Harry George Galt, sometimes called Harry St. George Galt, was a British subcommissioner of the Western Province of

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, a

British protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

. He was killed in

Ibanda Ibanda is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the main political, administrative, and commercial centre of Ibanda District and the site of the district headquarters. It started way back in the 1990s and was elevated from a trading ce ...

Background

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

Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...

Official work and death

Being posted to the British colony of Uganda, he was first appointed as the tax collector of the

Ankole Ankole was a traditional Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom in Uganda and lasted from the 15th century until 1967. The kingdom was located in south-western Uganda, east of Lake Edward. Geography The kingdom of Ankole is located in the South-Western ...

Sub-region. He was later appointed as the sub-commissioner of the Western Uganda province. On 19 May 1905, as a newly appointed officer, Galt allegedly forced the local people to carry him on their heads from

Fort Portal Fort Portal formerly Kabarole () is a city located in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Tooro Kingdom. Etymology Fort Portal was named after British Diplomac ...

to Ibanda, refusing to let them rest. The locals 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 threw a spear at Galt, who was sitting in the government house compound. The missile struck Galt in the chest and he died after a short time. Galt Memorial 10

The colonial government investigated the cause of Galt's death. They thought it was politically motivated and sentenced two

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 the colonial government punished the natives by making them pile stones to cover the blood of Galt. They piled stones making a pyramid-like feature 5 m long and 3 m high which still stands as of 2015. A street in

Mbarara Mbarara City is a city in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda and the second largest city in Uganda after Kampala. The city is divided into 6 boroughs of Kakoba Division, Kamukuzi Division, Nyamitanga Division, Biharwe Division, ...

was named after him: Galt Road which starts on Stanley Road on Booma Hill opposite the public library

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galt, Harry George 1872 births 1905 deaths People from Emsworth British colonial officials English people murdered abroad People murdered in Uganda Deaths by edged and bladed weapons People educated at Lancing College British expatriates in British Uganda