Uganda

 

Bureau of African Affairs                                                     
June 2007                                                                     
                                                                       
  Background Note: Uganda                                                     
                                                                       
  Flag of Uganda is six equal horizontal bands of black - top - yellow, red,  
  black, yellow, and red; white disk is superimposed at center and depicts    
  red-crested crane facing hoist side.                                        
                                                                       
  PROFILE                                                                     
                                                                       
  OFFICIAL NAME:                                                              
  Republic of Uganda                                                          
                                                                       
  Geography                                                                   
  Area: 241,040 sq. km. (93,070 sq. mi.); about the size of Oregon.           
  Cities: Capital--Kampala (2002 pop. 1.2 million). Other cities--Jinja, Gulu,
  Mbale, Mbarara.                                                             
  Terrain: 18% inland water and swamp; 12% national parks, forest, and game   
  reserves; 70% forest, woodland, grassland.                                  
  Climate: In the northeast, semi-arid--rainfall less than 50 cm. (20 in.); in
  southwest, rainfall 130 cm. (50 in.) or more. Two dry seasons: Dec.-Feb. and
  June-July.                                                                  
                                                                       
  People                                                                      
  Nationality: Noun and adjective--Ugandan(s).                                
  Population (2007): 30.9 million.                                            
  Annual growth rate (2004 est.): 4.0%.                                       
  Ethnic groups: African 99%, European, Asian, Arab 1%.                       
  Religions (2007): Christian 85%, Muslim 12%, other 2%.                      
  Languages: English (official); Luganda and Swahili widely used; other Bantu 
  and Nilotic languages.                                                      
  Education: Attendance (2000; primary school enrollment, public and private) 
  --89%. Literacy (2003)--70%.                                                
  Health: Infant mortality rate--86/1,000. Life expectancy--45.3 yrs.         
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  Type: Republic.                                                             
  Constitution: Ratified July 12, 1995; promulgated October 8, 1995.          
  Independence: October 9, 1962.                                              
  Branches: Executive--president, vice president, prime minister, cabinet.    
  Legislative--parliament. Judicial--Magistrate's Court, High Court, Court of 
  Appeals, Supreme Court.                                                     
  Administrative subdivisions: 80 districts.                                  
  Political parties: In 2006, approximately 33 parties were allowed to        
  function, including political parties that existed in 1986, when the National
  Resistance Movement assumed power.                                          
  Suffrage: Universal adult.                                                  
  National holiday: Independence Day, October 9.                              
                                                                       
  Economy                                                                     
  GDP (nominal, 2005/2006): $9.4 billion.                                     
  Inflation rate (annual headline or CPI, 2005/2006): 6.6%.                   
  Natural resources: Copper, cobalt, limestone, phosphate, oil.               
  Agriculture: Cash crops--coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, sugar cane, cut      
  flowers, vanilla. Food crops--bananas, corn, cassava, potatoes, millet,     
  pulses. Livestock and fisheries--beef, goat meat, milk, Nile perch, tilapia.
  Industry: Types--processing of agricultural products (cotton ginning, coffee
  curing), cement production, light consumer goods, textiles.                 
  Trade: Exports (2005/2006)--$887.5 million: coffee, fish and fish products, 
  tea, electricity, horticultural products, vanilla, cut flowers, remittances 
  from abroad. Major markets--EU, Kenya, South Africa, U.K., U.S. Imports (2005
  /2006)--$1.99 billion: capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical      
  supplies, chemical, cereals. Major suppliers--OPEC countries, Kenya, EU,    
  India, South Africa, U.S.                                                   
  Fiscal year: July 1-June 30.                                                
                                                                       
  PEOPLE AND HISTORY                                                          
  Africans of three main ethnic groups--Bantu, Nilotic, and                   
  Nilo-Hamitic--constitute most of the population. The Bantu are the most     
  numerous and include the Baganda, which, with 18% of the population,        
  constitute the largest single ethnic group. Individual ethnic groups in the 
  southwest include the Banyankole and Bahima, 10%; the Bakiga, 8%; the       
  Banyarwanda, 6%; the Bunyoro, 3%; and the Batoro, 3%. Residents of the north,
  largely Nilotic, include the Langi, 6%, and the Acholi, 4%. In the northwest
  are the Lugbara, 4%, and the Karamojong, 2%, occupy the considerably drier, 
  largely pastoral territory in the northeast. The Basoga, 8% and the Bagisu, 
  5% are among ethnic groups in the East. Europeans, Asians, and Arabs make up
  about 1% of the population with other groups accounting for the remainder.  
                                                                       
  Uganda's population is predominately rural, and its population density      
  highest in the southern regions. Until 1972, Asians constituted the largest 
  nonindigenous ethnic group in Uganda. In that year, the Idi Amin regime     
  expelled 50,000 Asians, who had been engaged in trade, industry, and various
  professions. In the years since Amin's overthrow in 1979, Asians have slowly
  returned and now number around 30,000. Other nonindigenous people in Uganda 
  include Arabs, Western missionaries, non-governmental organization (NGO)    
  workers, diplomats, and business people.                                    
                                                                       
  When Arab traders moved inland from their enclaves along the Indian Ocean   
  coast of East Africa and reached the interior of Uganda in the 1830s, they  
  found several African kingdoms with well-developed political institutions   
  dating back several centuries. These traders were followed in the 1860s by  
  British explorers searching for the source of the Nile River. Protestant    
  missionaries entered the country in 1877, followed by Catholic missionaries 
  in 1879.                                                                    
                                                                       
  In 1888, control of the emerging British "sphere of interest" in East Africa
  was assigned by royal charter to the Imperial British East Africa Company, an
  arrangement strengthened in 1890 by an Anglo-German agreement confirming    
  British dominance over Kenya and Uganda. In 1894, the Kingdom of Buganda was
  placed under a formal British protectorate.                                 
                                                                       
  Britain granted internal self-government to Uganda in 1961, with the first  
  elections held on March 1, 1961. Benedicto Kiwanuka of the Democratic Party 
  became the first Chief Minister. Uganda maintained its Commonwealth         
  membership. A second round of elections in April 1962 elected members to a  
  new National Assembly. Milton Obote, leader of the majority coalition in the
  National Assembly, became prime minister and led Uganda to formal           
  independence on October 9, 1962.                                            
                                                                       
  In succeeding years, supporters of a centralized state vied with those in   
  favor of a loose federation and a strong role for tribally-based local      
  kingdoms. Political maneuvering climaxed in February 1966, when Prime       
  Minister Milton Obote suspended the constitution, assumed all government    
  powers, and removed the ceremonial president and vice president. In September
  1967, a new constitution proclaimed Uganda a republic, gave the president   
  even greater powers, and abolished the traditional kingdoms. On January 25, 
  1971, Obote's government was ousted in a military coup led by armed forces  
  commander Idi Amin Dada. Amin declared himself president, dissolved the     
  parliament, and amended the constitution to give himself absolute power.    
                                                                       
  Idi Amin's 8-year rule produced economic decline, social disintegration, and
  massive human rights violations. The Acholi and Langi ethnic groups were    
  particular objects of Amin's political persecution because they had supported
  Obote and made up a large part of the army. In 1978, the International      
  Commission of Jurists estimated that more than 100,000 Ugandans had been    
  murdered during Amin's reign of terror; some authorities place the figure   
  much higher.                                                                
                                                                       
  In October 1978, Tanzanian armed forces repulsed an incursion of Amin's     
  troops into Tanzanian territory. The Tanzanian force, backed by Ugandan     
  exiles, waged a war of liberation against Amin's troops and Libyan soldiers 
  sent to help him. On April 11, 1979, Kampala was captured, and Amin fled with
  his remaining forces.                                                       
                                                                       
  After Amin's removal, the Uganda National Liberation Front formed an interim
  government with Yusuf Lule as president. This government adopted a          
  ministerial system of administration and created a quasi-parliamentary organ
  known as the National Consultative Commission (NCC). The NCC and the Lule   
  cabinet reflected widely differing political views. In June 1979, following a
  dispute over the extent of presidential powers, the NCC replaced Lule with  
  Godfrey Binaisa. In a continuing dispute over the powers of the interim     
  presidency, Binaisa was removed in May 1980. Thereafter, Uganda was ruled by
  a military commission chaired by Paulo Muwanga. December 1980 elections     
  returned the UPC to power under the leadership of President Obote, with     
  Muwanga serving as vice president. Under Obote, the security forces had one 
  of the world's worst human rights records. In their efforts to stamp out an 
  insurgency led by Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army (NRA), they laid
  waste to a substantial section of the country, especially in the Luwero area
  north of Kampala.                                                           
                                                                       
  Obote ruled until July 27, 1985, when an army brigade, composed mostly of   
  ethnic Acholi troops and commanded by Lt. Gen. Basilio Olara-Okello, took   
  Kampala and proclaimed a military government. Obote fled to exile in Zambia.
  The new regime, headed by former defense force commander Gen. Tito Okello (no
  relation to Lt. Gen. Olara-Okello), opened negotiations with Museveni's     
  insurgent forces and pledged to improve respect for human rights, end tribal
  rivalry, and conduct free and fair elections. In the meantime, massive human
  rights violations continued as the Okello government murdered civilians and 
  ravaged the countryside in order to destroy the NRA's support.              
                                                                       
  Negotiations between the Okello government and the NRA were conducted in    
  Nairobi in the fall of 1985, with Kenyan President Daniel Moi seeking a     
  cease-fire and a coalition government in Uganda. Although agreeing in late  
  1985 to a cease-fire, the NRA continued fighting, seized Kampala in late    
  January 1986, and assumed control of the country, forcing Okello to flee    
  north into Sudan. Museveni's forces organized a government with Museveni as 
  president and dominated by the political grouping called the National       
  Resistance Movement (NRM or the "Movement").                                
                                                                       
  A referendum was held in March 2000 on whether Uganda should retain the     
  Movement system, with limited operation of political parties, or adopt      
  multi-party politics. Although 70% of voters endorsed retention of the      
  Movement system, the referendum was widely criticized for low voter turnout 
  and unfair restrictions on Movement opponents. Museveni was reelected to a  
  second five-year term in March 2001. Parliamentary elections were held in   
  June 2001, and more than 50% of contested seats were won by newcomers.      
  Movement supporters nevertheless remained in firm control of the legislative
  branch. Observers believed that the 2001 presidential and parliamentary     
  elections generally reflected the will of the electorate; however, both were
  marred by serious irregularities, particularly in the period leading up to  
  the elections, such as restrictions on political party activities, incidents
  of violence, voter intimidation, and fraud.                                 
                                                                       
  A Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) issued a report proposing          
  comprehensive constitutional change in December 2003. The government,       
  however, took issue with many CRC recommendations and made counter-proposals
  in September 2004. A July 2005 national referendum resulted in the adoption 
  of a multiparty system of government and the subsequent inclusion of        
  opposition parties in elections and government.                             
                                                                       
  In February 2006, the country held its first multiparty general elections   
  since President Museveni came to power in 1986. The election generally      
  reflected the will of the people, although serious irregularities occurred. 
  Ruling NRM candidate President Museveni was declared the winner with 59.26% 
  of the vote, giving him a third term in office following the passage of a   
  controversial amendment in June 2005 to eliminate presidential term limits. 
  Opposition FDC leader Kizza Besigye captured 37.39% of the vote, while the  
  remaining contestants received less than 2% of the vote each, according to  
  official figures from the Electoral Commission.                             
                                                                       
  GOVERNMENT                                                                  
  The 1995 constitution established Uganda as a republic with an executive,   
  legislative, and judicial branch. The constitution provides for an executive
  president, to be elected every 5 years. President Yoweri Museveni, in power 
  since 1986, was elected in 1996 and reelected in 2001 and 2006. Legislative 
  responsibility is vested in the parliament; legislative elections were last 
  held February 2006. There currently are 332 members of parliament, of which 
  79 are women. The Ugandan judiciary operates as an independent branch of    
  government and consists of magistrate's courts, high courts, courts of      
  appeals, and the Supreme Court. Parliament and the judiciary have significant
  amounts of independence and wield significant power.                        
                                                                       
  Principal Government Officials                                              
  President and Commander in Chief--Yoweri Kaguta Museveni                    
  Vice President--Dr. Gilbert Bukenya                                         
  Prime Minister--Apollo Nsibambi                                             
  Foreign Minister--Sam Kutesa                                                
  Minister of Defense--Crispus Kiyonga                                        
  Ambassador to the United States--Perezi K. Kamunanwire                      
                                                                       
  Uganda maintains an embassy in the United States at 5909 16th Street NW,    
  Washington, DC 20011 (tel. 202-726-7100).                                   
                                                                       
  POLITICAL CONDITIONS                                                        
  Since assuming power, Museveni and his government have largely put an end to
  the human rights abuses of earlier governments, initiated substantial       
  economic liberalization and general press freedom, and instituted economic  
  reforms in accord with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and
  donor governments.                                                          
                                                                       
  The vicious and cult-like Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which seeks to      
  overthrow the Ugandan Government, has murdered and kidnapped civilians in the
  north and east since 1986. Although the LRA does not threaten the stability 
  of the government, LRA violence at one time displaced up to 1.7 million     
  people, creating a humanitarian catastrophe, particularly when they were    
  forced into internally displaced persons (IDP) camps for their own          
  protection. The Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF) launched "Operation Iron
  Fist" against LRA rebels in northern Uganda in 2002 and conducted operations
  against LRA sanctuaries in southern Sudan with the permission of the Sudanese
  Government. The Sudanese Government had previously supported the LRA.       
                                                                       
  There have been significant new developments in this conflict since January 
  2006. With the signing of the Sudanese "Comprehensive Peace Agreement," the 
  Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) was created. To protect this fragile    
  peace from LRA incursions in southern Sudan, Riek Machar, a GOSS Vice       
  President, launched efforts to broker a peace agreement between the         
  Government of Uganda and the LRA in July 2006. Those talks are ongoing and  
  represent the first time there has been meaningful progress in ending this  
  conflict. As a result, many northern Ugandans are leaving the IDP camps and 
  returning to their villages.                                                
                                                                       
  In 1998, Uganda deployed a sizable military force to eastern Democratic     
  Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.), ostensibly to prevent attacks from Ugandan  
  rebel groups operating there. There were widespread allegations that Ugandan
  military and civilian officials were involved in the illegal exploitation of
  D.R.C. natural resources. After much international pressure, Uganda withdrew
  its troops from D.R.C. in June 2003. Relations with the D.R.C., however,    
  continue to be frosty. When the LRA left southern Sudan and relocated to    
  eastern Congo in September 2005, Museveni threatened to enter D.R.C. and go 
  after the LRA if neither Congo nor the UN peacekeepers in the region would  
  take action. The recent peace talks have taken a lot of steam out of those  
  threats, however, and Uganda seems focused on seeing the talks to conclusion.
                                                                       
  ECONOMY                                                                     
  Uganda's economy has great potential. Endowed with significant natural      
  resources, including ample fertile land, regular rainfall, and mineral      
  deposits, it appeared poised for rapid economic growth and development at   
  independence. However, chronic political instability and erratic economic   
  management produced a record of persistent economic decline that left Uganda
  among the world's poorest and least-developed countries.                    
                                                                       
  Since assuming power in early 1986, Museveni's government has taken important
  steps toward economic rehabilitation. The country's infrastructure--notably 
  its transportation and communications systems that were destroyed by war and
  neglect--is being rebuilt. Recognizing the need for increased external      
  support, Uganda negotiated a policy framework paper with the IMF and the    
  World Bank in 1987. It subsequently began implementing economic policies    
  designed to restore price stability and sustainable balance of payments,    
  improve capacity utilization, rehabilitate infrastructure, restore producer 
  incentives through proper price policies, and improve resource mobilization 
  and allocation in the public sector. These policies produced positive       
  results. Inflation, which ran at 240% in 1987 and 42% in June 1992, was 5.4%
  for fiscal year 1995-96 and 5.1% in 2003.                                   
                                                                       
  Investment as a percentage of GDP was estimated at 20.3% in 2003 compared to
  13.7% in 1999. Private sector investment, largely financed by private       
  transfers from abroad, was 14.9% of GDP in 2002. Gross national savings as a
  percentage of GDP was estimated at 6.4% in 2003. The Ugandan Government has 
  also worked with donor countries to reschedule or cancel substantial portions
  of the country's external debts.                                            
                                                                       
  Agricultural products supply nearly all of Uganda's foreign exchange        
  earnings, with coffee (of which Uganda is Africa's leading producer)        
  accounting for about 19% and fish 17% of the country's exports in 2002.     
  Exports of non-traditional products, including apparel, hides, skins,       
  vanilla, vegetables, fruits, cut flowers, and fish are growing, while       
  traditional exports cotton, tea, and tobacco continue to be mainstays.      
                                                                       
  Most industry is related to agriculture. The industrial sector is being     
  rehabilitated to resume production of building and construction materials,  
  such as cement, reinforcing rods, corrugated roofing sheets, and paint.     
  Domestically produced consumer goods include plastics, soap, cork, beer, and
  soft drinks.                                                                
                                                                       
  Uganda has about 30,000 kilometers (18,750 mi.), of roads; some 2,800       
  kilometers (1,750 mi.) are paved. Most radiate from Kampala. The country has
  about 1,350 kilometers (800 mi.) of rail lines. A railroad originating at   
  Mombasa on the Indian Ocean connects with Tororo, where it branches westward
  to Jinja, Kampala, and Kasese and northward to Mbale, Soroti, Lira, Gulu, and
  Kapwach, though the routes west of Kampala and north of Mbale currently are 
  not in use. Uganda's important road and rail links to Mombasa serve its     
  transport needs and also those of its neighbors-Rwanda, Burundi, and parts of
  Congo and Sudan. An international airport is at Entebbe on the shore of Lake
  Victoria, some 32 kilometers (20 mi.) south of Kampala.                     
                                                                       
  FOREIGN RELATIONS                                                           
  The Ugandan Government generally seeks good relations with other nations    
  without reference to ideological orientation. Relations with Rwanda, Congo  
  and Sudan have sometimes been strained because of security concerns.        
  President Museveni has been active in attempts implement a peace agreement  
  Burundi and has supported peace initiatives in Sudan and Somalia.           
                                                                       
  In the past, neighbors were concerned about Uganda's relationship with Libya,
  which had supplied military equipment and bartered fuel to Uganda. In       
  addition to its friendly ties to Western nations, Uganda has maintained ties
  with North Korea. Uganda's has strained relations with Sudan because of past
  Sudanese support for the LRA. The LRA seeks to overthrow the Uganda         
  Government and has inflicted brutal violence on the population in northern  
  Uganda, including rape, kidnapping, torture, and murder. In 2002 Uganda and 
  Sudan reestablished diplomatic ties and signed a protocol permitting the UPDF
  to enter southern Sudan and engage the LRA. The protocol must be renewed    
  periodically.                                                               
                                                                       
  Another rebel group operating in western Uganda and eastern Democratic      
  Republic of the Congo, near the Rwenzori Mountains, the Allied Democratic   
  Forces (ADF), emerged as a localized threat in 1996 and inflicted substantial
  suffering on the population in the area. It has largely been defeated by the
  UPDF and the affected areas of western Uganda have been secured. Remnants of
  the ADF remain in eastern Congo.                                            
                                                                       
  DEFENSE                                                                     
  The Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF)--previously the National Resistance 
  Army--constitutes the armed forces of Uganda. Prior to 2000, U.S. military  
  forces participated with the UPDF in training activities under the African  
  Crisis Response Initiative. U.S. military assistance was terminated in 2000 
  as a result of the Ugandan incursion into the D.R.C. Following the June 2003
  UPDF withdrawal of troops from the D.R.C., the U.S. restarted limited       
  nonlethal military assistance.                                              
                                                                       
  U.S.-UGANDAN RELATIONS                                                      
  Although U.S.-Ugandan relations were strained during the rule of Idi Amin in
  the 1970s, relations improved after Amin's fall. In mid-1979, the United    
  States reopened its embassy in Kampala. Relations with successor governments
  were cordial, although Obote and his administration rejected strong U.S.    
  criticism of Uganda's human rights situation.                               
                                                                       
  Bilateral relations between the United States and Uganda have been good since
  Museveni assumed power, and the United States has welcomed his efforts to end
  human rights abuses and to pursue economic reform. Uganda is a strong       
  supporter of the global war against terrorism. The United States is helping 
  Uganda achieve export-led economic growth through the African Growth and    
  Opportunity Act and provides a significant amount of development assistance.
  At the same time, the United States is concerned about continuing human     
  rights problems and the pace of progress toward the establishment of genuine
  political pluralism.                                                        
                                                                       
  U.S. development assistance in Uganda has the overall goal of reducing mass 
  poverty. Most U.S. program assistance is focused in the areas of health,    
  education and agriculture. Both the U.S. Agency for International Development
  (USAID) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have major programs to    
  fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Other programs promote trade and investment,   
  curb environmental degradation, encourage the peaceful resolution of local  
  and international conflicts, and promote honest and open government. The    
  United States also provides large amounts of humanitarian assistance to     
  populations without access to adequate food supplies because of conflict,   
  drought and other factors.                                                  
                                                                       
  U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers are active in primary teacher training and HIV/ 
  AIDS programs. The Department of State carries out cultural exchange        
  programs, brings Fulbright lecturers and researchers to Uganda, and sponsors
  U.S. study and tour programs for a wide variety of officials from government,
  non-governmental organizations and the private sector. Through Ambassador's 
  Self-Help Fund, local groups in poor areas receive assistance for small     
  projects with a high level of community involvement.                        
                                                                       
  U.S.-Ugandan relations also benefit from significant contributions to health
  care, nutrition, education, and park systems from U.S. missionaries,        
  non-governmental organizations, private universities, HIV/AIDS researchers, 
  and wildlife organizations. Expatriate Ugandans living in the U.S. also     
  promote stronger links between the two countries.                           
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Officials                                                    
  Ambassador--Steven A. Browning                                              
  Deputy Chief of Mission--Andrew G. Chritton                                 
  Public Affairs Officer--Alyson Grunder                                      
  Director, USAID--Margot Ellis                                               
                                                                       
  The U.S. Embassy in Uganda is at 1577 Ggaba Road, Kampala; tel. 259791/2/3/5;
  fax: 259-794.                                                               
                                                                       
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