Buganda Counties – Buganda Tourism

At its founding, the Kingdom of Buganda had only a small territory consisting of the counties of Busiro, Busujju, Kyaddondo and Mawokota; as well as small portions of Ssingo and Bulemeezi counties. Most of the surrounding territory was the dominion of the kings of Bunyoro. There was considerable rivalry between Bunyoro and Buganda, and constant fighting over territory. Gradually, Buganda was able to expand its territory at the expense of Bunyoro until it grew to the twenty counties that constituted Buganda at its pinnacle. The islands of Ssese were autonomous within Buganda right from its founding, being reserved as the islands of the gods. They were not directly governed by the kings of Buganda until after the 1900 agreement. The following list gives the counties, their respective headquarters, the title of the county chief, the designated rank of the county within Buganda, and how the county came to be part of Buganda. A map showing the location of each county is given at the bottom of the page.

The Counties of Buganda

County		Headquarters	Chief’s Title	Designated Rank	How Acquired
1	Buddu	Masaka	Ppookino	Mutuba II	Annexed by Jjunju from Bunyoro
2	Bugerere	Ntenjeru	Mugerere		Annexed by Semei Kakungulu from Bunyoro
3	Bulemeezi	Ggaga	Kangaawo		Some of it original territory, rest annexed from Bunyoro
4	Buruli	Nakasongola	Kimbugwe		From Bunyoro, 1900 Agreement
5	Busiro	Ssentema	Ssebwana		Original Territory
6	Busujju	Mwera	Kasujju		Original Territory
7	Butambala	Kaabasanda	Katambala		Annexed by Kateregga from Bunyoro
8	Buvuma	Maggyo	Mbuubi		Annexed by Mwanga II
9	Buweekula	Kiryannongo	Luwekula		Annexed by Kamaanya from Bunyoro
10	Ggomba	Kanoni	Kitunzi	Mutuba I	Annexed by Kateregga from Bunyoro
11	Kabula	Kabula	Luwama		Ceded to Buganda from Ankole
12	Kkooki	Rakai	Kaamuswaga		Tributary kingdom, subsumed 1896
13	Kyaddondo	Kasangati	Kaggo	Ssabaddu	Original Territory
14	Kyaggwe	Mukono	Ssekiboobo	Ssabawaali	Annexed by Kimera
15	Mawogola	Ssembabule	Muteesa		Mostly curved out of Buddu, 1900 Agreement
16	Mawokota	Butoolo	Kayima	Musaale	Original Territory
17	Ssese	Kalangala	Kweba	Islands of the Gods	Originally autonomous, became county in 1900
18	Ssingo	Mitiyana	Mukwenda	Ssabagabo	Some of it original territory, rest from Bunyoro
19	Bugangazzi*	Kakumiro	Kiyimba		Given by British, 1896
20	Buyaga*	Kibaale	Kyambalango		Given by British, 1896

* These counties were transferred from Bunyoro to Buganda in 1896 by the British colonial rulers. This was a reward to the rulers of Buganda who had collaborated with the British in their fight against king Kabarega of Bunyoro. Kabarega had vigorously resisited the colonization of his kingdom. After Uganda’s independence from Britain, they reverted back to Bunyoro following a referendum in those counties in 1964.