Uganda Orders a New Tororo City on the Kenya Border
Key Facts
- —The country Uganda is a landlocked East African nation of about 51 million people. Its US$62 billion economy gives income per person of about US$1,200 a year, under 2% of the US level (World Bank).
- —Why it matters Tororo District sits on the Kenya border, on the main road and rail route to the port of Mombasa. A long feud between its two main communities, the Iteso and Japadhola, has stalled plans to split it.
- —Why now On Friday 2 October, President Yoweri Museveni met ruling-party MPs in Kampala. He told Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to fast-track new local units for Tororo.
- —What happened Local MP George Oketcho asked for new units at Mulanda, Kisoko and Mukuju plus city status for Tororo town. He cited overstretched hospitals and schools. Museveni agreed after first saying other priorities came first.
- —The numbers Tororo District today has six counties, one municipality, 30 rural sub-counties and 1,338 villages. Its headquarters lie 214 km east of Kampala, according to the district’s official profile.
- —What it means for you Nothing changes yet for visitors or investors. New units would shift which local council issues permits and handles land, so businesses near Tororo should follow any bill.
- —Still open On 1 October Nabbanja told Parliament a Cabinet freeze on new districts, imposed in 2021, has not been lifted. No bill or date for one has been announced.
Uganda’s president wants a new city and new local units on the Kenya border to ease pressure on services. His own government’s freeze on new districts stands in the way.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has ordered faster work on a new Tororo City and new local units on the Kenya border. He gave the instruction to Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja on Friday 2 October 2026.
Uganda is a landlocked country of about 51 million people, ruled by Museveni since 1986. Tororo District lies on its eastern edge, where the main road and railway cross into Kenya.
What Museveni ordered for Tororo City
The order came at a meeting of MPs from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) at Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala. Both the Daily Monitor and New Vision, Uganda’s main newspapers, reported it.
George Oketcho, MP for West Budama County South, raised the issue. He named proposed new units at Mulanda, Kisoko and Mukuju, as well as Tororo City.
Museveni first replied that other priorities came before new administrative units, New Vision reported. Oketcho then proposed that Parliament pass a resolution while the government found the money.
Museveni agreed and directed the prime minister to fast-track the process. No timetable was published.
Why local MPs want the split
Oketcho said population growth has outpaced schools, clinics and other public services in his area. He also pointed to land conflicts.
“Residents of West Budama South travel approximately 25 kilometres to access services at Tororo Main Hospital,” he said. He added that even basic X-rays are unavailable there.
He also blamed a shortage of schools for poor exam results. He asked the Ministry of Local Government to table a formal proposal so Parliament can debate it.
Tororo District currently has six counties, one municipality, 30 rural sub-counties, 10 town councils and 1,338 villages. Its headquarters lie 214 km east of Kampala, according to the district’s official profile.
An old dispute behind the plan
The idea is not new. In April 2025 Museveni proposed city status for Tororo and three new districts. The aim was to settle a long-running row between its two main communities.
Those communities are the Iteso and the Japadhola, who have argued for years over how the district should be divided. In September 2025 the NRM caucus of MPs backed splitting Tororo into a city and three districts.
Since then little has moved on paper. Local leaders have repeatedly asked Museveni to make the new units work in practice.
The 2021 freeze still stands
A day before the caucus, Nabbanja told Parliament that no new districts will be created until Cabinet lifts a 2021 moratorium. That freeze covers all new administrative units nationwide, the business site BusinessFocus reported.
“This ban has not been lifted,” Nabbanja said on 1 October in reply to an MP seeking a new district elsewhere. The Tororo order therefore runs into the government’s own rule.
Under Uganda’s constitution, new districts need parliamentary approval. Money is a further obstacle, since each new unit needs staff, offices and running costs.
A stalled Chinese industrial project nearby
Tororo also matters beyond local politics. The district hosts the Osukuru phosphate project, run by China’s Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group inside a Uganda-China free zone.
The complex was valued at about US$620 million and commissioned by Museveni in October 2018. It was meant to produce 300,000 tonnes of fertiliser and 300,000 tonnes of steel a year.
Production stalled after a Chinese bank loan was withdrawn, the Daily Monitor reported in 2024. In February 2026 Nile Post found the site largely inactive, though local officials said it ran at reduced scale.
New boundaries would decide which council collects local revenue and handles land around such projects. That gives the boundary debate an economic edge as well as an ethnic one.
What it means for visitors and business
For now nothing changes for travellers. The Malaba and Busia crossings into Kenya, visas and roads are unaffected by the order.
For companies, the stakes are local permits, land administration and tax collection. A new city council in Tororo would likely take over some of those powers from the district.
The wider contest for influence in Africa is covered in Africa: The New Scramble.
What happens next
The Ministry of Local Government must prepare a formal proposal for Cabinet and Parliament. No date for that step has been announced.
Cabinet would also have to lift or waive its 2021 freeze. Until then, Tororo City remains a presidential instruction, not a legal change.
Frequently Asked Questions
What has Uganda’s president ordered for Tororo?
On 2 October 2026 President Yoweri Museveni told Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to fast-track new local units in Tororo District. Local MPs want units at Mulanda, Kisoko and Mukuju and city status for Tororo town.
Does Tororo City legally exist yet?
No. The Ministry of Local Government must table a proposal and Parliament must approve it. A Cabinet freeze on new districts, imposed in 2021, also remains in force.
Why does Tororo matter to foreign investors?
Tororo borders Kenya on the main trade route to Mombasa. It also hosts a stalled US$620 million Chinese phosphate, fertiliser and steel complex, so local boundaries affect land and permits.
Will the change affect travellers?
Not for now. Border crossings, visas and roads stay as they are. Any change would mainly alter which local council runs services in the area.
Connected Coverage
Sources
- Daily Monitor, 3 Oct 2026
- New Vision, 2 Oct 2026
- BusinessFocus, 2 Oct 2026
- Kampala Press, 2 Oct 2026
- Tororo District Local Government
- Daily Monitor, 24 Nov 2024
- Nile Post, 23 Feb 2026
- World Bank: Uganda
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief