By Princess Eugene Majuru
The examples below highlight how different colonial powers—British, French, and others—employed similar tactics of exile, title stripping, and systemic disempowerment to dismantle African sovereignty.
1. The Kabaka of Buganda (Uganda)
Aspect Pre-Colonial Status Colonial Action (British) Post-Colonial Struggle & Current Status
Title Kabaka (King/Emperor) Initially recognized under the 1900 Buganda Agreement, but his power was systematically undermined and the title was treated as subordinate to the British Crown. Restoration & Abolition: The monarchy was abolished in 1966 by President Milton Obote. The institution was restored in 1993, but the Kabaka today is a cultural and spiritual leader and is not a sovereign political ruler, reflecting a partial restoration that leaves political sovereignty with the national government.
Key Event Exile of Mutesa II: In 1953, the British Governor Sir Andrew Cohen deposed and exiled Kabaka Mutesa II (known as “King Freddie”) for refusing to cooperate with plans for an integrated Uganda, a direct assertion of superior British power.
Impact The struggle between the Kabaka and the central Ugandan state over the years remains a core political tension, rooted in colonial-era deals that gave Buganda a powerful, but ultimately vulnerable, semi-autonomous status.
2. The Asantehene of the Ashanti (Ghana)
Aspect Pre-Colonial Status Colonial Action (British) Post-Colonial Struggle & Current Status
Title Asantehene (King of all Asante) British conquest in 1896 led to the abolition of the title and the exile of Asantehene Prempeh I to the Seychelles. Restoration of Confederacy: The title was initially partially restored in 1926 as Kumasihene (Chief of Kumasi), but the full title of Asantehene and the Ashanti Confederacy were officially restored in 1935.
Key Event War of the Golden Stool (1900): After the exile of Prempeh I, the British demanded to sit on the sacred Sika ‘dwa (Golden Stool)—the spiritual embodiment of the Ashanti nation—triggering the final, fierce anti-colonial war led by Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa.
Impact The Ashanti monarchy is one of the most powerful traditional authorities in modern Africa. While lacking direct legislative power, the Asantehene, currently Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, wields immense influence over land, justice, and culture, and his restoration is a major source of national pride.
3. The Oba of Benin (Nigeria)
Aspect Pre-Colonial Status Colonial Action (British) Post-Colonial Struggle & Current Status
Title Oba (King) The Kingdom of Benin was conquered in 1897 during the infamous Benin Punitive Expedition. The reigning Oba Ovonramwen was deposed and exiled to Calabar, and the title was officially abolished. Restoration of Title, not Sovereignty: The title of Oba was revived by the colonial administration in 1914, but as a local paramount ruler under the Indirect Rule system, severely restricted in power.
Key Event Looting of Benin Bronzes: The British carried out a massive theft of thousands of priceless artifacts (the Benin Bronzes), dispersing them to museums worldwide.
Impact The monarchy, today an influential traditional institution, has been central to the ongoing, international movement demanding the restitution of the stolen Benin Bronzes, arguing that the return of these spiritual and historical symbols is necessary for the full cultural and spiritual restoration of the kingdom.
These examples, along with the case of King Mbari of Harare, clearly demonstrate the colonial strategy of de-kinging sovereign rulers. The African independence movements delivered political self-rule, but the spiritual and cultural restoration of Kingship remains a central, unfinished task that continues to drive political discourse and calls for justice.
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