“Rule by Fear”: British Colonial Reconstruction of Political Authority in Acholiland, 1889-1962

Abstract

The paper revisits how the British colonial state reconfigured the existing structure and institutions of political power and authority in Acholiland to organize and govern society as a way to entrench its extractive logic. This occurred in three major phases. First, by deploying missionaries, church education institutions (schools, catechism), and interpreters, the British attempted to transform the intellectual consciousness of Acholi society to construct an “educated” governable modernized native subject, constructed in the image of British logic of rule. Second, British rule introduced the institution of native law and custom into Acholi to ground indirect rule whereby colonial chiefs mediated state’s access to society. By fragmenting the institutions and offices of traditional Acholi power, represented by Rwodi kalam (educated chiefs) vis-à-vis Rwodi moo (anointed chiefs), British governance excised political authority of its chosen Rwodi kalam from the cultural component relegated to Rwodi moo and thereby vulgarized chiefly authority. Consequently, political chiefs were cut off from their social base and this made Native chiefs lose legitimacy, leading to the outbreak of social discontent and conflict. This was also manifested in the naming format whereby Acholi offices were renamed Ganda terms such as Mukungu, Muluka (parish chief), village chief, etcetera, which further fragmented society due to confusion of political and cultural roles. By creating new territorial offices where they did not exist before, the British reconfigured the spatial reach of Acholi hereditary institutions leading to a clash of roles, duties and responsibilities in restricted “homelands”.