Kyankwanzi District
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Kyankwanzi District | |
|---|---|
 District location in Uganda | |
| Coordinates: 01°12′N 31°48′E / 1.200°N 31.800°E | |
| Country | Uganda |
| Region | Central Region |
| Established | 1 July 2010 |
| Capital | Kyankwanzi |
| Area | |
| • Land | 2,455.3 km2 (948.0 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,200 m (3,900 ft) |
| Population (2012 estimate) | |
• Total | 182,900 |
| • Density | 74.5/km2 (193/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
| Website | www |
Kyankwanzi District is the westernmost district in the Central Region of Uganda and Buganda Kingdom, bordering Bunyoro. The district headquarters are in Butemba Town.
The Kyankwanzi District borders Nakaseke District to the east across the Mayanja River, Kiboga District to the south-east, Mubende District and Kibaale District to the south-west across the Lugogo River, and Hoima and Masindi districts to the north across the River Kafu. The district headquarters in Butemba Town on the Bukwiri-Kyankwanzi Road are approximately 160 kilometres (99 mi) by road from Kampala, the nation's capital.[1]
The district has lush green forests and prairies with only minor elevation differences as it is the plateau behind the western fork of the East African Rift running across the Hoima District.[2] The altitude is roughly 1,000–1,200 meters above sea level.[2]
History
Kyankwanzi District was carved out of Kiboga District by an Act of Parliament in July 2010, with eight sub-counties in Kiboga North County.[3] Prior to the creation, district services operated from the town of Kiboga,[4] approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) from Butemba.[3] Further in the past, Kyankwanzi District was carved out of Kiboga District.[5] The reasons given for forming Kyankwanzi District included the long distances that residents had to travel to access district services at Kiboga.[5]
The district's name derives from the town of Kyankwanzi, 20 km from Kampala-Hoima Road, as the region is historically associated with the National Resistance Movement (NRM), which started the Ugandan Bush War of 1981-86 from cattle-herding Kyankwanzi under the direction of President Museveni.[6] Up to this day, Kyankwanzi serves as the strong foothold of the NRM and hosts the National Leadership Institute that provides training to serving military troops and public servants of Uganda.[7] Meanwhile, Butemba was chosen as the district seat for accessibility and land availability reasons.[8]
Administrative units
The district has only two counties, Butemba and Ntwetwe.[9][10]
Culturally, Kyankwanzi is the northwestern frontier of the Buganda Kingdom, overseen from the Ssingo county seat of Mityana. Once belonging to Bunyoro, as Rugonjwa Sub-county, Nsambya Sub-county in the northwest was won by the Buganda Kingdom in the battles in the 1890s under Kabaka Mwanga II's rule.[11]
Demographics
In 1991, the national population census estimated the district population at 43,500. The next national census in 2002 estimated the population at 120,600. In 2012, the population was estimated at 182,900.[12]
In 2009, Kyankwanzi Sub-county, then under the Kiboga District, was recorded as the poorest administrative area in the Central Region, with 38 percent of the population living on less than US$1.00 a day.[13][14]
Kiboga and Kyankwanzi are popular destinations for rural-to-rural migration in Uganda. The government announced in the 1990s the availability of land resources to attract farmers from around the country. It is now inhabited by the Gwere, Soga, and Masaba peoples in the east, and the Kiga and Fumbira peoples from Kigezi in the southwest, as well as indigenous Baganda, Banyoro, and the cattle-keeping Ankole people/Rwandans with some Congolese refugees. Almost all residents are at least bilingual.[15]
