DESTINATION UGANDA

Environment

With its relatively low population density and scarcity of wildlife (the latter courtesy of the decimation that occurred during the bad old days), Uganda lacks many of the environmental pressures faced by other countries in East Africa. The national parks and wilderness areas are generally in good shape, and conditions ideal for the native animals to re-establish themselves. The highest density of primates in the world live in Kibale National Park, while Bwindi National Park is one of the last remaining habitats of the mountain gorillas.

About 25% of Uganda's land is fertile and arable, making the country quite capable of producing a food surplus. Lake Victoria and the Victoria Nile, which flows through much of the country, create one of the best irrigated areas of Africa. However, the growing problem of water hyacinth threatens the ecology of Lake Victoria and the livelihood of the people who live by its shores. This aquatic weed floats in large 'islands' on the lake surface and grows so prolifically that it chokes waterways and stops light from penetrating the lake surface, making it impossible for fish to live beneath it.

The land varies from the lush and fertile shores of Lake Victoria in the south-east to semi-desert in the north-east. Uganda is fairly flat, with mountains only in the extreme east (Mt Elgon), far west (Ruwenzori Mountains) and the beautiful south-west, close to the Rwandan border. Though flat, the country is high, with an average altitude of over 1000m (3280ft).

The bulk of the country enjoys a tropical climate tempered by altitude. The hottest months are from December to February, when it gets up to 29°C (84°F). The rainy seasons in the south are from April to May and October to November, the wettest month being April. In the north the wet season is from April to October.

History

After the Treaty of Berlin in 1890 defined the various European countries' spheres of influence in Africa, Uganda, Kenya and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba became British protectorates. The colonial administrators introduced coffee and cotton as cash crops and adopted a policy of indirect rule, giving the traditional kingdoms considerable autonomy, but favouring the recruitment of Baganda tribespeople for the civil service. A few thousand Bagandan chiefs received huge estates from the British, on the basis of which they made fortunes. Other tribespeople, unable to get jobs in the colonial administration or make inroads in the Baganda-dominated commercial sector, were forced to seek other ways of gaining influence. The Acholi and Lango, for example, were dominant in the military. Thus were planted the seeds for the intertribal conflicts that were to tear Uganda apart following independence.

In the mid-1950s a Lango schoolteacher, Dr Milton Obote, managed to put together a loose coalition that led Uganda to independence in 1962, promising that the Baganda would have autonomy. It wasn't a particularly propitious time for Uganda to come to grips with independence. Civil wars were raging in neighbouring southern Sudan, Zaïre (now Congo) and Rwanda, and refugees poured into the country. It also soon became obvious that Obote had no intention of sharing power with the kabaka (the Bagandan king). Obote moved fast, arresting several of his cabinet ministers and ordering his army chief of staff, Idi Amin, to storm the kabaka's palace. Obote became president, the Bagandan monarchy was abolished and Idi Amin's star was on the rise. But events soon started to go seriously wrong. Obote rewrote the constitution to consolidate virtually all powers in the presidency. He then began to nationalise, without compensation, US$500 million worth of foreign assets. In 1969, Amin was implicated in a financial scandal and he responded to the bad press by staging a coup. Obote fled and so began Uganda's first reign of terror.

All political activities were quickly suspended and the army was empowered to shoot on sight anyone suspected of opposing the regime. Over the next eight years an estimated 300,000 Ugandans lost their lives, often in horrifying ways. Amin's main targets were the Acholi and Lango tribespeople, the professional classes and the country's 70,000-strong Asian community. In 1972 the Asians - many of whom had come from other British colonies to work Uganda's plantations as far back as 1912 - were given 90 days to leave the country with nothing but the clothes they wore.

Meanwhile the economy collapsed, infrastructure crumbled, the country's prolific wildlife was machine-gunned by soldiers for meat, ivory and skins, and the tourism industry evaporated. The stream of refugees across the border became a flood. Inflation hit 1000%, and towards the end the treasury was so bereft of funds that it was unable to pay the soldiers. Faced with a restless army wracked by intertribal fighting, Amin was forced to seek a diversion. He foolishly chose a war with Tanzania. The Tanzanians rolled over the Ugandan army and pushed on into the heart of Uganda. Amin fled to Libya. The 12,000 or so Tanzanian soldiers who remained in Uganda, supposedly to help with the country's reconstruction and to maintain law and order, turned on the Ugandans.

Still suffering from the war with Tanzania (21K)

In 1980 the government was taken over by a military commission which set a presidential election date for Uganda later that year. Obote returned from exile in Tanzania to an enthusiastic welcome in many parts of the country and swept to victory in a blatantly rigged election. Like Amin, Obote favoured certain tribes. Large numbers of civil servants and army and police commanders belonging to southern tribes were replaced with Obote supporters belonging to northern tribes, and the prisons began filling once more. Reports of atrocities leaked out of the country and several mass graves were discovered. In mid-1985 Obote was overthrown in an army coup led by Tito Okello.

Shortly after Obote became president in 1980, a guerrilla army opposed to his tribally biased government was formed in western Uganda. It was led by Yoweri Museveni, who had lived in exile in Tanzania during Amin's reign. From a group of 27 grew a guerrilla force of about 20,000, many of them orphaned teenagers. In the early days, few gave the guerrillas, known as the National Resistance Army (NRA), much of a chance, but by the time Obote was ousted and Okello had taken over, the NRA controlled a large slice of western Uganda. Fighting proceeded in earnest between the NRA and Okello government troops, and by January 1986 it was clear that Okello's days were numbered. The NRA launched an all-out offensive and took the capital.

Despite Museveni's Marxist leanings, he proved to be a pragmatic leader, appointing several arch-conservatives to his cabinet and making an effort to reassure the country's influential Catholic community. Meanwhile, almost 300,000 Ugandan refugees returned from across the Sudanese border. The economy took a turn for the better and aid and investment began returning to the country. Museveni won democratic 'no-party' elections in 1994 and again in 1996. One of Museveni's major challenges in the late 1990s was the north, which was plagued by various anti-government rebel factions such as the bizarre Christian group known as the Lords Resistance Army, allied with Sudan's Islamic government, and the West Nile Bank Front, led by Idi Amin's former minister. The country's levels of AIDS and HIV infection were among the highest in the world, with an estimated 1.5 million Ugandans infected; in some villages the infection rate was as high as one person in every four.

The 1996 elections were seen as Uganda's final step on the road to rehabilitation and the country was rewarded by a visit from US President Bill Clinton in 1998, despite its blemished human rights record.

Economic Profile

GDP: US$17 billion
GDP per head: US$900
Inflation: 6%
Major industries: Coffee, sugar, cotton, tea, textiles, tobacco
Major trading partners: US, UK, Kenya, France

Culture

Each tribe has its musical history; songs are passed down from generation to generation. Ndigindi (lyre), entongoli (harp), amadinda (xylophone) and lukeme (thumb piano) are commonly played instruments. An Acholi, Okot p'Bitek, is one of Uganda's most famous writers of folklore, satirical poems and songs. His book Song of Lawino (1966) describes the stories told in Acholi songs.

While about two-thirds of the population is Christian, the remaining third still practises animism or follows Islam. There were sizeable numbers of Sikhs and Hindus in the country until Asians were expelled in 1972, although many are now returning following an invitation from the president.

Never look a gift fish in the mouth (26K)

For the most part, Ugandan cuisine consists of a stodge filler with beans or a meat sauce. Main dishes are usually centred on beef, goat or mutton and the starch comes from ugali, or maize meal. Ugali is cooked up into a thick porridge until it sets hard. It's then served up in flat bricks. If that doesn't sound appealing, the country's tropical climate contributes to a healthy choice of fruits. Something you don't come across very often but which makes an excellent snack meal is mkate mayai (bread eggs). Originally an Arab dish, it's wheat dough spread into a thin pancake, filled with minced meat and raw egg, and then folded into a neat parcel and fried on a hotplate. Beer is probably the most widely available commodity across Uganda. Pombe is a locally made fermented banana beer and waragi the local millet-based alcohol. Both can knock you around and give you a mean hangover.

Events

Facts for the Traveller

Visas: Citizens of most Commonwealth countries, the EU, US, Canada, Japan and Israel don't require visas. Everyone else does. All nationalities require an International Health Certificate showing proof of a yellow fever vaccination within the past 10 years.
Health risks: Bilharzia, HIV/AIDS, malaria, yellow fever
Time: GMT/UTC plus three hours
Electricity: 220V, 50Hz
Weights & measures: Metric (see conversion table)
Tourism: About 230,000 visitors per year

Money & Costs

Currency: Uganda shilling (USh)
Relative costs:

• Budget meal: US$2-8
• Moderate restaurant meal: US$8-15
• Top-end restaurant meal: US$15 and upwards

• Budget room: US$10-20
• Moderate hotel: US$20-50
• Top-end hotel: US$50 and upwards

The Ugandan shilling is a stable, fully convertible currency, fluctuating very little from day to day. It doesn't matter too much where you change your money, though the forex bureaus generally offer better rates than the banks. You'll find forex bureaus at most border posts and in all major cities. For maximum flexibility take most of your money in travellers' cheques and the rest in cash, preferably US dollars, British pounds or South African rand. Credit cards are accepted only at larger hotels and restaurants.

You won't be expected to tip in Uganda, though feel free to do so if you've received exceptional service. Bargain when buying things from a market, street stall or craft shop.

When to Go

Attractions

Kampala congestion (28K)

If Kampala's streets don't put a spring in your step, there are a few standard attractions. The Uganda Museum's most interesting feature is its collection of traditional musical instruments, which you're allowed to play. The Kasubi Tombs are on Kasubi Hill, a royal palace enclosure first built in 1881. This is where you'll find the huge traditional reed and bark-cloth buildings of the kabakas (kings) of the Baganda people. The Uganda Wildlife Authority Office, a few kilometres north-east of the city centre, makes bookings to see the gorillas in outlying Bwindi National Park.

Bwindi National Park

There are direct buses every day between Kampala and Butogota, the nearest town of any size to Buhoma. Butogota is approximately 350km (220mi) south-west of the capital. It's another 17km (11mi) from Butogota to Buhoma; there's no scheduled transport so you'll have to walk or hire a pick-up or motorcycle.

Jinja

Village kids (21K)

Jinja is close to the Owen Falls Dam, a hydroelectric station which supplies Uganda with the bulk of its electricity. The main Kampala to Jinja road runs across the top of the dam, and the railway line crosses on a bridge close by. Before the building of the Owen Falls Dam, the Source of the Nile was Ripon Falls, where the Nile left Lake Victoria on its way to the Mediterranean. The falls were inundated by the waters of the dam, but you can still make out where they used to be from the turbulence.

Jinja is about 60km (37mi) north-east of Kampala and is easily accessible by bus, taxi or train.

Off the Beaten Track

The islands, which lie just south of Kampala, are connected to the mainland by ferries which run from Bukakata (about 80km/50mi south-west of Kampala via Masaka) to Buggala Island and by fishing boats from Port Bell (immediately south-east of Kampala) to Buggala.

Ruwenzori Mountains and Kibale Forest National Park

Banana bike, Fort Portal (26K)

Fort Portal is about 270km (168mi) north-west of Kampala, accessible by bus and taxi. Frequent buses and taxis shuttle between Fort Portal and Kibale and Ruwenzori national parks.

Lake Albert

Cooking up the catch (23K)

The best time to visit the lake is in the late morning when the fishing catch is brought ashore by local boats. One place to watch this is Butiaba, along the road that connects Kampala with the lake area. The approach to it down the Albertine Escarpment is spectacular, with sweeping views of the lake and the Blue Mountains of Congo in the distance.

Butiaba is approximately 250km (155mi) north-west of Kampala. Buses and taxis travel via Masindi, east of Butiaba, or Wanseko, north of Butiaba on the lake's shore.

Activities

Getting There & Away

The two border posts used by most visitors travelling by bus from Kenya are Malaba and Busia. The route into Uganda from Tanzania goes through the Kagera salient on the western side of Lake Victoria between Bukoba and Masaka. From Zaire, the two main crossing points are west from Kisoro to Rutshuru via Bunagana, and north-west from Kasese to Beni. However, the situation in eastern Zaire has been uncertain; check the security situation before attempting this crossing. Overland entry into Rwanda can also be unsafe and entry into Sudan is impossible at present.

Direct buses operate between Kampala and Nairobi daily, and take around 12 to 14 hours. An even better way to travel between the two capitals, however, is by train. Kenyan Railways has frequent service; most journeys are overnight. There's a regular boat service on Lake Victoria that travels between Kampala in Uganda and Mwanza in Tanzania.

Getting Around

Buses connect the major towns on a daily basis and EMS Post minibuses travel from Kampala to all major centres several times a week. The latter cost less and are safer and faster than the former. Kampala also has bicycle taxis (known locally as boda-boda, as they originally used to shuttle people between border, or boda, posts).

Trains and 'taters (26K)

The country has two main railway lines. The first starts at Tororo (in Uganda's south-eastern corner on the Kenyan border) and runs west across the country, making a stop in Kampala. The other line runs from Tororo and crosses the country in a north-westerly direction.

There's an excellent system of roads between most major centres in the southern part of Uganda, though some require a 4WD. Rental car companies are based near the airport in Entebbe, and in Kampala and other major towns. Drivers need an international drivers licence and should drive on the left. Note that road signs are non-existent and fuel is horrifically expensive.

Recommended Reading

• Uganda Since Independence by Phares Mutibwa and Uganda: Landmarks in Rebuilding a Nation, with various authors, are both useful but dry accounts of the country's recent history.
• Fong and the Indians by Paul Theroux is set in a fictional East African country which bears a remarkable likeness to Uganda. It's set in pre-civil war days and is at times both funny and bizarre, detailing the life of a Chinese immigrant and his dealings with the Asians who control commerce in the country.
• Uganda: From the Pages of Drum is an interesting compilation of articles which appeared in the now defunct Drum magazine. These chronicle the rise of Idi Amin and the atrocities he committed, and current president Museveni's bush war and rise to power.
• Ian Clarke's The Man With the Key Has Gone! is a recent account of the time spent in the Luwero Triangle district (due north of Kampala) by a British doctor and his family.

• East Africa
• Trekking in East Africa
• Africa on a shoestring
• Swahili phrasebook