward you abundantly. Finally, to Julie, Jireh, Jadon and Jerushah; thanks for your unwavering support and encouragement.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

William Musamba

William Musamba (PhD, African History, Makerere University) teaches courses in African and European history at Uganda Martyrs University. His research interests focus on the twentieth-century history of Busoga, eastern Uganda. His most recent work is “Busoga States Amalgamation and Ethnic Formation, 1900 to 1950” published in African Identities (2023, Routledge/Taylor & Francis, https://doi.org/10.1080/14725843.2023.2215415).