Akida

Akida was a title of indigenous rural officials in Tanganyika.[1] At the time of the Zanzibar Sultanate, they acted as commanders of military divisions, and needed the approval of the sultan.[2] During the German East African rule, the Germans adopted the title from pre-colonial Zanzibar-based administration, investing it with greater power.[1] Under German rule, akidas ruled over so-called Akidate, an intermediate level of government[2] between regional governors and minor countryside chiefs (called jumbe) and functioned as tax collectors, policemen, and lower judges.[1] Their judicial role was recognized under the British colonial administration which took over from Germany following World War I.[1]