Bugiri District is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

in Eastern Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town',

Bugiri Bugiri is a town in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the chief town of Bugiri District, and the district headquarters are located there. The town was elevated to Municipal Council status in 2019. Location Bugiri is located approximately , b ...

, where the district headquarters are located.

Location

Bugiri District is bordered by

Namutumba District Namutumba District, sometimes referred to as Busiki District is a district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly ...

and Butaleja District to the north, Tororo District to the northeast, Busia District to the east, Namayingo District to the southeast, Mayuge District to the southwest and Bugweri District to the west.

, the district headquarters lies , by road, east of Jinja, the largest city in Busoga sub-region. The coordinates of the district are:00 33N, 33 45E (Latitude:0.5500; Longitude:33.7500).

Overview

Bugiri District was carved out of Iganga District, to which it used to belong. The land surface is characterized by gentle undulating hills with few higher residual features. Another feature of the district is its being located in a flat and rolling topographical zone with 90% of its landmass constituting the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

s of

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

and Lake Kyoga. As a result, there are numerous swamps that criss-cross the road network, making the cost of the road improvement costly. In July 2010, the southern part of Bugiri District was split off to form Namayingo District. Bugiri District is part of Busoga sub-region, which is conterminous with Busoga Kingdom, one of the constitutionally recognised kingdoms in

Uganda 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 ...

. According to the 2002 national census, the sub-region was home to an estimated 2.5 million people at that time. The districts that constitute Busoga sub-region include the following:

Population

The national population census conducted in 1991 estimated the district population at about 171,300. The 2002 national census estimated the population of the district at approximately 237,400. The annual population growth rate in the district is calculated at 6.1%. In 2012 the population of Bugiri District was estimated at 426,800.

Economic activities

Agriculture forms the backbone of the district, as it does in the majority of districts in the country. The main crops include: Tilda Uganda Limited (TUL), a commercial agricultural company, grows rice on a commercial basis at Kibimba Rice Scheme, in the extreme east of Bugiri District. Private out growers also sell their produce to TUL. Due to the abundance of freshwater bodies in the district, commercial fishing is actively practiced by many in Bugiri District. At one time, the district produced in excess of forty (40) metric tonnes of fish on a daily basis. Unfortunately, due to unregulated fishing, the fish reserves in

have been severely disrupted to near-depletion. The daily catch has since markedly fallen from those high numbers. At the height of the fish boom, 75% of the output was exported (mainly to

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

), 20% was consumed locally and 5% was lost in processing.

People

* Phillip Wafula Oguttu, was formerly the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukhooli County Central, a constituency in Bugiri District. * Frederick Douglas Mwanja Mukisa, was a

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He served as the State Minister for Fisheries in the Ugandan Cabinet, from 1 June 2006 until 27 May 2011. He also served in the elected Ugandan Parliament, representing "Bukooli County Central", Bugiri District *

References

External links

FDC Starts Housing Projects for Elderly In Bugiri District
{{Authority control Busoga Districts of Uganda Eastern Region, Uganda Lake Victoria