29,533
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
Growing disillusionment in the Uganda Rifles over issues such as loneliness, poor food, poor pay and frequent reassignments to remote areas led to a mutiny in 1897. Several British officers were killed, and discontent amongst Uganda’s moslem community, which was sympathetic to the Sudanese, erupted into violence in several places. The British despatched troops from India to put down the mutiny and to stop the violence, although this took until 1899 to complete.
As a result of the mutiny, towards the end of 1897 the colonial government decided to reorganise the Uganda Rifles on an urgent basis, and a number of commissioned and non-commissioned officers for the task of reorganisation were recruited in London. A newspaper report of the day said ,,,The Soudanese forming the force will be greatly reduced, and the vacancies filled up by recruiting from the East African Protectorate and, possibly, also from India… The non-commissioned officers were ready to depart for Uganda around 20th-21st January 1898, and the commissioned officers followed in due course.<ref>Noel of Melbournenhclark. [http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=82&t=12425#p66257 2nd Lt John Simeon WARD - Uganda Rifles (1899-1903)] ''Victorian Wars Forum'' 14 May 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018</ref>
The King's African Rifles (KAR) were formed on 1 January 1902 from various local regiments, and were responsible for the defence of British colonies and protectorates in East Africa, initially Nyasaland, Kenya, Uganda, British Somaliland, and later Tanganyika Territory and Zanzibar. Each colony was responsible for recruiting and maintaining its own battalions.<ref>
[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C5009 CO 820 Colonial Office: Military Original Correspondence] TNA.</ref> Recruitment of men was local, and Men were recruited locally while officers were from the British Army.
The ''Army and Navy Gazette'' 15 February 1902 (page 2) stated
:"We alluded recently to the creation of the King's African Rifles, under the Foreign Office, embodying the East and Central Africa and Uganda Forces, as an example of an organisation having many features to commend it, since it brings all units under a single and controlling responsible authority, and will cause the whole to be disciplined upon a simple system under settled rules and regulations.<ref>LeoHickman. [http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=82&t=12425#p66479 2nd Lt John Simeon WARD - Uganda Rifles (1899-1903)] ''Victorian Wars Forum'' 6 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.</ref>
Control of the King’s African Rifles appears to have passed to the Colonial Office in 1905.
From 1927 the administration of the King’s African Rifles, together with that of the Royal West Africa Frontier Force (previously The Niger and West Africa Frontier Force, known from 1900-1918 as the West Africa Frontier Force) was brought together in a new Military Branch within the Colonial Office. In September 1931 the appointments of inspector generals for the KAR and RWAFF were combined into one post; the Inspector General of African Colonial Forces.
*[https://archive.org/details/landofgolddiamon00ingr ''The Land of Gold, Diamonds and Ivory; being a Comprehensive Handbook and Guide to the Colonies, States and Republics of South and East Africa''] by J F Ingram 1889 Archive.org
*[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028595944 ''British East Africa; or, IBEA; a history of the formation and work of the Imperial British East Africa Company''] by P L McDermott 1893 Archive.org
*[https://archive.org/stream/ugandaprotectora01johnfo#page/252/mode/2up/ The reorganisation of the military in Uganda c 1900] page 252 ''The Uganda Protectorate; an attempt to give some description of the physical geography, botany, zoology, anthropology, languages and history of the territories under British protection in East Central Africa...'' by Sir Harry Johnston, Volume 1, 1902 Archive.org. Includes a brief reference to Indian troops.
*[https://archive.org/details/eastafricaprotec00eliouoft ''The East Africa Protectorate''] by Sir Charles Eliot 1905 Archive.org
*[https://archive.org/details/ournewestcolonyb00andeiala ''Our newest colony : being an account of British East Africa and its possibilities as a new land for settlement''] by A G Anderson 1910 Archive.org
