THE TORO AGREEMENT, 1900
Between Sir Henry
Hamilton Johnson, K.C. B., Her Majesty’s Special Commissioner and Commander in
Chief for the Uganda Protectorate and the adjoining territories representing
the Government of Her Britannic Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland
and Empress of India on the one part, and the Kabaka and Chiefs of the District
of Toro on the other part,
1. That
portion of the district of Toro to which the present Agreement applies shall be
divided into the following administrative divisions (a) Toro, (b) Mwengi, (c)
Kitakwenda, (d) Kitakweta or West Chaka, (e) East Chaka and (f) Nakabimba.
They shall be approximately bounded as follows:
The administrative division of Toro shall be bounded as follows:
On the north by the Semliki River
on the east by line drawn from the Semliki River starting at appoint near a place called Bukala. From thence the line
shall be carried past a place called Kasajia due south to the Toro escarpment
the line shall be carried for a distance of ten miles eastward along the edge
of the escarpment and then shall be deflected south-east for a distance of
twelve miles, and from this point shall be carried east-south-east to the right
bank of the River Munobo, an affluent of the river Mpanga. From this point the
eastern boundary shall follow the right bank of the River Munobo, down stream to its confluence with the
Mpanga, and thence shall follows the
right bank of the Mpanga River down straight to its entrance into Lake
Ruisamba. The southern boundary of the Toro sub-division shall be the northern
coasts of Lake Ruisamba, of Lake Kafuru, and the Lake Albert Edward. The
western boundary of the Toro sub-division shall be the 30th degree of east
latitude.
The administrative
division of Mwengi shall be bound as follows:-
On the north-west
and north by the Semliki River and the coast of Lake Albert Nyanza; on the east
and north by the left bank of the River Kuzizi or Misisi. from its entrance
into Lake Albert Nyanza upstream into its confluence with the little river
Kiji, about twelve miles to the west of ‘Fort Roddy’ (Nakabimba). From this
point the eastern boundary of the Mwengi sub-division shall follow the Kiji stream, upstream
for about fourteen miles, and from this shall be carried west-south-west to the
vicinity of the site of Fort Briggs. The southern boundary of the Mwengi
district shall be a line drawn from the vicinity of the site of Fort Briggs in
a west-north-westerly direction for about thirty—six miles, and from where this measurement ends shall be carried in a
south-south- westerly direction for twenty miles, and thence in a
south-south-westerly direction to the vicinity of Mt. Loamaja. From the
northern flanks of Mt. Loamaja the boundary shall be carried due west to the
Mpanga River. The western boundary on the Mwengi sub-division shall be the
River Mpanga and the eastern boundary of the Toro sub-division.
The
Kitakwenda administrative division shall be bounded as follows:-
On
the north by the left bank of the Mpanga River, by the southern boundary of the Mwengi sub-division, and
thence by a line drawn from the northern flank of Mt. Loamaja due east for a
distance of twenty two miles or until
the Isajasi or Kasinga or lsajasi rivulet as far as its confluence with the River Katonga ; on the south by the River Katonga
from its confluence with the Isajasi,
westward to the vicinity of Ford Grant. From this point the southern boundary shall be drawn west-South-west and then
westwards to the south coast of Lake Kafuru.
The administrative
division of Kitakweta shall be bounded as follows:
On the north and
west by the eastern and southern boundaries of the Mwengi sub-division, on the
south by the northern boundary of the Kitakwenda sub-division; and on the east
by a line starting from the point where the northern boundary of the Kitakwenda
sub-division touches the lsajasi or Kasinga rivulet north-westwards till it
reaches the eastern boundary of the Mwengi district, in the vicinity of Mount
Fumi.
The administrative
division of East Chaka shall be bounded as follows:
On the west by the
eastern boundaries of Kitakweta and Kitakwenda sub-divisions; on the south by
the Katonga River; on the east by the Nahutari River and the frontier of the
Uganda Province; and on the north by the eastern boundary of the Mwengi
sub-division and the boundary of the Nakabimba sub-division.
The administrative
division of Nakabimba shall be bounded as follows:
On the north by the
Kuzizi or Misisi River; on the east by the boundary of the Uganda Province,
which is a lined draw from the left bank of the River Kuzizzi, near its source,
and about ten miles north-westerly direction for about twenty miles. From where
this measurement of twenty miles ends, along the Uganda frontier the southern
boundary of the Nakabimba sub-division shall be carried in a
west-north-westerly direction till it
reaches the right bank of the River Kiji near the site of Fort De Winton.
The western boundary shall be the course of the River Kuzizi or Musisi.
2. The above-defined
administrative divisions do not include the whole area of the district of Toro,
but those portions of the district which border more closely on the Congo Free
State will be subject to the same regulations as those set forth in this
Agreement, and will for the present be administered my the principal European
official placed in civil charge of the Toro district.
3. By this Agreement the Chief
Kasagama is recognised by Her Majesty’s Government as the Kabaka or supreme chief
over all that part of the Toro, but those portions of the district which is included within the limits all that part of
tine Toro district which is included within the limits of the above-mentioned
administrative sub-division; Nasaniri Kagwa Pokino is recognised as chief over
the Mwengi sub-division; Bulemo Katambala as chief over the Kitakwenda
sub-division; Nyarna Kitunzi as chief over the Kitakweta sub-division; and
Mugema Kiambaranga as chief over the Nakabimba sub-division. So long as the
aforesaid Kabaka and chiefs abide by the condition of this Agreement they shall
continue to be recognised by Her Majesty’s government as the responsible chiefs
of the Toro district. They shall be allowed to nominate their successors in the
event of their demise, and the successors thus nominated
shall be in like manner recognised by Her Majesty’s Government the successors
to the dignity of chieftainship, on the understanding that they equally abide
by the terms of this Agreement. But should the Kabaka or the other chiefs
herein named fail at anytime to abide by any portion of the terms of this
Agreement they may be deposed by Her Majesty’s principal representative in the
Uganda Protectorate, and their titles and privileges will then pass to any such
other chiefs as Her Majesty’s principal representative may select in their
place. Should the Kabaka of Toro-Kasagama or his successors be responsible for
the infringement of any part of the terms of this Agreement it shall b open to
Her Majesty’s Government to annul the said Agreement, and to substitute for any
other methods of administering the Toro district which may seem suitable.
4 All the waste and uncultivated land
which is waste and uncultivated at the date of this Agreement; all forests,
mines, minerals, and salt deposits in the Toro district shall be considered to
be the property of Her Majesty’s Government, the
revenue derived therefrom being included within the general revenue of the
Uganda Protectorate; but the natives of the Toro district shall have the same privileges with regard in the
forests as have been laid down and formulated in the aforesaid regulations in
force in the Uganda Protectorate as are applicable to the natives of each
province or other administrative division of the Protectorate within such
province or administrative division. Her Majesty’s Government shall have the
right of enforcing on the natives of the Toro district, as elsewhere in the
Uganda Protectorate, and that the killing or the capture of elephants on the part of the natives of the
Toro district shall be regulated by the principal European official placed in
civil charge of this district.
5. There shall be imposed
henceforth on the natives of the Toro district the same taxation as is in force
by a proclamation in the other provinces or districts of the Uganda
Protectorate, to wit, the hut as and the gun tax. All revenue derived from
customs duties, hut taxes, gun taxes, salt deposits, or any other sources
whatever shall be paid direct to the principal officer in civil charge of the
Toro district. No Chief in the Toro district
shall henceforth levy on other chiefs or on natives tribute or gifts of
any kind, except such as may be directly sanctioned by Her Majesty’s principal representative
in the Uganda Protectorate and as are specified in the clauses of this
Agreement.
6.
Justice
as between native and native shall be
administered direct by the recognised chiefs of the six sub-divisions. In all
cases where a sentence of over three months’ imprisonment, or a fine exceeding
£ 5 pounds in value, or where property appeal shall lie from the divisional
native courts to the Lukiko of the Kabaka of Toro. In cases where the
imprisonment exceeded a term of one year, or property involved exceeds the value
of £100, an appeal shall lie from the decision of the Kabaka or his Lukiko to
the principal European officer in civil charge of the district of Toro. All
fines, fees, or other sums legitimately collected in the divisional native
courts of the district of Toro shall be dealt with as follows: One third of the
total annual value of these sums shall be retained by the local chief
administering justice, and two thirds shall be remitted to the Kabaka of Toro.
All cases between natives of the district of Toro and natives of other
districts of the Uganda Protectorate, or between native and foreigners, shall
be tried by the British magistrates in
the district of
Toro and shall be removed altogether from native jurisdiction.
7.
From out of the total annual revenue received in the shape of
hut taxes and gun taxes from the six administrative divisions
above specified in the Toro district, 10 per centum of the total value shall be
paid to the Kabaka; and of the total value of taxes remitted by the chief of
each sub- division 10 per centum, shall be remitted to the recognized chief of such sub-division. Thus the Kabaka of
Toro will receive firstly 10 per centum of the total value of the taxes
collected in the six previously mentioned sub-divisions of the Toro district
and in addition 10 per centum of the
total taxes collected in his own administrative division of Toro proper. The
chief of the Mwengi subdivision will receive 10 per centum of the total value
of the taxes collected in the Mwengi sub- division; the chief of Kitakwenda
will in like manner receive 10 per centum of the total value of the taxes collected in the Kitakwenda sub-division, and
so forth. In addition to the percentage of the taxes,
the Kabaka of Toro, as Kabaka, shall be granted an
estate from out of the waste lands of the Toro sub-division of an areas of
l6square miles, provide however such estate may not include within its limits
any large areas of forest or any salt deposit. The
Katikiro or principal nninister of the Kabaka of Toro shall in his official
position as Katikiro enjoy the usufruct of an estate to be allotted out of the waste lands of Toro
sub-division, of an area of 10 square miles, not, however, to include any large
area of forest or any salt deposit within its limits. In like manner, and with
the same reservations, the Namasole or the
existing Queen Mother of Kasagama shall receive from out the wastelands of the
Toro sub-division an estate of not more than five square miles. The recognised
chiefs of the other five sub-divisions of the Toro district shall enjoy in
their official capacity the usufruct of an estate of 10 square miles from out
of the waste lands in their respective sub-divisions. The private estates to be
guaranteed to Kasagama, the present Kabaka of Toro, shall not exceed 50 square
miles in area, of which amount 25 square miles must be held in the sub-division of Toro proper. The private
estates of the Katikiro shall not exceed 16 square miles, and those of each
existing chief of a sub-division, as named in this Agreement, l6 square miles
each.
In all respects the Toro district
will be subjected to the same laws and regulations as are generally in
force through out the Uganda Protectorate.
Signed by the within named Sir
Henry Hamilton Johnston and the Kabaka and chiefs of Toro at Port Portal on the
26th day of June, 1900.
HENRY HAMILTON
JOHNSTON,
H.M. Special
Commissioner and
Commander-in-Chief for
the
Protectorate of Uganda.
DAUDI KABAKA KASAGAMA.
NASANALI KAGWA POKINO.
NYAMA KITUNZI, his X mark.
KAGORO LWEKULA, his X mark
BULEMO KATAMBALA, his X mark.
MUGEMA KIAMBARANGA , his X mark
Witness to the
Signatures of NYAMA, KAGORO, BULEMO and MUGEMA:
Witnesses to the above signatures:
STEPHEN S. BAGGE
ALEXANDER JOHNSTON.
NASANIRO, KATIKIRO MUJURASI, his X
mark.
KIBOGO MUJASI, his X mark.