Indirect rule was mainly employed by the British in their respective colonies. In this system, the conquered Africans were used to rule their fellow subjects. The traditional leaders were employed to carry on administrative duties on behalf of the colonialists. In this system, old East African institutions were maintained and adopted to the direction of the British local governance system. Commonly British used indirect rule, while Germans used direct rule.
Explain Why Indirect Rule was used in Uganda The British had a number of reasons why they chose indirect rule, they include the following; 1. The system was economically cheap since chiefs were not paid much for their services. Simple salary, incentives and petty gifts were enough. It would have been costly for the British to bring in expatriates who would demand a lot of facilitation and money. 2. The system was also used because of inadequate manpower. The young British administration did not have enough skilled labor, local manpower especially those who had got some education had to be used.
3. It was used because there were already established administrative institutions in the areas where it was applied. That is why the system worked well in areas with strong and elaborate centralized governments. Therefore, creating new centers of power would have created its own problems. 4. The British believed that traditional rulers and chiefs secured ready obedience and respect from their subjects. The Baganda for example highly respected their Kabaka. The British therefore believed that there would be limited opposition against their policies in Buganda. 5. The British admired the Kiganda model of administration (a centralized administration). Because indirect rule had worked well in Buganda, the British desired to use in the other parts of the protectorate as a way of creating a uniform administration. But in some areas the system failed. 6. The British feared open opposition from Africa. They would pass their orders and policies through traditional chiefs and it would appear as if the orders came from the chiefs. African chiefs were therefore to act as “shock absorbers” and “insulators”. That is to say, in case of problems, blame would go to them (African chiefs) not the British administrators. Therefore it was best way of entrenching colonial rule without the realization of the subjects. 7. The traditional rulers and chiefs were also chosen because they understood their people better. They lived with them, knew their problems and customs and spoke the same language. It was therefore difficult for their subjects to rise against them.