Strong ethnic identities can impede urbanisation and the stability of the nation state in East Africa. The transplanting of rural tribal identities to urban capitals has often led to urban tension and even national violence in the past. Dar es Salaam, a major city and former capital of Tanzania, stands out as a striking alternative. The Creole foundations and cosmopolitan outlook of this city has allowed it to develop peacefully.

Research published by the Crisis States Research Centre at the London School of Economics, in the UK, compares the relationship between ethnic and national identities in two capital cities: Kampala in Uganda, and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. There has been much written about nation-building in East Africa and also about urbanisation in the region, but little addressing the relationship between the two. This research examines the differing nature of ethnic identity within the two cities, and the extent to which these identities have facilitated either nationalism, or social tension and violence.

The Baganda are Kampala’s indigenous population. They were a powerful tribal kingdom at the time of British colonial conquest. Following insurrection against colonial rule in 1897, the British designated the Kingdom of Buganda as an autonomous constitutional monarchy, in return for assistance with administration and tax collection. The Baganda then played a key role in developing a nationalist post-colonial government and have continually struggled for autonomy.

The indigenous Zaramo of Dar es Salaam, by contrast, have accommodated themselves to successive waves of migrants from different ethnic backgrounds. They have frequently intermarried with Shomvi Arab coastal traders and aspired to Swahili metropolitan culture. The Zaramo have never been a cohesive tribal group with a clear identity.

Comparing their impact within the two cities, the study finds that:

• Kampala and Dar es Salaam have both attracted migrants from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, growing to become the most economically and culturally diverse cities in Uganda and Tanzania.
• In Kampala, the Baganda have retained their tribal hold on land and monopolised labour markets.
• Bagandan political demands and separatist tendencies have hindered efforts to promote nationalism in Uganda.
• Dar es Salaam has offered migrants easier access to land and labour opportunities, as the Swahili are used to selling land on an individual basis. 
• The ethnic character of the Swahili is easily adaptable. This, along with low levels of education and lack of economic success, has protected them from resentment.
• Dar es Salaam’s Creole foundations and cosmopolitan outlook have facilitated more peaceful urbanisation.

Uganda has a far greater ethnic consciousness than Tanzania. Military insurgency occurs in northern and western areas of the country. Kampala’s residents face daily challenges of tribal cultural difference. Dar es Salaam is much larger and more cosmopolitan. Tanzania is regarded as one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most stable nation states.

The research concludes that minimising ethnicity in the politics and economy of a national capital facilitates the stability of the nation state. Throughout East Africa, transplanting rural tribal identities to urban capitals has sparked urban tension and national violence. Dar es Salaam is unique. Ethnic plurality takes the form of humour and social tolerance, not hierarchical political and economic control. Consequently the country has been able to grow and urbanise peacefully.

Source(s):
‘Creole and Tribal Designs: Dar es Salaam and Kampala as Ethnic Cities in Coalescing Nation States’, Working Paper 35, Crisis States Research Centre Working Paper Series No 2, London School of Economics, by Deborah Fahy Bryceson, April 2008 (PDF) Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 19 August 2008

Further Information:
Deborah Fahy Bryceson
African Studies Centre
92 Woodstock Road
Oxford, OX2 7ND
UK

Tel: +44 1865 292801
Contact the contributor: dfbryceson@bryceson.net

African Studies Centre, Oxford, UK

The Editor
Crisis States Research Centre
Development Studies Institute (DESTIN)
London School of Economics
Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
UK

Tel: +44 20 78494631
Fax: +44 20 79556421

Crisis States Research Centre, Development Studies Institute (DESTIN), London School of Economics, UK

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