Contingent Homes, Contingent Nation: Rwandan Settlers in Uganda, 1911-64 by Ashley Brooke Rockenbach A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in the University of Michigan 2018 Doctoral Committee: Professor Derek Peterson, Co-Chair Associate Professor Pamela Ballinger, Co-Chair Professor Emerita Catharine Newbury, Smith College Professor Anne Pitcher Professor Elisha Renne Ashley B. Rockenbach [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7599-1959 © Ashley B. Rockenbach 2018 Dedication For Ananda, of course. For Linda and Ron Rockenbach. ii Acknowledgements This was a long road, and I have many people who journeyed with me. I could not have asked for more supportive co-advisors than Derek Peterson and Pamela Ballinger. Their intellectual mentorship, reliable collegiality, practical wisdom, and good humor encouraged me to keep coming back to the computer screen to put more words on page. I thank them for reading and commenting on every piece of paper I have ever sent them, and for always being my greatest advocates as well as my most constructive critics. Derek gave me multiple opportunities to participate in archives preservation work in Uganda, which turned out to be some of the most rewarding experiences of my graduate career. Pam, in addition to her intellectual investment in my work, was also an important guide and mentor through some of the darker moments of research and writing, helping me turn frustration into a productive resource. Anne Pitcher and Elisha Renne believed in this project from the very beginning. Anne’s commitment to interdisciplinarity, combined with her deep understanding of the state in Africa, significantly shaped how I think about governance, borders, and political authority. Anne also provided support when life took an unexpected and difficult turn during fieldwork; I am indebted to her and to Pam for advising me through that painful period. Elisha gave me encouragement in my first and second years of graduate school. She has always been ready with interesting, prodding questions about my understanding of kinship and “home,” and my work is the richer for it. iii Catharine Newbury joined my committee in the final two years of writing, after graciously agreeing to comment on a paper I had written for the Carter G. Woodson Institute at the University of Virginia. Her scholarship was formative to my understanding of Rwandan history and governance, and it has been a tremendous privilege to work with her over these past two years. The African History and Anthropology Workshop at Michigan provided an unparalleled space for graduate students to develop their ideas, strengthen their writing, and practice community. AHAW was a welcoming and productive space in large part because the faculty protected it and gave it continuity as students moved from coursework to fieldwork. I am thankful to Gabrielle Hecht, Butch Ware, Nancy Hunt, Kelly Askew, Anne Pitcher, Martin Murray, Ellen Poteet, and Howard Stein for their research, ideas, and community. I would also like to thank the African Studies Center at UM International Institute, which generously supported various stages of my work. I am particularly grateful to Devon Keen and Sandie Schulz, the administrative staff who worked with me during my years at UM. Outside of African History, UM History faculty and staff enriched my graduate studies and made life more generally pleasant. Thank you to Diana Denney, Kathleen Keen, Lorna Altstetter, Dawn Kapalla, Sheila Coley, Terre Fisher, Greg Parker, and Diane Wyatt for helping me through every administrative hurdle (even those of my own making). Martha Jones made sure I survived my first year, and I continue to be inspired by her political commitment to history. Joel Howell and Valerie Kivelson, fantastic educators both, mentored me when I worked as their GSI, providing invaluable guidance and advice as I honed my pedagogical practice. During my year in the Netherlands (2014), I had the great fortune to be affiliated with the Institute for Migration and Ethnicity Studies at the University of Amsterdam. I am especially iv grateful to my supervisor, Darshan Vigneswaran, for supporting my research and giving me opportunity to attend his undergraduate seminar in mobility studies, which culminated in a conference titled, “Who Belongs Where? Towards a Historically Grounded Theory of Movement and Settlement.” During my time in The Hague, Helen Hintjens and Martin Doornbos welcomed me at the International Institute for Social Studies at Erasmus University, read and commented on my work, and connected me to scholars and students. I am profoundly grateful to Carter G. Woodson Institute at the University of Virginia for providing me with funding and an intellectual home during the final two years of this process. Thank you to Director Deborah McDowell and Assistant Director Maurice Wallace for reading and commenting on multiple chapters, attending my practice job talks, and reading numerous iterations of cover letters. Their professional guidance was an invaluable to me. I thank Professor Lisa Shutt for her friendship, encouragement, and support, and for her feedback on undergraduate syllabi and pedagogical questions. Cynthia Hoehler-Fatton, Robert Fatton, Jim Igoe, China Scherz, and Ann Rotich attended my talks, read my chapters, and contributed their intellectual energies to the African Studies Colloquium. I am especially grateful to my fellow pre-docs and post-docs who read drafts, talked out ideas, problem-solved the Keurig machine and copier, assisted with French translations, and provided me with community in the sometimes lonely process of writing: Tiffany Barber, Lyndsey Beutin, Julius Flemming, Jr., Ebony Jones, Lindsey Jones, Talitha LeFlouria, LaTasha Levy, Taneisha Means, Kwame Otu, Tammy Owens, Giuliana Perrone, Tony Perry, Xavier Pickett, Ava Purkiss, and Petal Samuel. A very special thank you to Joe Miller for his warm and untiring support (genuflect). His enthusiasm and intellectual curiosity are contagious. With the help of kind mentorship, I survived the job search, reconfigured chapters, and found greater peace with myself as a scholar. v My time in Virginia would not have been the same without Mike and RaeAnne Caires and Brittany and Lindsay Caine-Conley. What would life have been if we had not had the four of you to weather 2016 and 2017 in Charlottesville? Thanks to Brittany and Lindsay for long talks about big things, wine, anxious beagles, car rides and irreverent faith. I am a better person for knowing you both. To Mike and RaeAnne, for being loud, generous, engaged, angry, hilarious, and cat-friendly. You made Charlottesville home for us. There is a madness in writing, at least for me. I would not be the person I am today if it weren’t for the unflagging friendship of Cassie Grafström, Mike Waters, Robyn D’Avignon, Paul Hébert, Sylvia Marques, Edgar Taylor, Chelsea Del Rio, Jess Stephens, Brady G’Sell, Aaron Seamen, Doreen Kembabazi, Lynn Eckert, Lissy Reiman, Marie Stango, Ronit Stahl, Jolene Pelton, Tapsi Mathur, Jennifer Johnson, Tara Dosumu Denier, Davide Orsini, Shana Melnysyn, Kevin Donovan, Emma Park, Austin McCoy, Julia Cummiskey, Anna Maccourt, Nathan Kalmoe, and Katie Will. MAIC helped me maintain my sanity. Christopher Muhoozi, at Northwestern, and Marissa Mika, at UPenn, were regular sources of encouragement, good ideas, and cutting social commentary. Julia Cummiskey was a fantastic roommate in Entebbe, and is the best person to hang out with at conferences. Aaron and Brady taught me about this thing called grant-writing while giving me wine and cheese out on their patio. Anneeth Hundle and Austin McCoy always, and without apology, made me pause and reflect (and then revise my reading lists). Robyn D’Avignon has been present for more eleventh hours than I care to admit, and I’ll just stop apologizing for it. Cassie Grafstrom flew to India for my reception and to California for my wedding, and was only ever kind of irritated when I ate her cereal. Paul Hébert and Sylvia Marques threw a fish soup party where I conveniently met my future spouse. Edgar was both a friend and a guide for my early visits to Kampala, and has continued to be an vi important conversation partner on all things East Africa and bad Canadian mockumentaries. Chelsea del Rio and Jess Stephens—where to even begin. Chelsea and Jess threw us a 1980s film party when Ananda broke his knee, helped us pack the apartment, and always made sure we had food to eat. Chelsea’s regular stream of homemade crafts during the last months, weeks, and days of this process will be treasured forever. Over the course of my fieldwork, I incurred innumerable debts to friends, colleagues, archivists, and librarians who journeyed with me through the research process. Lilian Kamusiime spent many long days visiting elderly residents with me in southwestern Uganda. I am forever grateful for her love of history, language, and people, which injected energy and excitement into the work. Nicholas Kahangire introduced me to retired politicians, public servants, and academics in Mbarara who could recount the early days of independence and their role in Ankole politics. I am thankful for the many drives Nicholas took with me to Oruchinga and Nakivale, exhausting though they were, and his continued friendship and patient intellectual work along the way. At Makerere University, I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to senior faculty at the Department of History and Archaeology and Heritage Studies, who hosted my stay in Uganda in 2013. Deo Katono and Godfrey Asiimwe read proposals, advised on research strategies, and offered encouragement and good humor throughout the year. At Mbarara University of Science and Technology, I had the sincere pleasure of getting to know Charles Muchunguzi and Frank Ahimbisibwe, who generously shared their work with me and offered timely advice about conducting research in Oruchinga.