A.G. Mehta | |
|---|---|
 Mehta in 1968 | |
| Mayor ofKampala, Uganda | |
| In office 1968 (1968) – 10 March 1969 (1969-03-10) (died in office) | |
| Preceded by | W.Y. Nega |
| Succeeded by | Nakibinge |
| Member of Parliament | |
| In office 1960 (1960) – 1968 (1968) | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 February 1927 (1927-02) |
| Died | 10 March 1969 (1969-03-11) |
| Party | Uganda People's Congress |
| Spouse | Savita Radia |
| Children | 6 |
| Alma mater | Queen Mary University of London, School of Law |
A. G. Mehta (1 February 1927 – 10 March 1969) was a Ugandan member of parliament, barrister and the eldest son of a prominentIndian industrialist.[1] The Honourable A.G. Mehta was elected as the firstAsian-Indian mayor of Uganda's capitalKampala in 1968 and was a close colleague of Uganda's first prime ministerMilton Obote; with whom he jointly fought for the country's independence at theUganda Constitutional Conference in 1961.[2][3][4] He is credited with drafting elements of what would become the firstConstitution of Uganda.[5]
A.G. Mehta was educated as a barrister atQueen Mary University of London, School of Law, inWest London, and was legally permitted to practice law in the United Kingdom, Uganda and Kenya.[6][7][8]
As a member of parliament, A.G. Mehta attended theUganda Constitutional Conference atLancaster House in 1961 as part of theUganda Peoples’ Congress (UPC) delegation alongsideMilton Obote.[9] The conference was also attended by then Governor of Uganda,Sir Frederick Crawford, and the Secretary of State for the Colonies,Iain Macleod.[10] Recommendations produced by Mehta and other conference attendees resulted in the firstUgandan Constitution, which took effect on 9 October 1962.[5]
A.G. Mehta was elected as the first Indian mayor of Uganda's capital city, Kampala, in 1968.[3][11] One week before his death in 1969, Mehta opened the first exhibition on theBaháʼí Faith in theNational Theatre of Uganda, where his opening address, attended by numerous East-African dignitaries, advocated pointedly for the unity of mankind.[12]
A. G. Mehta was born the eldest son of the Mehta family, one of Kampala's longest-standing and most prominent Indian families originally hailing fromPorbandar, Gujarat, India.[1] The Mehta family were amongst the first multi-millionaires inEast Africa with numerous agricultural businesses including the production ofcotton andcoffee.[13]
Following his death in 1969, Mehta's widow, Savita Mehta (née Radia) and five surviving children —Avi Mehta, Asha Mehta (laterMadhvani), Asita Mehta, Alka Mehta, and Aditi Mehta (later Rajani)— were exiled from Uganda by his former colleague,Idi Amin.[14]
Mehta's granddaughter isMaya Asha McDonald, a British-Canadian art historian and journalist known best for her 2022 op-ed on Russian PresidentVladimir Putin.[15][16]
A.G. Mehta's role in establishing the first Constitution of Uganda in 1962 is recorded in Ali AlʼAmin Mazrui's 1978 bookPolitical Values and the Educated Class in Africa published by theUniversity of California Press.[17]
Images of Mehta's political career can be found in theBritish Library and were digitised by the Endangered Archives Programme.[18]