Ethnic fragmentation and political instability in post-colonial Uganda : understanding the contribution of colonial rule to the plights of the Acholi people in Northern Uganda

Abstract: Uganda, along with a number of other African states, is a state struggling with the task of bringing together a vast range of ethnic minority groups into one nation-state decided by geographical borders drawn by colonial masters Britain during imperialism. The effects of these colonial decisions and policies are widely known to having plagued the native population during the course of history. This paper, however, attempts to locate the connections between the colonial rule of the British in Uganda and the plights of the Acholi people, one of the ethnic minority groups that is marginalized in contemporary Ugandan community. The Acholi people is primarily indigenous to the northern parts of Uganda, an area which for many years has been plagued by a violent civil war conducted by, on the one hand, crude government forces and, on the other hand, the rebel organization the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The Uganda vs. LRA conflict has put the Acholi people in a vulnerable position and support from the government of Uganda seems lacking. The purpose of this paper is two-fold and firstly aimed at understanding the underlying structures that generate this ethnic fragmentation and the ways in which these affect the situation of ethnic minorities in Uganda. It does so by examining a report by Human Rights Watch, “Uprooted and Forgotten: Impunity and Human Rights Abuses in Northern Uganda”. It then proceeds to explore plausible connections between the colonial rule of Britain and the plights of the Acholi people by using a theoretical framework consisting of prior studies of colonial heritage and post-colonial development. This paper shows a perspective on ethnic marginalization that is rooted in colonial heritage and can thus be an integral part of understanding the complex notion that is the post-colonial African state.