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Uganda’s subnational “presidents”

Understanding the evolution, role and function of RDCs

This publication scrutinizes the roles and functions of Uganda’s Resident District Commissioners in the country’s everyday realities and to a broader extent, the political system, as well as the controversies that surround their roles. This work also acknowledges the extent of power wielded by the RDCs who are an integral part of the governing structure of the State and shines the spotlight into their evolution, their profiles, their roles and how they fit into Uganda’s broader governance framework.

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Resident District Commissioners (RDCs)1 are integral to the function of the Ugandan state. In its current
outline, the Ugandan state has two governing structures: a performative one where democratic rituals
take place along with elite bargains2 and a militarised-political one that is dominated by the NRM and
that has a lot of formal and informal power. President Museveni serves as a broker of compromise
between these two structures and RDCs play a comparable role at the district level.


This working paper provides an in-depth look at the functions of RDCs across Uganda. It seeks to better
understand how the position evolved, who they are, the roles they play and the way they fit into Uganda’s
broader governance framework. It does so by drawing on extensive interviews undertaken in 2020
and 2021 with RDCs, elected and appointed local government officials and experts from government,
academia and civil society across 16 districts of Uganda - four in each region of the country. These
insights are further supported by data gathered through an RDC mapping exercise and two feedback
workshops held with media professionals and political actors in Kampala in October 2021.

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Kontaktisikud

Judith Atim

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Programme Officer

judith.atim@kas.de

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Anna Reismann Judith Atim