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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 July 2009
Uganda's Independence Constitution, which came into force on October 9th, 1962, was the culmination of long negotiation in an attempt to reconcile the conflicting interests of Buganda, the western kingdoms and Busoga on the one hand, and the rest of the country on the other, and the result was a delicate compromise between a unitary and a federal state—the fruit of a political understanding between the Uganda Peoples Congress and the Buganda traditionalists. As in the following years rifts first appeared and then steadily widened in the alliance between the Uganda Peoples Congress and the Kabaka Yekka—between radical and traditionalist— the survival of the Constitution in its original form appeared more and more doubtful. In fact, however, the Constitution survived for over three years with only three amending Acts, the first and most important of these making provision for the substitution of a President for a Governor-General in October, 1963.
1 Constitution of Uganda (First Amendment) Act, Act No. 61 of 1963. This Act also effected certain other changes, abolishing, for example, the executive powers of the Public Service Commission (see p. 116, post). The Constitution of Uganda (Second Amendment) Act, Act No. 30 of 1964, was concerned merely with altering the date on which the Legislative Assembly of Toro should stand dissolved. The Constitution of Uganda (Third Amendment) Act, Act No. 36 of 1964, gave effect to the transfer of the “Lost Counties”to Bunyoro following a referendum in the area concerned.
2 Constitution, 1966, art. 145.
3 For a discussion of the 1962 Constitution, see Morris and Read, Uganda, The Development of its Laws and Constitution (1966), pp. 87–201.
page 115 note 1 Listed in the Sixth Schedule. The phrase ‘exclusive power’ appeared in the heading to this schedule, but the word “exclusive” has since been deleted by the First Amendment to the Constitution (see p. 117, n.: post).
page 115 note 2 This opens the way for the application of the Magistrates’ Courts Act of 1964 to Buganda.
page 116 note 1 Under the Public Service Act, No. 69 of 1963, the Prime Minister had first to refer such matters to the Public Service Commission for advice, but he was not required to act in accordance with the advice given.
page 117 note 1 Since writing this article the First Amendment to the 1966 Constitution came into force on June 3rd. This effects two important changes. Busoga, is placed in the same position as other districts and its constitution deleted from the main Constitution. The constitution of Buganda is brought more into line with those of the other kingdoms, the special provisions for authorisation of expenditure and for the post of Attorney-General of Buganda, among others, being deleted.
