Little Uganda (pop. 6,500,000, area 93,981 sq. mi.) has a variety all its own. The high Ruwenzori—the fabled Mountains of the Moon—tower over lush low lands where bananas grow in wild profusion and where a golf course allows a free stroke if the ball lands in a hippo’s deep hoofprint. For the British, management of the motley protectorate has always been a matter of reconciling the demands of Uganda’s proud tribal rulers, the Kings of Ankole, Toro, Bunyoro, and above all of Buganda, biggest of the four.
The Kabaka of Buganda, 36-year-old Edward Frederick Mutesa II (known in London nightclubs as King Freddie) at first demanded full independence. Finally he agreed to join a unified Uganda, so long as Buganda enjoys a “special” status in the league. Last week, in a plan announced by Britain for Uganda’s independence next year, Freddie got what he wanted, and another nation could begin preparing its application papers for the United Nations.
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