Colonialism and Social Transformation: Elite formation and social inequalities among Acholi of Uganda
In the last part, we indicated that the problems of leadership in Acholi are directly linked to issues of social inequalities, class and historical elite competition. To understand this, we need to outline historical and social processes and mechanisms that led to the emergence of particular social and economic classes in Acholi from the advent of colonialism to the present. First, British colonialism and missionary education introduced social inequalities in Acholi through unequal access to missionary education and subsequently white collar work. One needed to have been converted and persuaded of the value of missionary education. There was created therefore, social groups of believers and non believers with all their positive and negative connotations and antagonism. In most cases, the chiefly households were the first to embrace Christianity and protestant missionary education. As a result, they formed the nucleus of Acholi elite. As descendants of chiefly households, they believed ...