Mbale District

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Mbale District
District
District location in Uganda
Coordinates: 00°57′N 34°20′E / 0.950°N 34.333°E / 0.950; 34.333
Country  Uganda
Region Eastern Uganda
Sub-region Bugisu sub-region
Capital Mbale
Area
 • Total 2,467 km2 (953 sq mi)
Population (2010 Estimate)
 • Total 410,300
 • Density 166.3/km2 (431/sq mi)
Time zone EAT (UTC+3)
Website Homepage

Mbale District is a district in Eastern Uganda. It is named after the largest city in the district, Mbale, which also serves as the main administrative and commercial center in the sub-region.

Location

Mbale District is bordered by Sironko District to the north, Bududa District to the northeast, Manafwa District to the southeast, Tororo District to the south, Butaleja District to the southwest and Budaka District to the west. Pallisa District and Kumi District lie to the northwest of Mbale District.[1] The coordinates of the district are:00 57N, 34 20E.

It has an area of 2,467 square kilometres (953 sq mi). Its central town and commercial centre is Mbale, which is also the location of the district headquarters. The districts of Bududa, Manafwa and Sironko were part of Mbale District before they were split off as independent districts of their own.

Population

The national census of 2002 estimated the population of Mbale District at 332,200, with an annual population growth rate of 2.5%.[2] With those statistics, it is estimated that the population of the district in 2010 was approximately 410,300. See table below:

Mbale District Population Trends
Year Estimated Population
2002332,200
2003341,100
2004350,400
2005359,800
2006369,500
2007379,500
2008389,800
2009400,300
2010410,300

The district population is 92% rural. The main ethnic group in the district are the Bamasaba or Bagisu. The main language spoken in the district is Lugisu also known as Lumasaba.

Economic activity

The primary economic activity in the district is agriculture. Some of the main crops are coffee, beans, Matooke, maize, onions, potatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes.

Education

The town of Mbale has three University campuses: the Islamic University of Uganda (IUIU) est. 1988; the Uganda Christian University (UCU) est. 2003 with the main campus in Kampala, and the Livingstone International University (LIU) with its first enrolment in January 2012. Besides the importance of Higher Educational (HE) institutions in Mbale, the town is also an educational centre for numerous government and private secondary schools, including the govt. run Mbale Secondary School with about 4,000 pupils of which each year some 500 study A Level Maths and Sciences, making it the major science school in Eastern Region. Three miles out of Mbale is the renown Bungokho Rural Development Centre (BRDC) for vocational training.

Twinning

Mbale was formally linked with Pontypridd, Wales through local and regional twinning ceremonies in 2005. The link was intended to associate professionals and organizations in Pontypridd with their counterparts in Africa, under the auspices of charity PONT - the Partnerships Overseas Networking Trust.[3]

Famous people from Mbale

Notable people from Mbale District include the following:

  • Werikhe Kafabusa - Uganda's State Minister for Housing, 2006 - 2011
  • Zandya Mutwalibi Mafabi - Mayor of Mbale, 2011 - 2016[4]
  • Davis Wamawungo, Country Program Manager, International Programs, World Vision, Australia
  • Buziba Gaius, Senior Database Engineer, Oracle Corporation, USA

External links

Rhonie Akram Mukisa, a famous Telecommunications Engineer is also from this place.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Uganda District Map
  2. ↑ 2002 Uganda Population by District
  3. ↑ PONT Background
  4. ↑ Mafabi mutwalibi zandya Elected Mayor of Mbale In May 2011
Central
Eastern
Northern
Western

Coordinates: 00°57′N 34°20′E / 0.950°N 34.333°E / 0.950; 34.333

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