Dr. Ayub Mukisa: How Karamoja was Isolated and marginalised in the colonial life

I know some readers will wonder, why Iam writing so much about the British East Africa colonial rule in Karamoja. However, the “Karamoja problem,” which some scholars refer to as the “Karamoja Syndrome” (Kagan et al., 2009), needs to be analysed in order for Karamoja to be developed. In this article, I demonstrate how Karamoja was marginalized during the colonial period from 1920 to 1962. Barber (1962) illustrates that before the colonialists took control of Karamoja, the Karamojongs were described in 1898 by British military explorer Major J. Macdonald as the best in Equatoria.

However, when the colonial masters took over Karamoja, the language changed and concepts such as poverty, illiteracy, violence, barbarism, primitivity, cattle raiders, and conservatism started to surface (Bell, 1923; Mamdani, 1982; Ocan 1993; Muhereza, 2018; Mukisa, 2025).

For example, when the British colonialists settled in Karamoja they formed civil administration in 1921 and introduced legislation such as the Outlying Districts Ordinance, which prohibited anyone from entering Karamoja District without written permission from the district commissioner (DC) (Wozei, 1977). This type of administration and governance significantly changed Karamoja, restricting contact between the people of Karamoja and the rest of Uganda. One could argue that the British colonialists made a governance error, but marginalization of Karamoja was intentional. Why? The colonialists implemented policies such as De-stocking Policies in 1934 (Kabiito, 2021), and the policy of mandatory cattle vaccination in the 1950s, which were not well received by some Karimojongs. They resisted these policies through community Baraza’s. Out of fear of ungovernability and public disinterest in colonial policies, the colonial government deliberately designated Karamoja as a detention center for anticolonial activists. They established a detention program known as “Operation Cold Storage”, essentially turning Karamoja sub region into a prison ground. Christopher Harwich, a colonial police officer responsible for the implementation of the operation, bragged, “there would be no chance for anyone to escape from this area.” (Harwich, cited in Meyerson, 2024). This indicates that in the eyes of the colonial masters, Karamoja’s environment was suitable for prisoners.

Surprisingly, in the lead-up to independence, colonial policymakers who designed the Karamoja Development Scheme in 1954, (Ugandan Protectorate Official Bulletin vol. 6,1955) once again doubted themselves.

They believed that the people of Karamoja were not ready for political participation and agreed that the Karamojong’s were “primitive” people, lacking education and not qualifying to be part of the new local government (Bataringaya et al.,1962). In this article, I will agree with other researchers that instead of solving problems in Karamoja, British East African rule, intensified the margnalisation of the people of the region (Mamdani 1982, Ocan 1993; Muhereza 1998).

Ayub Mukisa (PhD)

Executive Director. Karamoja Anti Corruption Coalition (KACC).
ayubmukisa@gmail.com