Kabarole District Local Government Archives

BACKGROUND OF KABAROLE DISTRICT ARCHIVES

In 2008, two interns from British Institute in Eastern Africa were sent by Prof.Derek Peterson to box the files and make a catalogue which was all done and later this work was transferred to Mountains of the Moon University, Center for African Development studies. It was observed by the Centre for African Development Studies (CADS) team that due to changes brought about by the new re-boxing process and mistakes that were made like updating the categories. It therefore needed to be edited and put into proper format to suite the recommended standard of the catalogue which can enable easy access of the files.

The outlook of the Catalogue now:

It is formatted in such a way that;

The New box No, old box No, file No, (say 1, 2, 3) the category e.g. Education, the start date, closing date, file names and additional contents. The same has been done to the lid boxes as they are named, new box No, older No in brackets, the No, of folders and then category.

Subject Scope/ information available in the archive:

The Archive’s collections, while focusing on records documenting the history and heritage of the Kabarole District, encompass not only local history but larger themes within Ugandan history.  Strengths lie in multiple areas, including:

Local governmental records

As property of the Kabarole District and donated by the Kabarole District Chief Administrative Officer, the Archive’s collections are, of necessity, constituted of documents concerning varied governmental subjects.  These range from local education, finance, population and census information, and human resources to land development, roads construction, agriculture, game, and forestry.

Colonial and postcolonial judiciary

This aspect of the Archive’s collection focuses on local judicial records, including court appeals, legal procedures, prison records, correspondence between high and low courts and other legal administrators, drafts of legislation, and other various legal documents.  The Archive seeks to maintain and cultivate a collection recording judicial activities in the Kabarole District as essential documentation of local governance.

Conduct of elections in the late 1950s and early 1960s

The Archive’s collections contain an important cross-section of documents concerning District elections from the late 1950s to the early 1960s.  These include registration forms, documentation of elected officials’ swearing-in ceremonies, election results, and nominations for political office.

Conduct of the Rwenzururu War during the 1960s and 1970s

The Rwenzururu War was a significant event in the history of the Kabarole District, and is duly represented in the Archive’s collections.  Ranging from 1949 to 1973, the collection follows the conflict from its origins in early local governance and politics to its resolution in the mid seventies.  Documents are mainly comprised of county and district governmental records concerning the war, including Secession Movement inquiries, inter-governmental correspondence, meeting minutes, police orders, and security reports.

 Summery/ Collection Series of the archives as presented in the catalogue:

1. Judicial (JUD)
2. Rwenzururu War (RWE)
3. Population and Census (P + C)
4. Chiefs (tribal)
5. Education (EDU)
6. Veterinary and Agriculture (V & A)
7. Information (INFO)
8. Development (DEV)
9. Sports and Leisure (S & L)
10. Water and Metrology (W & M)
11. Elections (ELE)
12. Religion (RELIG)
13. Local Government
14. Labor
15. Trade
16. Agriculture
17. Game
18. C.C.
19. Finance (F)
20. Tours and Visits
21. Transport (TRANS)
22. Askari Army (ASK.)
23. Arms
24. Medicine (MED)
25. Human Resources (HR)
26. Lands
27. Buildings & Housing (B & H)
28. Forestry (FOR)
29. Roads & Construction (R & C)