First published in 1958, The Making of Modern Uganda is concerned with the formation of modern Uganda in the sixty years since the 1890s when the foundations of the British administration were laid. In the first decade of the 20th century Sir Hesketh Bell, Uganda’s Governor, decided that Uganda should be built up by Africans under the disinterested guidance of Europeans. The book therefore traces the emergence of a territory whose material prosperity is mainly based upon peasant agriculture guided by the advice of British agricultural officers. It describes the development from an era of tribal, clan and even village organisation to the system of centralised government along semi-parliamentary lines but notes the disagreement as to whether Uganda’s future should lie as a unitary or a federal state. The controversial issue of closer union with the other East African territories is studied at some length as also is the growth of the politically active minority which plays so important a part in the modern Protectorate. The author believes that the years of ‘happy Uganda’, the years before the Second World War, were a period in which hard work coupled with peace and obvious progress tended to conceal for many the growth of new forces which needed an outlet and only found one in the political and constitutional developments of the post-war age. This book will be of interest to students of history, African studies, ethnic studies and political science.

First published in 1975, The Kingdom of Toro in Uganda describes the foundation of the Toro kingdom in the nineteenth century by the rebel prince Kaboyo, and investigates how Kasagama, Kaboyo’s grandson, was able to recreate, with little local support, a kingdom far more extensive than Kaboyo had ever envisaged. His personal authority was established by his insistence that its root were traditional, thus satisfying the requirements of ‘indirect rules’ at a time when this ill-defined concept served both as the shibboleth and the escape clause for an overstretched British colonial administration. Although Kasagama’s son, Rukidi, was able to combine authority with personal popularity and to take advantage of colonial innovations without losing control of his kingdom, the ending of colonial rule brought an end to Toro as he knew it. In an independent Uganda the particularism stressed by Toro’s rulers could not survive. This book will be of interest to students of history, colonialism, African studies and ethnic studies.

Uganda developed as a British protectorate in a manner which made it virtually impossible for any indigenous politician to emerge as the unchallenged leader of his country. Obote: A Political Biography describes the efforts of one man to find a pragmatic solution to that problem, and in doing so to create a united, democratic Uganda. Kenneth Ingham makes the first attempt to trace the political career of Obote through the ups and downs of his two presidencies and his time in exile during the military dictatorship of Idi Amin. The book challenges accusations of tyranny and argues that Obote's political achievements have been underestimated. It addresses the key issue of why a country so well endowed with human and material resources should have suffered so grievously from shortages and internal strife. Obote's contribution emerges as unique and at the same time representative of the problems facing the leaders of Africa's emergent nations.

Uganda developed as a British protectorate in a manner which made it virtually impossible for any indigenous politician to emerge as the unchallenged leader of his country. Obote: A Political Biography describes the efforts of one man to find a pragmatic solution to that problem, and in doing so to create a united, democratic Uganda.
Kenneth Ingham makes the first attempt to trace the political career of Obote through the ups and downs of his two presidencies and his time in exile during the military dictatorship of Idi Amin. The book challenges accusations of tyranny and argues that Obote's political achievements have been underestimated. It addresses the key issue of why a country so well endowed with human and material resources should have suffered so grievously from shortages and internal strife. Obote's contribution emerges as unique and at the same time representative of the problems facing the leaders of Africa's emergent nations.