The Tooro people (; , ), also known as Batooro or Toro people are a Bantu ethnic group, native to the

Tooro Kingdom The Tooro Kingdom is a Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom located within the borders of Uganda. The current Omukama of Tooro is King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV of Tooro, Rukidi IV. King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV of Tooro, Rukidi ...

, a subnational constitutional monarchy within Uganda.

Religion

According to the 2002 Census of Uganda 48.8% of Batoro are

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 30.8% are

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

(

Church of Uganda The Church of Uganda (C/U) is a member province of the Anglican Communion. Currently, there are 37 dioceses that make up the Church of Uganda, each headed by a bishop. Each diocese is divided into archdeaconries, each headed by a senior priest k ...

), 7.3% follow other religions and 5.4% are

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and 5.2% are

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

Population

the following administrative districts constitute the

: (a)

Kabarole District Kabarole District is a Districts of Uganda, district in Western Region, Uganda, Western Uganda. Kabarole District is part of the Tooro Kingdom. Its main town was Fort Portal before 1 July 2020 when it was elevated to a city, separating it from Ka ...

(b)

Kamwenge District Kamwenge District is a Districts of Uganda, district in Western Region, Uganda, Western Uganda. It is named after its 'chief town', Kamwenge, where the district headquarters are located. Kamwenge District is part of the Toro Kingdom, Kingdom of T ...

Kyenjojo District Kyenjojo District is a district in the Western Region of Uganda. Kyenjojo town is the site of the district headquarters. Location Kyenjojo District is bordered by Kibale District to the north, Kyegegwa District to the east, Kamwenge Distr ...

. Those four districts had a combined total population of about 1 million people, according to the 2002 national population census.

Clans

Tooro people are divided into individual clans, and most Tooro

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

s have a

totem A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While the word ...

which spiritually represents them.

Culture

Since Fort Portal Tourism city is the headquarter of Tooro Kingdom, the area has two inscribed elements of Empaako and Koogere oral traditions on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. The Tooro cultural dance is called ''Kinyege''. Another important dance is the Orunyege-Ntogoro, a courtship dance. The Batoro are uniquely beautiful people and treasure their cultural heritage.

Prominent people

The following individuals are some of the prominent Batooro: # Elizabeth Bagaya - She is a lawyer, politician, diplomat, model and actress. She was the first female East African to be admitted to the English Bar. She is a paternal aunt of the current Omukama of Tooro, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. # Edward Bitanywaine Rugumayo - He is a politician, diplomat, author, academic and environmentalist. Current

University Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

Kampala University Kampala University (KU) is a private, chartered, recognized and accredited university in Uganda. Location , KU maintained the following campuses: 1. Ggaba: The main campus is in a neighborhood in Makindye Division, approximately southeast of ...

and of

Mountains of the Moon University The Mountains of the Moon University (MMU) is a public university in Uganda. Founded as a private, non-profit institution, it became a public institution following an executive directive in January 2018. It is named after the Rwenzori Mountains, ...

# Brigadier Nobel Mayombo (1965–2007) - He was military officer in the UPDF and a Member of Parliament (MP). #

Andrew Mwenda Andrew Mwenda (born 1972) is a Ugandan print, radio and television journalist, and the founder and owner of ''The Independent'', a current affairs newsmagazine. He was previously the political editor of '' The Daily Monitor'', a Ugandan newspa ...

- Journalist and entrepreneur. Founder and owner of

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, a current affairs newsmagazine. # Brigadier Kayanja Muhanga - He is an

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warra ...

. He currently serves as the Commander of the UPDF Contingent in South Sudan. He was appointed to that position in January 2014 by General Yoweri Museveni, the Commander in Chief of the UPDF and the President of Uganda. # Professor John Ntambirweki - A

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some ...

. He is the current

Vice Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

Uganda Pentecostal University Uganda Pentecostal University (UPU) is a private university in Uganda. Location The Uganda Pentecostal University is located in the heart of Kabarole District, Fort Portal City, Uganda. It originated from the Grotius School of Law and Profession ...

, a private university, located in

Fort Portal Fort Portal formerly Kabarole () is a city located in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Tooro Kingdom. Etymology Fort Portal was named after British Diplomac ...

Western Uganda The Western Region of Uganda is one of four regions in the country of 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 ...

. # Dr. Godfrey Bahiigwa - Economist and entrepreneur. Director of Agriculture and Rural Development at the

African Union Commission The African Union Commission (AUC) acts as the executive/administrative branch or secretariat of the African Union. It is headed by a chairperson and consists of a number of Commissioners dealing with different areas of policy. The African ...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

References

External links

Toro People
* {{authority control Bantu peoples Ethnic groups in Uganda