Bukoba is a city with a population of 128,796 (2012 census), situated in the north west of

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

on the south western shores 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 tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

. It is the capital of the

Kagera region Kagera Region (''Mkoa wa Kagera'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Netherlands. Kagera Region is borde ...

, and the administrative seat for

Bukoba Urban District Bukoba Urban District is one of the eight districts of the Kagera Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to east by Lake Victoria and to the west by Bukoba Rural District. Its administrative seat is the town of Bukoba. According to the 2012 Tanzani ...

. The city is served by

Bukoba Airport Bukoba Airport is a domestic airport located in the city of Bukoba, the capital of the Kagera Region in northwest Tanzania. It is adjacent to Lake Victoria. The Bukoba non-directional beacon (Ident: BK) is located on the field. A new asphalt ...

and regular ferry connections to and from

Mwanza Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,182,000 in 2021, it is Tanzania's second largest cit ...

, as well as roads to

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Rakai District Rakai District is a district in the Central Region of Uganda. The town of Rakai is the site of the district's headquarters. Location Rakai District borders Lyantonde District to the northwest, Lwengo District to the north, Kyotera District to ...

for cross-border commuters. Plans are underway for a standard gauge railwa

to

History

Bukoba City

Situated on the south western shores of Lake Victoria, Bukoba lies only 1st parallel south, 1 degree south of the Equator. Bukoba is situated at the South Western shores of

in the north western region of

. The regional capital and Kagera's biggest town is the gateway to the region.

Ports

Bukoba is currently Tanzania's second largest port on Lake Victoria after Mwanza.

Utility

Bukoba is served by the National Electric Utility Company

TANESCO The Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) is a Tanzanian parastatal organisation established in 1964. It is wholly owned by the government of Tanzania. The Ministry of Energy and Minerals regulates the operations of TANESCO. Its bu ...

Economy

Kagera's Regional Commissioner Col. Fabian Massawe resides and has his head office in The Bukoba Central Business District. The city is flat and compact, forming a bowl as it is surrounded by hills. The town has a bus stand, a big airport and a port with a ferry that used to travel from Bukoba via Kemondo bay port to Mwanza on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights, but was suspended in 2014 when the ferry broke down irreparably.

Airport

Bukoba Airport

The Airport is located south east of the city. The address on Sokoine Road.

Auric Air Auric Air Services Limited is a small privately owned airline based in Tanzania, Operating from Mwalimu Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) Dar-es-salaam, Arusha Airport and Mwanza Airport. The Company offers scheduled flights to 42 desti ...

flies three times a day to Mwanza. In 2010 the airport was being extended as more flights were expected in line with capacity growth milestones of The Air Terminal reviewed after published reports every quarter of the year.

Air Tanzania Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) ( sw, Kampuni ya Ndege ya Tanzania) is the flag carrier airline of Tanzania based in Dar es Salaam with its hub at Julius Nyerere International Airport. It was established as Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC ...

(ATCL) also have scheduled flights to Bukoba throughout the week with connecting flights through Mwanza to Dar es Salaam

Transport

Bus

Bus Station leaves for Kampala at 7 am every day (about 6 hours) and from Kampala for Bukoba at 11 am every day. It boasts a white sandy beach, a large market, a port tennis courts and a swimming pool. It has three banks, two of which take VISA cards in the ATM. Bukoba Town itself has the status of a municipal Council. It has a municipal Director and other local government officials like other district councils in the region.

Sports

Bukoba is represented in the Tanzanian Premier League

by football club

Kagera Sugar Kagera Sugar is a football club from Bukoba, Tanzania. They are a professional football team who play at the top level of Tanzanian professional football, the Tanzanian Premier League The Tanzania Mainland Premier League () is the top-level p ...

. It is the home to several charities - including

SHARE in Africa SHARE in Africa is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports girls' education in Africa. It was founded in 2008 by Shannon McNamara with the mission to address the 'book famine' in Africa by providing girls with learning materials. Since it ...

and

Jambo Bukoba Jambo (17 April 1961 – 16 September 1992) was a gorilla housed at Durrell Wildlife Park in Jersey, Channel Islands. He was involved in an incident in which he was seen to be protective of a child who fell into his enclosure. Early life '' J ...

. Both are focused on the educational sector. The Kaitaba Stadium is also found in south east of Bukoba on Jamhuri Road.

Climate

Bukoba has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Am'') although it is milder than most climates with that classification due to altitude. It can sometimes get cool especially in the evenings during the two rainy seasons, but never as cold as the winter season in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Sister cities

Nykøbing Mors Nykøbing Mors is the largest town on the island of Mors in the Limfjord in Denmark. The town received its charter in 1299 and has a population of 9,033 (1 January 2022).

Gallery

Mater Misericordiae Church - Bukoba.JPG, The Mater Misericordiae Church. MV Victoria.jpg, MV Victoria (1959) at Port of Bukoba Bukoba 0817 .jpg, Street in Bukoba

References

External links

Official Bukoba webguide
{{Coord, 1, 20, S, 31, 49, E, region:TZ_type:city, display=title Populated places in Kagera Region Regional capitals in Tanzania Populated places on Lake Victoria Cities in the Great Rift Valley