Butaleja District is a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
in
Eastern Uganda
The Eastern region is one of four regions in the country of Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was .
Districts
, the Eastern Region contained 32 districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in s ...
. It is named after its 'chief town',
Butaleja
Butaleja is a town in Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Butaleja District and the district headquarters are located there. The district is named after the town.
Location
Butaleja is ...
, where the district headquarters are located.
Location
Butaleja District is bordered by
Budaka District to the north,
Mbale District
Mbale District is a district in Eastern Uganda. It is named after the largest city in the district, Mbale, which also serves as the main administrative and commercial center in the sub-region.
Location
Mbale District is bordered by Sironko Distri ...
to the east,
Tororo District
Tororo District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Tororo hosts the district headquarters.
Location
Tororo District is bordered by Mbale District to the north, Manafwa District to the north-east, Kenya to the east, Busi ...
to the southeast,
Bugiri District
Bugiri District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Bugiri, where the district headquarters are located.
Location
Bugiri District is bordered by Namutumba District and Butaleja ...
to the south and
Namutumba District
Namutumba District, sometimes referred to as Busiki District is a district in Eastern Uganda. It is named after its 'chief town', Namutumba, where the district headquarters are located.
Location
Namutumba District is bordered by Pallisa District ...
to the west. The district headquarters at
Butaleja
Butaleja is a town in Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Butaleja District and the district headquarters are located there. The district is named after the town.
Location
Butaleja is ...
, are located approximately , by road, southwest of
Mbale
Mbale is a city in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Mbale District and the surrounding sub-region.
Location
Mbale is approximately , by road, northeast of Kampala, Uganda's capita ...
, the nearest large city. The coordinates of the district are:00 56N, 33 57E.
Overview
Butaleja District was created by Act of the
Ugandan Parliament, and became operational on 1 July 2005. Prior to that the district was known as ''Bunyole County'' and was part of
Tororo District
Tororo District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Tororo hosts the district headquarters.
Location
Tororo District is bordered by Mbale District to the north, Manafwa District to the north-east, Kenya to the east, Busi ...
. The predominant ethnicity in the district (85%) are
Banyole, a
Bantu tribe whose language is called
Lunyole. Lunyole has been listed by the Institute of Languages of
Makerere University
Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...
among the endangered minority languages in
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 ...
. The main food of the Banyole is a
finger millet
''Eleusine coracana'', or finger millet, also known as ragi in India, kodo in Nepal, is an annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and semiarid areas in Africa and Asia. It is a tetraploid and self-pollinating species p ...
meal called ''Obusiima''. The traditional official meal included Obusiima and
mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...
sauce.
Other ethnicities in the district (15%) include the
Jopadhola
The Adhola people, also known as Jopadhola, are a Nilotic ethnic group of Luo peoples that live in Tororo District of Eastern Uganda and comprise about eight percent of the country's total population. They speak Dhopadhola, (a Luo language), ...
, the
Bagisu
The Gisu people, or ''Bamasaba'' people of Elgon, are a Bantu tribe of the Masaba people of eastern Uganda, closely related to the Bukusu people of Kenya. Bamasaba live mainly in the Mbale District of Uganda on the slopes of Mount Elgon.
Ancestor ...
, the
Basoga
The Soga (or Basoga) are a Bantu ethnic group native to the kingdom of Busoga in eastern Uganda.
History Early contact with European explorers
Busoga's written history began in 1862. On 28 July Royal Geographical Society explorer John Han ...
, the
Iteso, the
Karimojong
The Karamojong or Karimojong are a Nilotic ethnic group. They are agro-pastoral herders living mainly in the north-east of Uganda. Their language is also known as ngaKarimojong and is part of the Nilotic language family.
History
The Karamojon ...
and the
Bagwere
The Gwere people, or ''Bagwere'', are a Bantu ethnic group in Uganda.
Location
The Bagwere occupy an area of 2,388.3 km in eastern Uganda, mostly in Budaka District, Pallisa District and Kibuku District, Butebo District, where they make up ov ...
. Due to a high population density in the district,
environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment (biophysical), environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; an ...
is a concern.
There are two municipalities in the district;
Butaleja
Butaleja is a town in Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Butaleja District and the district headquarters are located there. The district is named after the town.
Location
Butaleja is ...
, where the district headquarters are located and
Busolwe
Busolwe is a town in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is one of the two municipalities in Butaleja District, the other being Butaleja.
Location
Busolwe is approximately , by road, southwest of Butaleja, the location of the district headquarters. ...
, the location of
Busolwe General Hospital
Busolwe General Hospital, also Busolwe Hospital, is a hospital in Busolwe Town, Butaleja District, in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is a public hospital, owned by the Ugandan Government and is administered by Butaleja District Local Governmen ...
, a 100-bed public hospital, administered by the
Uganda Ministry of Health
The Ministry of Health is a cabinet-level government ministry of Uganda. It is responsible for planning, delivering, and maintaining an efficient and effective healthcare delivery system, including preventive, curative, and rehabilitative service ...
.
Population
In 1991, the national population census estimated the district population at about 106,700. The national census in 2002 estimated the population of the district at about 157,500. The annual population growth rate in the district was 3.5%. In 2012, the population of Butaleja District was approximately 221,100.
The table below illustrates the growth trajectory of the district population between 2002 and 2012. All numbers are estimates.
Economic activities
Like in most of
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 ...
's districts,
subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...
is the backbone of the district economy. Crops grown include:
Livestock kept by the population include:
See also
*
Butaleja
Butaleja is a town in Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Butaleja District and the district headquarters are located there. The district is named after the town.
Location
Butaleja is ...
*
Eastern Region, Uganda
The Eastern region is one of four regions in the country of Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is us ...
*
Districts of Uganda
As of 17 November 2020, Uganda is divided into 136 districts and the capital city of Kampala, which are grouped into four administrative regions.
Since 2005, the Ugandan government has been in the process of dividing districts into smaller units ...
*
Busolwe General Hosptital
References
External links
Butaleja District: From Troubling Starvation to Top Rice Producer
{{Authority control
Districts of Uganda
Eastern Region, Uganda