Kapchorwa 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 the Eastern Region 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 ...

. The town of

Kapchorwa Kapchorwa is a town in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, commercial, and administrative center of Kapchorwa District. Initially the present day Kapchorwa was known as the Sebei Region. Location The town of Kapchorwa is loca ...

is the district's main municipal, administrative, and commercial center, and is the site of the district headquarters. It is also the home district of

Stephen Kiprotich Stephen Kiprotich ("KIP-roh-tich", born 27 February 1989) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is an Olympic marathon champion, having won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Kiprotich also won a gold at the 2013 World Championships in ...

, the men's marathon gold medalist at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and

Joshua Cheptegei Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei (born 12 September 1996) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the reigning Olympic champion in the 5000 metres and silver medalist for the 10,000 metres, a two-time 10,000 m World champion from 2019 and 2022, Wor ...

, the men's 5,000 m gold medalist at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Location

The district is bordered by

Kween District Kween District is a district in Eastern Uganda. The district headquarters are located at Binyiny, one of the two town councils in the district. Location Kween District is bordered by Nakapiripirit District to the north, Amudat District to the n ...

to the northeast and east,

Sironko District Sironko District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The district was created in 2000 and had previously been part of Mbale District. Sironko is the main commercial town in the district. Location Sironko District is bordered by Bulam ...

to the south, and

Bulambuli District Bulambuli District is a district in Eastern Uganda. The district is named after 'chief town', Bulambuli, where the district headquarters are located. Location Bulambuli District is bordered by Nakapiripirit District to the north, Kapchorwa Dis ...

to the west and northeast. The district headquarters at Kapchorwa, which means "home of friends", are located approximately , by road, northeast 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 district is approximately northeast of

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, the capital and largest city of Uganda. The coordinates of the district are 01 24N, 34 27E.

Overview

Under the

colonial administration Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

, Kapchorwa District was Sebei County, located in North Bugisu in the now defunct

Bukedi District Bukedi District was a subdivision of the Eastern Province of the Uganda Protectorate, with headquarters in Mbale. In the early 1920s Bukedi was divided into the Budama, Bugisu and Bugwere districts. These were recombined into Mbale District during ...

. Kapchorwa was granted district status on 1 February 1962, shortly before Uganda became an independent country. Kapchorwa District is home mostly to

Kalenjin people The Kalenjin are a group of tribes designated as Highland Nilotes and are descended from Maliri people ''(thus related to Daasanach of Ethiopia.)'' The Kalenjin are cousins with Datooga people of Tanzania and Malawi. In contrast, their desi ...

s, including the sub-groups Sabiny, Pokot, and

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afri ...

. They were mainly cattle keepers in the late 1960s, but that changed when their northern neighbors, the Karamojong, raided most of their cattle and displaced hundreds of people. The populations most affected lived along the Kapchorwa plains; particularly in Ngenge Sub-County of Kapchorwa District and in

Bukwo District Bukwo District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Bukwo is its main political, administrative, and commercial center and the site of the district headquarters. Location Bukwo District is bordered by Amudat District to ...

. This displacement of the population has resulted in abject poverty among the affected households. People have been forced to live in Internally Displaced People camps, with very limited resources. In 2005, Kongasis County was split off of the district to form

. In 2010, more territory was peeled off to form

. Together, Kapchorwa District, Bukwo District, and Kween District comprise the Sebei sub-region, home to an estimated 200,000 according to the 2002 national census.

Population

In 1991, the national population census estimated the district population at 48,700. The 2002 national census estimated the population at 74,300, with an annual growth rate of 4.5 percent. In 2012, it was estimated that the population had grown to about 114,100. In August 2014, the national population census enumerated the population at 104,580.

Economic activities

Subsistence agriculture is the main economic activity in Kapchorwa District. Crops grown include the following: Animal husbandry is practised; the livestock domesticated are mainly cattle, goats, and chickens.

References

External links