Uganda: global push to rename colonial-era landmarks

Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for the East African nation to rename roads and landmarks that celebrate white power, joining a growing, global movement against racism.

Statues linked to colonialism and slavery have been defaced or downed in the United States, Britain, Italy, and France and beyond amid protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd, a black man, after a U.S. policeman knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.

Sir Samuel Baker Road in Gulu, northern Uganda, is named after a British explorer who is said to have laid the foundations for colonialism. Image credit Sally Hayden

Now a prominent Ugandan lawyer and writer has joined the worldwide push on monuments, winning the backing of some 5,000 people to review place names that honour British colonial rule.

“People feel passionate about the issue,” explained Apollo Nelson Makubuya, the organizer of the petition.

“The reason why it hasn’t come up before is that the ordinary Ugandan is not aware that the history they are taught in schools has been white-washed,” he pointed out.

“The removal of visible vestiges of a colonial hegemony from public spaces is a crucial part of ... decolonization.”

Makubuya announced that his online petition had attracted more than 4,800 signatures since June 9 - adding urgency to a campaign he had already waged with the government over several months.

Apollo N. Makubuya. Image credit Twitter

Uganda Independence

Uganda gained independence from Britain in 1962, but countless roads, monuments, buildings and landmarks in the East African country still bear the name of British royals, army regiments and senior military officers, he explained.

“I’ve read and understood the history and some of these names mentioned on street signs really shouldn’t be celebrated,” he declared.

Places named after Henry Colville, Frederick Lugard, The King’s African Rifles, General De Winton and Colonel Ternan are found in cities such as Kampala, Entebbe, Jinja and Fort Portal - even though they committed crimes such as pillage, rape and murder during colonial rule in Uganda, said Makubuya.

Statues and monuments have been defaced in Belgium, Britain, Italy, France, and cities across the United States as protesters galvanized by Floyd’s death in custody challenge racial inequality across a countless aspect of everyday life, from pay to promotion, loans to language.

Image credit Gareth Fuller, PA Wire

“The death of George Floyd and events in the United States are symbolic of a bigger issue that affects the entire world. It’s about ending a culture which glorifies colonial conquest, occupation, subjugation and control,” explained Makubuya, who also chairs the board of directors at Equity Bank Uganda.

Makubuya wants the government to set up an independent body to review all monuments, roads and buildings and rename them after Ugandans and other historical figures who promote values such as freedom, dignity, peace and justice.

The petition is addressed to former President Yoweri Museveni, the Ugandan Parliament and the Kampala Capital City Authorities – even though Don Wanyama, Museveni’s senior press secretary, said it was not in the president’s power to rename roads and monuments.

“The president doesn’t name streets. It’s not his mandate,” Wanyama told the media in a WhatsApp message.

“Roads are named by district councils,” he said, adding that the petitioner should approach city authorities about the issue.