Harry George Galt

Harry George Galt, sometimes called Harry St. George Galt, was a British officer newly appointed as the Sub Commissioner of the Western Province of Uganda, a British protectorate, who was killed in Ibanda.

Harry George Galt
Sub-commissioner western Uganda Province
In office
1904 – 19 May 1905
Personal details
Born28 January 1872
Emsworth in Hampshire, United Kingdom
Died19 May 1905(1905-05-19) (aged 33)
Ibanda, Uganda

Background

He was born on 28 January 1872 in Emsworth in Hampshire in Great Britain to Edwin Galt JP and Marion Galt. He attended Lancing College.[1]

Official Work and Death

Being posted to the British colony of Uganda, he was first appointed as the tax collector of the Ankole Sub-region. He was later appointed as the sub-commissioner of the Western Uganda province.

He is said to have been a cruel officer who treated the local people harshly. On 19 May 1905, as a newly appointed officer, Galt forced the local people to carry him on their heads from Fort Portal to Ibanda, refusing to let them rest.

The local people carried him up to Katooma, 3 km from Ibanda, before the Kagongo Catholic Church where he stopped and rested in a Government house. When the local people started talking about his cruelty, a native man named Rutaraka got annoyed with the officer's acts and threw a spear at Galt, who was sitting in the government house compound; it struck Galt in the chest and he died after a short time.

The colonial government investigated the cause of Galt's death. They thought it was politically motivated and sentenced two Ankole chiefs to the death penalty which was later cancelled on appeal by the British East African Court.

Rutaraka was later found dead as he committed suicide by hanging himself, fearing what would follow. Galt's body was taken for burial and Colonial government punished the natives by making them pile stones to cover the blood of Galt. They piled stones making a pyramid-like feature 5m long and 3m high which still stands as of 2015.[2]

A street in Mbarara has been named after him, Galt Road which starts on Stanley Road on Booma Hill opposite the Public Library.

References
  1. hambo, . "Early life of Galt". Hambo Org. Retrieved 23 January 2015.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. AllAfrica, . "Galt killed in Ibanda". New Vision. Archived from the original on 5 May 2004. Retrieved 23 January 2015.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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