About our Uganda news
Latest news on Uganda, covering Kampala politics, elections, economy, oil, human rights, wildlife, gorilla trekking, safari, tourism, and the Pearl of Africa.
Uganda, a landlocked East African nation of around 50 million people, is one of the youngest countries on earth — over 70% of its population is under 30. Often called the Pearl of Africa, it is home to extraordinary biodiversity, the source of the Nile at Jinja, and a growing economy driven by agriculture, coffee exports, and an emerging oil sector. Its capital, Kampala, is a bustling commercial hub, while Entebbe, on the shores of Lake Victoria, serves as the country's main international gateway.
The disputed January 2026 general election dominates Uganda's political landscape. President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled since 1986, secured a seventh term with 71.6% of the vote, while his main challenger, pop star-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi — known as Bobi Wine — received around 25%. Wine and his National Unity Platform (NUP) rejected the results as fraudulent. In March 2026, Wine announced he had fled Uganda after two months in hiding, citing military threats from army chief General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Museveni's son. The election was accompanied by an internet blackout, mass arrests of opposition supporters, and allegations of enforced disappearances, drawing condemnation from the UN, international rights organisations, and foreign governments.
Human rights remain a pressing concern. Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act, signed into law in 2023, is among the harshest anti-LGBTQ laws in the world, imposing penalties up to the death sentence for "aggravated homosexuality" and criminalising the "promotion of homosexuality". The Constitutional Court upheld most of its provisions in April 2024, prompting the World Bank to halt lending and triggering international sanctions. Civil society organisations, journalists, and opposition activists face ongoing restrictions, with permits suspended and bank accounts frozen in the run-up to elections.
Uganda's economy has shown resilience, with GDP growth reaching 6.3% in the 2024/25 financial year according to the World Bank. The country is on the cusp of becoming an oil producer: the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a $5 billion, 1,443-kilometre pipeline running from Lake Albert to the Tanzanian port of Tanga, is over 80% complete, with first oil targeted for the second half of 2026. Operated primarily by TotalEnergies alongside CNOOC and Uganda's national oil company (UNOC), the project has generated both economic optimism and fierce environmental opposition over its impact on biodiversity, water sources, and local communities.
Tourism is one of Uganda's most important industries, anchored by gorilla trekking in the mist-shrouded Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Uganda is home to roughly half the world's remaining mountain gorillas, whose population has recovered from around 300 in the 1980s to over 1,060 today — a major conservation success story. Beyond gorillas, the country offers safari experiences in Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth, and Kidepo Valley national parks, chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest, and exceptional birding with over 1,000 recorded species. Uganda also hosts one of the largest refugee populations in Africa, welcoming over a million people displaced by conflicts in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and beyond.
Our ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Uganda feed brings together comprehensive, constantly updated coverage from a wide range of reliable sources, keeping you informed on politics, elections, the economy, oil developments, human rights, wildlife conservation, tourism, and the stories that shape this dynamic East African nation. Whether you are following the post-election political crisis, the progress of EACOP, or planning a gorilla trekking safari, this feed is your essential resource for all the latest Uganda news.