This concept was intended to undermine the leadership and political power of African traditional leaders by the European colonizers. So, the African kings were to be referred to as ‘Paramount Chief’, but not King (Wikipedia). They introduced an electoral system in which paramount chiefs were elected, in complete contradiction to the practices of our forefathers. In most cases, District Commissioners that were appointed had the power to dismiss an elected paramount chief from his position. Recent experience has shown that successful decentralization must take existing traditional structures into account.
