More about Uganda

Uganda was called the "Pearl of Africa" by Sir Winston Churchill in 1908 in his book "My African Journey" because of its breathtakingly beautiful scenery, pleasant climate and friendly people. Uganda is about 6x larger than the Netherlands. To get an impression of the difference, see the picture.

General information
Uganda (also known as Uganda) is a country in Africa bordering Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Congo-Kinshasa and Rwanda.

Uganda is a republic divided constitutionally into 77 districts spread across four geographic regions. The country gained independence from the United Kingdom on Oct. 9, 1962, and it takes its name from the kingdom of Buganda, which covers part of the south of the country including the capital Kampala. Bukomansimbi is also part of this kingdom. In addition to Boeganda, there are four other kingdoms in Uganda. 

The earliest human inhabitants of the area were hunter-gatherers. Between about 2000 and 1500 years ago, Bantu-speaking peoples, probably from Central and West Africa, entered the southern part of the country. They belong to the Urewe culture and brought and developed agriculture, metalworking and new social and political ideas. The kingdoms of Buganda and Bunyoro-Kitara are examples of the first forms of formal organization.

The colonial boundaries, created by Britain to demarcate Uganda, grouped a wide variety of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures. These differences prevented the creation of a working political community after independence was gained in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi Amin (1971-1979) was responsible for the deaths of about 300,000 opponents; guerrilla warfare and human rights violations under Milton Obote (1980-1985) took at least another 100,000 lives. Yoweri Museveni's rule since 1986 has brought relative stability and economic growth.

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