Bombo is a town in
Luweero District
Luweero District (also spelled as Luwero) is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Central Region, Uganda, Central Region of Uganda. Luweero is the site of the district headquarters.
Location
Luweero District is bordered by Nakasongola District ...
in the
Central Region of
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
.
History
Many officers and soldiers of the
Uganda Army (UA) settled in Bombo upon their retirement during the
Second Republic of Uganda (1971–79). At the time, many inhabitants were
Nubians
Nubians () ( Nobiin: ''Nobī,'' ) are a Nilo-Saharan speaking ethnic group indigenous to the region which is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt. They originate from the early inhabitants of the central Nile valley, believed to be one of th ...
, an ethnic group whose members were viewed as supporters of President
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...
.
The town also hosted the barracks for the UA's Malire Regiment. As a result, Bombo was affected by the
Uganda–Tanzania War
The Uganda–Tanzania War, known in Tanzania as the Kagera War (Kiswahili: ''Vita vya Kagera'') and in Uganda as the 1979 Liberation War, was fought between Uganda and Tanzania from October 1978 until June 1979 and led to the overthrow of Ugand ...
. After Idi Amin's government had been factually overthrown and
Kampala been captured by the
Tanzania People's Defence Force
The Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) () is the military force of the United Republic of Tanzania. It was established in September 1964, following a mutiny by the former colonial military force, the Tanganyika Rifles. From its inception, ...
(TPDF) as well as allied Ugandan rebels on 11 April, UA soldiers of Nubian origin as well as their families began to terrorize other locals in Bombo. After several killings, many younger soldiers fled the town, but the retired officers set up defenses to oppose the TPDF's 201st Brigade that was approaching the town from the south.
The
Battle of Bombo in April 1979 resulted in a Tanzanian victory. Several Ugandan defenders were killed, much weaponry was captured by the TPDF, and the town suffered substantial damage.
[ Many Nubian, Kakwa, and Lugbara locals subsequently fled the town, fearing reprisals by anti-Amin groups.][ Following the war's conclusion, Bombo was not provided with relief aid like other settlements, as the new Ugandan government suspected its large Nubian population. Many buildings in the town continued to display damage suffered during the 1979 battle for decades.][ Bombo's barracks continued to be used during the ]Ugandan Bush War
The Ugandan Bush War was a civil war fought in Uganda by the official Ugandan government and its armed wing, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), against a number of rebel groups, most importantly the National Resistance Army (NRA), from 19 ...
, and the Uganda National Liberation Army was known to imprison civilians there from 1981.
In the 1980s, Kenya forced many former Nubian inhabitants of Bombo to return to Uganda. They were denied refugee status, and often fell into poverty. In 1995, Bombo was also stripped of its municipality status. Since then, locals have struggled to regain this status.[
]
Location
Bombo is approximately , by road, north of Uganda's capital, Kampala
Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...
. The coordinates of Bombo are 0°34'36.0"N, 32°32'42.0"E (Latitude:0.576667; Longitude:32.545000).
Overview
Bombo is one of three 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
In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...
s in Luweero District, the other two being Luweero
Luweero is a town in the Central Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Luweero District.
History
In 1982, in the Ugandan Civil War, Milton Obote's soldiers raided their village, from Kampala.
Lo ...
and Wobulenzi
Wobulenzi is a municipality in ''Katikamu sub-county'', in Luweero District in the Central Region of Uganda.
Geography
Wobulenzi is approximately , by road, north of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city, on the highway to Karuma. The road ...
. All three town councils are located on the Kampala - Masindi
Masindi is a town in the Western Region, Uganda, 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 ...
highway, that continues to 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 city's distance from Kampala, Uganda's capital and large ...
and Arua
Arua is a city and commercial centre within the Arua District in the Northern Region, Uganda, Northern Region of Uganda.
Location
Arua is approximately north-west of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda, Arua is about , by road, west ...
in the Northern Region.
The town has a large Nubian minority, the Nubians having settled there when they came from Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
to serve in the British Colonial army.
Bombo has an army barracks
Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...
and was the headquarters of the Ugandan Ministry of Defense until December 2007, when they moved to Mbuya
Mbuya is a hill in southeastern Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. The hill rises above sea level. The name also applies to the upscale residential neighborhood that sits on that hill, as well as the government military installations located ...
in Nakawa Division
Nakawa Division is one of the five administrative divisions of the city of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. The town of Nakawa is the site of the division headquarters.
Location
Nakawa Division lies in the eastern part of the city ...
in south-eastern Kampala. Bombo, however, remains the headquarters of the Uganda Land Forces.Defense Headquarters moved from Bombo to Mbuya
, ''The Monitor'', 25 December 2007
Former Bombo District
The area in which Bombo town is a main township
A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
became Bombo District, one of the first regions that initially received district status when Uganda became independent in October 1962. In 1967, the district was renamed East Mengo. In 1974, Uganda reorganized from districts into provinces, and East Mengo became the province of Bombo. Provinces were reorganized into districts in 1980, and the district of Luwero was created, with Bombo town as one of the main town councils.
Population
In 2002, the national census estimated the population the town to be 16,699. In 2010, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), estimated the population at 20,500. In 2011, UBOS estimated the mid-year population at 21,000. In August 2014, the national population census put the population at 26,370.
In 2015 the population of the town was projected at 26,300. In 2020 the midyear population of Bombo Town was projected at 29,600. It was calculated that the population of the town increased at an average rate of 2.4 percent, annually between 2015 and 2020.
Notable people
* Abdallah Nasur
See also
* List of cities and towns in Uganda
This is a list of cities and towns in Uganda: The population data are for 2014, except where otherwise indicated. The references from which the estimated populations are sourced are listed in each article for the cities and towns where the ...
References
Notes
*
*
*
External links
Directory of Bombo AIDS Task Force Members
{{Luweero District
Luweero District
Populated places in Central Region, Uganda