Uganda Independence Day is observed on 4 October every year.
This year marks the country’s 60th anniversary of independence from the United Kingdom.
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa.
The country was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1894 to 1962.
The first European to visit Uganda was the British explorer John Hanning Speke in 1862. By 1877, British missionaries started arriving with the blessing of the Bugandan King, Mutesa I.
The British government chartered the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) to negotiate trade agreements in the region from 1888. In 1893, the IBEAC transferred its administration rights of territory.
In 1894, the Uganda Protectorate was established to quell violence sparked from Ugandans’ conversion to christianity. Under treaties signed with the other kingdoms, the territory was extended beyond the borders of Buganda.
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By the middle of the 20th century, Britain had been weakened by its involvement in World War II and, with the call for independence sweeping across Africa, many British Empire territories in the region had started to be granted independence.
On 9 October 1962, Uganda gained its independence from Britain as a parliamentary democratic monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.
Finally, Uganda became a republic in October 1963 whilst remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Buganda’s King Mutesa II became the country’s first president.
