Kigumba is a town in

Kiryandongo District Kiryandongo District is a district in Western Uganda. Like many other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Kiryandongo, where the district headquarters are located. Location Kiryandongo District is bordered by Nwoya District ...

, northwestern

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 ...

. It is one of the urban centers in the district. The other urban centres in Kiryandongo District include: (a)

Karuma Karuma is a settlement in the Western Region of Uganda. Location Karuma is in Kiryandongo District, Bunyoro sub-region. The town is approximately , by road, north of Karuma Falls. The town is also approximately , by road, west of Kamdini, on t ...

Kiryandongo Kiryandongo is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Kiryandongo District. Location Kiryandongo is on the main Gulu-Masindi highway, approximately , by road, north-east of Mas ...

Masindi Port Masindi Port is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. The name also applied to the sub-county, where the own sits and forms the sub-county headquarters. Location Masindi Port is located in Kiryandongo District in the Western Region of Ug ...

Location

Kigumba is located approximately , by road, northeast of

Masindi Masindi is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is on the road between Kampala and the Murchison Falls National Park. It is the site of the headquarters of the Masindi District. Location Masindi is approximately northwest of Kampala, Ug ...

(pop. 110,500 in 2020), the nearest large city. This location lies approximately , by road, north-northwest 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 Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

and largest city in Uganda. Kigumba lies approximately , by road, south of Kiryandongo, where the district headquarters are located. The coordinates of the town are:01 48 54N, 32 00 36E (Latitude:1.8150; Longitude:32.0100).

Overview

Kigumba lies at the location where the highway from

Gulu Gulu is a city in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the commercial and administrative centre of Gulu District. The coordinates of the city of Gulu are 2°46'54.0"N 32°17'57.0"E. The distance from Gulu to Kampala, Uganda's capital and large ...

through Kibangya and Rwekunye joins the highway from

. It is a busy transit point. Established in the 1950s, the town is home to about 100

n and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

n ethnicities. In 2009, the town attained Municipal council status. The municipality consists of the following neighborhoods: (a) Old Kigumba (b) Naguru (c) Kigaragara (d) Kitwanga, the CBD (e) Kihura I (f) Kihura II and (g) Kabukye. Most of the developments are in the ''Kitwanga'' neighborhood. Here one can find the town council offices, financial institutions, factories, restaurants and most bars. The booming trade, has also attracted

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

and

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

ese traders, who have established businesses, including food processing plants.

Organizational structure

The political head of the town is the LC III Chairperson who is elected to a five-year term by universal adult suffrage across the six

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s. The supreme policy-making organ is the

Town Council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

, composed of 12 elected councilors. The technical staff of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

is headed by the

town clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a To ...

, Mr. Akugizibwe Gabriel under whom there are several

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

departments. As of August 2014, the LC III chairman of the Town Council is Mr. Karubanga Jacob Ateenyi and the town clerk is Mr. Akugizibwe Gabriel

Population

The census in 2002 enumerated the population at 8,439 people. In 2014, the national population census and household survey put the population of Kigumba at 18,625. In July 2020, the

Uganda Bureau of Statistics The Uganda Bureau of Statistics ("UBOS") is an agency of the Ugandan government. Formed by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Act, 1998, the agency is mandated to "coordinate, monitor and supervise Uganda's National Statistical System". Location ...

estimated the midyear population of the town at 22,000. The population agency calculated that the population of the town had increased at an average annual rate of 2.98 percent, between 2014 and 2020.

Economic activities

Many women in the town engage in such activities as farming, road-side groceries, market vending, restaurants, hair care, and health care clinics. Men are mainly engaged in wholesale and retail merchandising, taxi driving and

boda boda Boda bodas are bicycles and motorcycle taxis commonly found in East Africa. While motorcycle taxis like boda bodas are present throughout Africa and beyond, the term ''boda boda'' is specific to East Africa. In Kenya, they are more frequently ca ...

(

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

and

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

) for-hire transportation. Increasingly, residents of Kigumba Town are employed in salaried and non-salaried positions at the district headquarters in Bweyale.

Points of interest

, the largest town in the

sub-region A subregion is a part of a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Cardinal directions, such as south are commonly used to define a subregion. United Nations subregions The Statistics Division of the United Nations (UN) ...

, lies approximately , by road, to the southwest of Kigumba. The district headquarters at

, are located approximately , north of Kigumba. Located within the town itself is

Kigumba Petroleum Institute Kigumba Petroleum Institute, also referred to as Uganda Petroleum Institute or as Uganda Petroleum Institute, Kigumba (UPIK), is a government-owned, national center for training, research and consultancy in the field of petroleum exploration, r ...

(KPI), a tertiary institution of education belonging to the

Ugandan government Uganda is a presidential republic in which the President of Uganda is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government business. There is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is ...

. The Institute occupies premises that formerly housed, Uganda Cooperative College, which has now relocated to the

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 ...

n town of

Tororo Tororo is a town in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Tororo District. History Tororo was garrisoned by the Uganda Army's Air and Sea Battalion during the Uganda–Tanzania War ( ...

. KPI has now been elevated to University status. Kigumba Central Market is the largest fresh-food market in town.

Stanbic Bank (Uganda) Limited Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited (SBU) is a commercial bank in Uganda and is licensed by the Bank of Uganda, the national banking regulator. Overview SBU is the largest commercial bank in the country, by assets. As of 31 December 2021, the bank's ...

, the largest commercial bank in

, by assets and branches, maintains a branch in Kigumba.

References

External links

Kigumba Satellite Map at Maplandia.com

Uganda Cooperative College Kigumba
{{coord, 01, 48, 54, N, 32, 00, 36, E, display=title Populated places in Uganda Cities in the Great Rift Valley Kiryandongo District