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 south by Tanzania. The southern part includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region, it lies within the Nile basin, and has a varied equatorial climate. As of 2024, it has a population of over 49 million, of which 8.5 million live in the capital and largest city, Kampala.
The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000–45,000, consisting of land forces and an air wing. Recruitment to the forces is done annually.
The Ruwenzori, also spelled Rwenzori and Rwenjura, or Rwenzururu are a range of mountains in eastern equatorial Africa, located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The highest peak of the Ruwenzori reaches 5,109 metres (16,762 ft), and the range's upper regions are permanently snow-capped and glaciated. Rivers fed by mountain streams form one of the sources of the Nile. Because of this, European explorers linked the Ruwenzori with the legendary Mountains of the Moon, claimed by the Greek scholar Ptolemy as the source of the Nile. Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo and Rwenzori Mountains National Park in southwestern Uganda are located within the range.
The Lango are a Nilotic ethnic group. They live in north-central Uganda, in a region that covers the area formerly known as the Lango District until 1974, when it was split into the districts of Apac and Lira, and subsequently into several additional districts. The current Lango Region now includes the districts of Amolatar, Alebtong, Apac, Dokolo, Kole, Lira, Oyam, Otuke, and Kwania. The total population of Lango District is currently about 2,884,000.
Sir Edward Frederick William David Walugembe Mutebi Luwangula Mutesa II was Kabaka, or king, of the Kingdom of Buganda in Uganda from 22 November 1939 until his death. He was the 35th Kabaka of Buganda and the first president of Uganda from 1962 to 1966, when he was overthrown by Milton Obote. The foreign press often referred to him as King Freddie, a name rarely used in Uganda. An ardent defender of Buganda's interests, especially its traditional autonomy, he often threatened to make the kingdom independent both before and after Uganda's independence to preserve it. These firm convictions also later led to conflicts with his erstwhile political ally Milton Obote, who would eventually overthrow him.
Kasese District is a district in Western Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its chief town and district headquarters, the town of Kasese.
Kasese is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the capital of Kasese District. Kasese is also the largest town in the Rwenzururu region. In 2020 it had an estimated population 115,400. It lies north of Lake George and east of Rwenzori Mountains.
Rwenzururu is a subnational kingdom in western Uganda, located in the Rwenzori Mountains on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It includes the districts of Bundibugyo, Kasese and Ntoroko. Rwenzururu is also the name given to the region the kingdom is located in.
The Konjo, BaKonzo, or Konzo, are a Bantu ethnic group located in the Rwenzori region of Southwest Uganda in districts that include; Kasese, Bundibugyo, Bunyangabu and Ntoroko districts.
Amba is a Bantu ethnic group located on the border area between the DRC and Uganda south of Lake Albert in the northern foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains. On the Uganda side, they are found in Bundibugyo District. On the Congolese side, they are located in the Watalinga and Bawisa subcounties of Beni, South Kivu. Numbering 42,559 on the Uganda side in the 2014 census and 4,500 on the Congolese side according to a 1991 SIL International estimate, Ethnologue lists their total population as 40,100. Agriculturalists, the Baamba traditionally cultivate plantains, millet, maize, sweet potatoes, peanuts, rice, coffee, cotton, and cassava, while raising goats and sheep. The Baamba practice Christianity.
Tom Stacey FRSL was a British novelist, publisher, screenwriter, journalist and penologist. He was a prominent member of White's.
Charles Wesley Mumbere, known by his royal title Irema-Ngoma I, is the king of Rwenzururu, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Mumbere was arrested in December 2016 after the clashes in the kingdom's capital of Kasese, and has since been in prison awaiting trial.
The Songora or Shongora are a traditionally pastoralist people of the Great Lakes region of Central Africa located in Western Region, Uganda and Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. They have distinctive customs and speak Rusongora, a Bantu language that is similar to Runyankole and Runyoro. The Basongora population in Uganda was reported at numbering 15,897 people in the 2014 census. Although various community estimates put their population at around 40,000 and 50,000 people. Some Basongora also live in Eastern Congo.
Yenga is an Amba village in western Uganda, Bundibugyo District, on the border with the Congo. It lies in the rift valley between Lake Albert and Lake Edward above the Semliki River. The village is within the borders of the Semuliki National Park. To the south of the village are the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains. While Yenga is only 24 kilometres (15 mi) from the district capital of Bundibugyo, the nearest town of substance is Fort Portal. Yenga is located in lowland tropical rainforest, much like the Ituri Rainforest across the river.
Violence erupted on 26 November 2016 in the town of Kasese, the capital of the Ugandan Kingdom of Rwenzururu, when Ugandan police raided the government offices of the Rwenzururu kingdom, killing eight Rwenzururian royal guards and arresting two others. According to the government of Uganda, the raid was in response to militant attacks on police posts in the region two weeks earlier, allegedly perpetrated by the royal guards.
The Rwenzururu movement was an armed secessionist movement active in southwest Uganda, in the subnational kingdom of Tooro. The group was made up of Konjo and Amba fighters and was led by Isaya Mukirania. It disbanded in 1982 following successful peace negotiations with the Ugandan government.
Jehoash Ssibakyalyawo Mayanja Nkangi or Joash Mayanja Nkangi was a Ugandan lawyer, civil servant and politician. At the time of his death, he was the immediate past chairman of the Uganda Land Commission. He previously served as a cabinet minister in several ministries in the Cabinet of Uganda.
Omusinga of Rwenzururu is the royal title given to the monarchs of the Kingdom of Rwenzururu. The title was technically held by Charles Mumbere for over 43 years after the first Omusinga, his father Isaya Mukirania, died in 1966. However, Mumbere was not formally crowned and recognised by the Ugandan government until 2009.
The prime minister of Rwenzururu, known locally as the omulerembera, is the highest administrative post within the government of the Kingdom of Rwenzururu in Uganda. The appointment is the prerogative of the monarch.
Ekikibi is a traditional love dance of the Bakonzo people, who live in the Rwenzori Mountains of western Uganda and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Bakonzo are a Bantu ethnic group located in the Rwenzori region in districts that include; Kasese, Bundibugyo, Bunyangabu and Ntoroko districts. The dance is performed during weddings and other festive occasions, and it expresses the joy and affection of the bride and groom.
