Kyankwanzi District
| Kyankwanzi District | |
|---|---|
| District | |
| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
| Country |  Uganda |
| Region | Central Uganda |
| 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 | EAT (UTC+3) |
| Website | www |
Kyankwanzi District is a northernmost district in Central Uganda and Buganda Kingdom, bordering Bunyoro. The district headquarters are found in Butemba Town.
Contents
Geography
Kyankwanzi District borders with Nakaseke to the east across River Mayanja, Kiboga to the southeast, Mubende and Kibaale to the southwest across River Mpongo, and Hoima and Masindi to the north across River Kafu. The district headquarters in Butemba Town on Bukwiri-Kyankwanzi Road are located approximately 160 kilometres (99 mi) by road from the nation's capital Kampala.[1] The coordinates of the district headquarters are 1.143N, 31.602E. The district area is full of lush green forests and prairies with minor elevation differences as it is the plateau behind the western fork of the East African Rift running across Hoima District. The altitude is roughly 1,000 - 1,200 metres above sea level.
History
Kyankwanzi District was carved out of Kiboga District by the Act of Parliament in July 2010, with 8 sub-counties in Kiboga North County. Prior to the creation, district services operated from Kiboga Town, approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) from Butemba.[2] Further back in the past, Kyankwanzi District was in the Mubende region.
The reasons given to justify the formation of the district, included the long distances that residents had to travel to access district services at Kiboga. The district name derives from Kyankwanzi Town, 20 km farther away from Kampala-Hoima Road, as the region is historically associated with the National Resistance Movement which started the guerrilla war of 1981 - 1986 from cattle-herding Kyankwanzi under the direction of President Museveni. Up to this day, Kyankwanzi serves as the strong foothold of the National Resistance Movement and hosts the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi Town that provides training to all serving military troops and public servants of Uganda. Meanwhile, Butemba was chosen as the district seat for accessibility and land availability reasons.
Administrative units
The district has only one county, Kiboga West County.[3][4] The district has the following sub-counties and towns:[citation needed]
- Mulagi Sub-county (Masodde, Vvumbi)
- Wattuba Sub-county (Wattuba, Kasambya, Kiyombya)
- Butemba Town (Bukwiri, Kyenda, Bikoma)
- Byerima Sub-county (Byerima)
- Nsambya Sub-county (Kikonda, Katuugo, Kigando, Kyakabuga)
- Bananywa Sub-county (Ntunda, Bananywa, Mujunza, Kiryanongo)
- Kyankwanzi Town
- Banda Sub-county (Banda)
- Ntwetwe Town (Ntwetwe)
- Gayaza Sub-county (Gayaza)
Culturally, Kyankwanzi is the northwestern frontier of 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 Buganda Kingdom in the battles in the 1890s under Kabaka Mwanga II's rule.[5]
Demographics
In 1991, the national population census estimated the district population at about 43,500. The next national census in 2002 estimated the population of the district at approximately 120,600. In 2012, the population of Kyankwanzi District was estimated at about 182,900.[6] In 2009, Kyankwanzi Sub-county, then under Kiboga District, was recorded as the poorest administrative area in Central Uganda, with 38% of the population living on less than US$1.00 a day.[7] Kiboga and Kyankwanzi is a popular destination for rural-to-rural migration in Uganda. The Government publicly announced in the 1990s the vast land resources to attract farmers from around the country. It is now inhabited by the 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 a hint of Congolese refugees. Almost all residents are at least bilingual.
Economic activities
Crop husbandry, livestock keeping, logging/charcoal-making are the three major economic activities in the district. As Kyankwanzi District is located along the "cattle corridor" that crosses the country from southwest to northeast, many residents are of Banyankole/Banyarwanda origin who pasture Ankole cattle in the vast woodland. Cattle-keeping is mostly concentrated on Kapeke, Kyankwanzi, Nsambya Sub-county areas. In these areas, weekly or bi-monthly cattle markets are set up in major trading centres. Crop husbandry is most productive and vibrant in the Nsambya Sub-country area for its maize, beans, rice produce, as well as tobacco leaves. Nsambya crop produce is marketed to a regional town of Hoima and the capital Kampala, where traders from urban areas and as far as in South Sudan and Kenya make purchase. Food crops, both for cash and subsistence purposes, include the following:
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Utilizing the rich nature, Kyankwanzi is also known as a producer of forest products, namely, timber and charcoal both of which are the country's tax revenue sources. The Kikonda Forest Reserve, managed by the National Forestry Authority in cooperation with a Danish company, global-woods AG, is a site for legal logging.
Public transport to Kyankwanzi District is chiefly supported by long-distance bus services that connect Kampala with the Bunyoro capital of Hoima. Taxis, both in wagons and sedans, connect major trading centres such as Bukwiri, Ntwetwe, Kyenda, Ntunda, and Kikonda with Kiboga Town. Kyankwanzi Town is served by taxis from Bukwiri and Bukomero, beside the training participants at the National Leadership Institute who have direct shuttle services from Kampala.
See also
References
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Districts of Uganda, Statoids, accessed 3 August 2015
- ↑ Counties of Uganda, Statoids, accessed 3 August 2015
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