General Information about Kamwenge District

Kamwenge District is the old Kibale County of Toro Kingdom was created in 2000. The district has two counties kibale and kibale east. Currently Kamwenge has 8 sub counties and 5 town councils. the district is sharing boundaries.  with seven Districts namely; Kasese in the West, Kabarole in the North West and extreme North, Kyenjojo in the North , Kyegegwa in North East, Kazo in the East, Kitagwenda in the south,  and Ibanda in the East and South East. The population projection for 2019 is 448,563 including refugees in Rwamwanja settlement with a population density of 177 per square km.  It has a total land area of approximately 2,439.4 km2.

Kamwenge District can be accessed by road from the country’s capital city Kampala via Masaka- Nyakahita- Kazo – Ibanda – Fort –Portal Road which passes through Kiruhura District or via Mityana- Mubende-Kyenjojo-Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement and also via Fort-Portal via Kibale Forest. The other alternative route is via Kampala-Masaka-Mbarara-Ibanda-Kamwenge road. The District can also be accessed by air using helicopters. The railway line through the District is no longer functional but under consideration in Uganda Vision 2040, thus another opportunity.

Refugee Population

Age Group

Male

Female

Total

in numbers

in %

in numbers

in %

in numbers

in %

0-4

7,884

11%

8,093

11%

15,977

23%

05-17

13,895

20%

14,159

20%

28,054

40%

18-59

11,601

16%

13,330

19%

24,931

35%

60 and >

729

1%

802

1%

1,531

2%

Total:

34,109

48%

36,384

52%

70,493

100%

 Host population

Age Group

Male

Female

Total

in numbers

in %

in numbers

in %

in numbers

in %

0-4

24,813

19

25372

18

50,185

19

5-17

41,790

32

45106

32

86,896

32

18-59

58768

45

64839

46

123,607

45

60 and >

5224

4

5638

4

10,862

4

Total:

130,595

100

140,955

100

271,550

100

District profile

Topography

Kamwenge District has an undulating landscape that includes the flat Great Western Rift Valley that hosts Queen Elizabeth National Park.

 Altitude

Generally the district lies at an altitude ranging from 1300- 3800m above sea level.

 Climate

It receives bimodal rainfall (March –May and August- November) estimated at 700-1,400mm annually with temperatures ranging from 20-25 degrees delicious. August November is the main production season for agricultural activities.

 Vegetation and soils

The vegetation OF Kamwenge is typically savannah grassland, shrubs, and some pockets of forests with black loam, sandy and clay as the main soil types. Forestry cover remains intact in Kibale ; otherwise most of the natural forests which were not under government ownership were depleted and are now farmlands. More to that natural vegetation remains safe in national parks of Katonga Game reserve and Queen Elizabeth though with sometimes challenges of wild fire in the dry seasons of the year.

The statistics below best describe the land area;

Total District land area 3439.4km2  this is 1.0% of Uganda’s total land area Open water is 64.1km2  which is 2.6% of total district land area Permanent and seasonal wetlands 75.2km2  i.e. 3.1% of total district area  Land area excluding open water and seasonal & permanent wetlands is 2,300.1km2and district perimeter is 363kms .

1.  Road network to regional and local markets for livestock, Produce, landing sites. Kamwenge is on the main tarmac road which connects from Mbarara to Kamwenge via Ibanda and to Fort-Portal via Kamwenge. According to Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), plans are under way for construction of other tarmac roads to Kyenjojo via Nkoma/Rwamwanja- Bwizi- Kyenjojo at Kihura trading centre on Kampala –Fort portal-Kyenjojo road; Ibanda - If this happens, then Kamwenge is expected to have a good network of tarmac roads which will greatly contribute to faster development of the District.

2.   Kamwenge District has three commercial banks namely; Centinary bank, Finance Trust and Post Bank. There are a number of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) as well as Farmer Cooperatives.

3.   A number of Churches and Mosques are also in place including East Rwenzori Anglican Diocese, Kamwenge Muslim Mosque, Kamwenge Seventh day Adventist Church and Kamwenge Catholic Deanery all in Kamwenge Town. These have a number of other branches spread all the District and some Faith Based Services are offered such as PadrePio HCIII under the Catholic Church and Kyabenda HCIII under the Protestant Church.

4.   Communications/Media: One Radio station (Voice of Kamwenge) operates within the District while more coverage is offered by Radio Endigyito in Mbarara, Voice of Toro, and Rwenzori FM Efurembe as the major ones. There are other stations but with very limited coverage.

5.   Medical facilities: The District has got Rukunyu hospital and other health centre 1,11,111 & iv that serve in different sub counties.

6.   Potential tourism centres: Bigodi Town council in Busiriba Sub County has great potential for Tourism, given its close proximity to Kibale National Park and currently this potential is not fully tapped. This has become a tourist destination but needs serious investors to set up modern hotel facilities and other tourist services. Kibale National Park is home to various species of Flora and Fauna that are tourist attractions such as birds in Bigodi wetland sanctuary, monkeys, baboons, chimpanzee, elephants, buffalos, and other wild game.

7.   Value addition facilities are still on small scale mainly engaged in grain milling especially maize, millet, and sorghum. There are no major industries as yet, despite the presence of hydro electricity which is generated within the District. There is still potential for agro-based factories among others.