Luwero Triangle

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Map of Uganda, showcasing the approximate area of the Luwero Triangle. Map of the Luwero Triangle.jpg
Map of Uganda, showcasing the approximate area of the Luwero Triangle.
Luweero Triangle
Luwero Triangle
Historical region
CountryUganda
RegionCentral Region (Uganda)
Cultural regionBuganda
Associated conflict Ugandan Bush War (1981–1986)
Named after Luweero District
Time zone UTC+3 (EAT)

The Luweero Triangle, sometimes spelled Luwero Triangle, is an area of Uganda north of the capital Kampala, where, in 1981, Yoweri Museveni started the guerrilla war that propelled him and his National Resistance Movement into power in 1986. The war was fought between the National Resistance Army led by Yoweri Museveni and the army of the late Milton Obote. [1]

Contents

His Excellency Yoweri Museveni starts his campaigns in Luwero Triangle in recognition of its historical support. [2]

Overview

Luwero Triangle Medal (Uganda) - ribbon bar Luwero Triangle Medal (Uganda) - ribbon bar.png
Luwero Triangle Medal (Uganda) - ribbon bar

The area was notorious for the persecution of civilians during the Ugandan Bush War, between the rebel National Resistance Army and the government of Milton Obote. Many residents were either forcibly recruited, displaced or killed by both sides during the war, as Museveni's guerrilla forces started their advance from Kyankwanzi southeast toward Kampala.

Much as the Luwero Triangle is famously known as a result of the Uganda bush war, it has rich cultural heritage and attracts both local and international tourists. It is also known for agriculture because of its fertile soils and good climate. [1]

The following Buganda districts constitute the Luweero Triangle: [3]

Alice Kaboyo is the State Minister for the Luwero Triangle. In 2025, 6.1 billion shillings was secured by the Ministry of Luwero Triangle to compensate veterans ahead of the upcoming Presidential campaigns. [2]

History

Background and insurgency (1981–1986)

After the disputed 1980 elections, Museveni’s group began an armed rebellion. The early guerrilla campaign took root in and around the Luweero area, with recruitment and support networks tied to local communities and to wider political dynamics in central Uganda. [4]

Counter-insurgency and civilian impact

Multiple sources describe severe civilian suffering during the war in the Luweero area, including killings, forced recruitment, and displacement. Human Rights Watch reported that the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated at least 300,000 deaths in the Luweero Triangle after the war, and also reported large losses within specific communities during the conflict period. [5] Other scholarship and policy research note that estimates vary widely across authors and datasets for Uganda’s 1970s–1980s political violence, including the Uganda Bush War period. [6]

A 1986 UN document on Uganda described extensive physical destruction in the Luweero Triangle during the 1981–1986 period, including the devastation of villages and local infrastructure. [7]

Memorials and commemoration

Luweero is closely linked to national remembrance of the Bush War. Memorial sites and commemorative practices include the preservation and display of human remains from mass graves and the marking of former conflict sites, which have also been discussed in academic work on memory, politics, and post-war legitimacy. [8] [9]

Media reporting has also documented disputes and security concerns around memorial sites, including theft and mishandling of displayed remains. [10]

Governance and development programmes

Ugandan government structures have, at different times, assigned political responsibility for the Luweero Triangle within the executive, including a designated State Minister role linked to the Luweero Triangle and the Rwenzori region. [11]

The area has also been referenced in government recovery and development programming. The Luweero-Rwenzori Development Programme (LRDP) has been described in policy work as a post-conflict development intervention aimed at reconstruction and socio-economic recovery in selected districts. [12] [13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 kawlaw (2025-05-10). "Luwero Triangle | Uganda's Historical Region Guide". Murchison Falls National Park Website. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  2. 1 2 "Luwero Triangle Ministry To Pay Ugx 6.1B to Veterans :". Uganda Radionetwork. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  3. ↑ Anatomy of Luweero Triangle [ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ Schubert, Frank (2006). ""Guerillas Don't Die Easily": Everyday Life in Wartime and the Guerrilla Myth in the National Resistance Army in Uganda, 1981–1986" (PDF). International Review of Social History. 51 (S14): 271–300. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  5. ↑ "Uganda's Independence and the First Obote Government". Human Rights Watch. 1999. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  6. ↑ Lindemann, Stefan (2010). Exclusionary Elite Bargains and Civil War Onset: The Case of Uganda (PDF) (Report). London School of Economics (Crisis States Research Centre) / ETH Zürich copy. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  7. ↑ Situation of human rights in Uganda (A/41/593) (PDF) (Report). United Nations Digital Library. 25 September 1986. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  8. ↑ Meert, Abel (2020). "The Luwero War, 1981–1986". JSTOR. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  9. ↑ Bernard, Christine (2017). "War, education and (re-)construction of national identity: schooling youth in post-war Uganda". African Identities. 15 (4): 379–395. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  10. ↑ "War skulls stolen". New Vision. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  11. ↑ "Ministers (Office of the Prime Minister, Uganda)". Office of the Prime Minister (Uganda). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  12. ↑ The Luwero-Rwenzori Development Programme (LRDP): How effective has the intervention been? (PDF) (Report). Makerere University, Department of Political Science and Public Administration (Policy Analysis Project). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Luwero-Rwenzori Triangle (Support to LRDP)". Office of the Prime Minister – A Coordinated, Responsive and Accountable Government for Socio-Economic Transformation. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
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