Uganda Legislative Council

The Uganda Legislative Council (LEGCO) was the predecessor of the National Assembly of Uganda, prior to Uganda's independence from Great Britain. It was small to start with and all its members were Europeans. Its legislative powers were limited since all important decisions came from Her Majesty's government in the United Kingdom.

Uganda's Legislative Council (LEGCO) was created by the British Colonial Government in 1920 via an Order-in-Council. The LEGCO had its first meeting on Wednesday, 23 March 1921. Its composition then was small and all its members were Europeans. It was made up of the Colonial Governor as President, and 4 officials namely: the Chief Secretary, the Attorney General, the Treasurer, and the Principal Medical Officer; and 2 nominated non-officials who were: H.H. Hunter (a Lawyer from Kampala), H.E. Lewis (a Manager of the East Africa Company, which was the successor to the Imperial British East Africa Company). The intention had been to have 3 non-official members made up of one representative of the planters and ginners, one representative from the business community and one Indian. The Indians wanted a representation in the LEGCO equal to the Europeans. This was refused because according to the colonial government at the time, representation in the LEGCO was not based on any community group. In 1921 the number of Asians in Uganda was 5,000 and the Europeans numbered 1,000. There was therefore a vacant Asian position which was filled on a temporary basis by Major A.L. Ranton, who was not a resident in Uganda, but had estates in Mityana, approximately 48 miles west of Kampala.

The unofficial membership of the LEGCO consisted of two Europeans between 1921 to 1926. The four official members at this time were all Europeans. The first Indian member of the LEGCO was nominated in 1926 and the second member was appointed in 1933. They were appointed in their personal capacity. Thus the early years of the LEGCO were dominated by a European membership and later a few Indians were added. In 1946 the number of European and Asian members was increased to 3 each.

There ware some concerns about the powers of the LEGCO from Buganda. On Monday 21 March 1921, Ssekabaka Daudi Chwa (King of Buganda) and Sir Apolo Kagwa wrote a letter to the Colonial Governor questioning the Legislative Council's powers to make laws in Buganda. The letter made reference to Article 5 of the Uganda Agreement 1900 which in effect meant Buganda had complete self-government in terms of local administration and so any laws made by the Governor applied to Buganda only if they did not conflict with the terms of the 1900 agreement.

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