STATESMEN AND DICTATORS:

 

A country with fantastic natural scenery and a rich mosaic of tribes and cultures.

Aziz Azion & Mwamba Children's Choir - "Oh Uganda"

Travelling through Uganda, you will be captivated by its beauty, safety and accessibility. The friendliness Ugandans and the country's landscape are outstanding. It is one of the most appealing nations and Africa's friendliest destinations.

Political parties were restricted in their activities from 1986 in a measure ostensibly designed to reduce sectarian violence. In the non-party "Movement" system instituted by Museveni, political parties continued to exist, but they could only operate a headquarters office. They could not open branches, hold rallies, or field candidates directly (although electoral candidates could belong to political parties). A constitutional referendum canceled this nineteen-year ban on multi-party politics in July 2005. Additionally, the time limit for president was changed in the constitution from the two-term limit in order to enable the current president to continue in active politics..

REASONS TO VISIT UGANDA

 

The parliament is formed by the National Assembly, which has 332 members.

 

104 of these members are nominated by interest groups, including women and the army. The remaining members are elected for five year terms during general elections.

 

The President of Uganda, currently Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, is both head of state and head of government. The president appoints a Vice President, currently Gilbert Bukenya, and a prime minister, currently Apolo Nsibambi, who aid him in governing. The parliament is formed by the National Assembly, which has 332 members. 104 of these members are nominated by interest groups, including women and the army. The remaining members are elected for five year terms during general elections.

 

Situated at the geographical heart of the African continent, Uganda has long been a cultural melting pot, as evidenced by the existence of 30-plus different indigenous languages belonging to five distinct linguistic groups, and an equally diverse cultural mosaic of music, art and handicrafts.

PEOPLE AND CULTURE:

 

A cultural melting pot, with 30-plus different indigenous languages.

 

The country's most ancient inhabitants, confined to the hilly southwest, are the Batwa and Bambuti Pygmies, relics of the hunter-gatherer cultures that once occupied much of East Africa to leave behind a rich legacy of rock paintings, such as at the Nyero Rock Shelter near Kumi.
At the cultural core of modern-day Uganda lie the Bantu-speaking kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro, Ankole and Toro, whose traditional monarchs – reinstated in the 1990s after having been abolished by President Milton Obote in 1967 – still serve as important cultural figureheads. According to oral tradition, these centuries-old kingdoms are offshoots of the mediaeval kingdoms of Batembuzi and Bachwezi, which lay in the vicinity of present-day Mubende and Ntusi, where archaeological evidence suggests that a strongly centralised polity had emerged by the 11th century. Three former kings of Buganda are buried in an impressive traditional thatched building at the Kasubi Tombs in Kampala.