Kagera Region


Kagera Region is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of. The region is comparable in size to the land area of the Netherlands. Kagera Region is bordered to the east by Lake Victoria, Mwanza Region and Mara Region. The region is bordered to the south by Geita Region and Kigoma Region. Lastly, Kagera borders Rwanda to the west, Uganda to the north and Burundi to the south west.
The regional capital city is Bukoba. According to the 2022 national census, the region had a population of 2,989,299, an increase from 2,458,023 recorded in 2012.
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Etymology

The region derives its name from the Kagera River.

Geography

Kagera borders Uganda to the north, Rwanda and Burundi to the west, and the Tanzanian regions Kigoma to the south and Geita to the east. The Kagera River forms the region's border with Rwanda. The region lies in the middle of 30°25' and 32°40' east, and 1°00' and 2°45' south. The total area is, of which is land, and 27 percent, is water. Much of the water Victoria, as well as lakes Ikimba, Burigi, Ngono and the Kagera River. Kagera is Tanzania's fifteenth-largest region and accounts for approximately 3.3 percent of Tanzania's land area of. The regional capital Bukoba is about from Dar es Salaam.

Climate

Average annual rainfall is 500 to 2000 mm, the Kagera Region has a bi-annual rainfall pattern from March to May and from October to November. Rainfall varies from 2000 mm per year in Bukoba to 500 mm to the west, with rainfall higher along Lake Victoria's shore and decreasing away from the lake as well as with height. The temperature ranges from 20ºC to 28ºC. The area is covered in hills that run parallel to the lake shore running north to south.

Geology

Lying on the Kivu Rift, the western of the two branches of the East African Rift which transverses Tanzania, Kagera experiences significant seismic activity. On 10 September 2016, the region was struck by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake in which 17 people died, and at least 250 others were injured.
Kagera is known for its agriculture, lush landscapes, and wildlife. It has reasonably fertile old soils but poor soil management has led to soil exhaustion requiring the use fertiliser.

Demographics

Population

One of the top five most populous regions in the nation is the Kagera region. According to the population and housing Census of 2002, the region had a total population of 2,033,888, with an average growth rate of 3.1%. 6.0% of all Tanzanians living on the mainland were found in the region.

History

During the colonial period, the region was called West Lake, it was part of Lake Province, which included the Geita, Mwanza, Shinyanga, Tabora, Simiyu, and Mara, regions. After independence Lake Province was broken up, with Kagera and part of Geita becoming the West Lake Region. Following the Kagera War in 1979, the West Lake Region was renamed the Kagera Region.
For a period of about five centuries, Kagera was home to nine different kingdoms with highly hierarchical societies. Before European colonialism, coffee was a traditional crop in the area, used for its stimulant properties and in local cultural rituals. During colonial times, coffee was a cash crop. Bananas were a staple food in the region. Although there was a gender-based division of labour in the traditional Bahaya society, women at the time were not thought to be inferior to men. In fact women commanded special respect in all traditional rituals. For example, upon the death of a family head, inheritance rituals were followed, the "Main Inheritor" had to have a female counterpart selected from among his sisters to share his authority. Similarly, upon the death of a reigning king, during the crowning of the next king, there had to be a "sister to the nation" who was also selected from among his sisters.
The kings lived in elaborate palaces and were respected as the direct link to gods of their kingdoms. The authority of the nine kingdoms was diminished when Germans colonised Tanzania in 1885 and supported the Haya, the ethnic group of Bukoba and Muleba Districts over the other districts. However, the local kings held on to power. The demise of these kingdoms came after Tanzania gained its independence and president Nyerere considered them detrimental to national unity.
There was a chief called Omukama who could be born with that authority. Some prominent chiefs in Kagera include Kyamukuma, who was the last chief in Misenye. Other chiefs included Rumanyika of Karagwe, Ruhinda, Kahigi and other inferior chiefs. Kahigi is among the chiefs who waived their territories by collaborating with German colonialists.
Cultural tours are available for tourists visiting Kagera and can be accessed from the region's capital of Bukoba. These tours include visits to the region's national parks/nature reserves etc.
During German rule Dr. M. Zupitza, then serving as the local medical officer, encountered a plague outbreak in Kiziba. In cooperation with Dr. Robert Koch, he confirmed that the cause was the same bacteria as the outbreak in Bombay.
When authority was transferred to the British after World War I, Kagera was opened to Lutheran missionary activity. Other Christian denominations including the Roman Catholic arrived later. Their legacy is in the many churches in the region.
The attempted annexation of Kagera by Uganda in 1979 triggered the Uganda–Tanzania War.

Economy

Agriculture is the main economic activity, the primary crops being pulses. With Cereals the most frequent crop, at, followed by root and tubers with,, cash crops, and fruits and vegetables with. The major cash crops were cotton. Cereal crop output in the area is dominated by maize, with 302,529 households in the region growing maize during the brief wet season. This made up about 93.8% of all households that raised crops during the season.
Food crop sales accounted for 54.0% of smallholder households' total cash income in the Kagera Region, with cash crop sales, other sporadic income, fishing, and wages/salaries.
Small businesses were the primary source of income for only 3.4% of smallholder households, followed by the sale of livestock, cash remittances, sales of forest products, and sales of animal products.
Kagera is also one of the largest coffee producers in the country. Muleba with 26%), Karagwe 23%), Ngara 10%), Biharamulo 1%), and Bukoba Urban 1%) were the other coffee-producing areas, with Bukoba Rural having the highest area 39%).. However, Ngara had the greatest average amount of land planted with coffee per household, followed by Karagwe, Biharamulo, Muleba, Bukoba Rural, and Bukoba Urban .

Wildlife and national parks

The Kagera Region has abundant wildlife, including baboons, giraffe, elands, crocodiles, hippopotamus, warthog. Birdlife includes African fish eagles, hammerkops, marabou stork, cormorants. kingfishers, and herons.
Kagera is home to Biharamulo Forest Reserve, Burigi-Chato National Park, Ibanda-Kyerwa National Park, Rumanyika-Karagwe National Park, Rubondo Island National Park and Saanane Island National Park. In 2019, Burigi, Biharamulo game reserve, and Lakes Burigi and Kimis were upgraded to become a national park with the Burigi-Chato National Park. Rumanyika-Karagwe National Park was gazetted as Rumanyika-Karagwe National Park and Ibanda-Kyerwa National Park.

Administrative divisions

Districts

Kagera Region is divided into eight districts, each administered by a council:
In 2016 the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics report there were 2,789,577 people in the region, from 2,458,023 in 2012.

Notable people from Kagera Region

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