Gulu District

Gulu is a district in northern Uganda, taking its name from its commercial centre, the town of Gulu. It is one of three districts forming the historical homeland of the Acholi ethnic group, also known as Acholiland. It lies 332 km north of the capital of Kampala and consists of four counties: Kilak, Achwa, Omoro, and Nwoya (Kilak and Nwoya county has been intergrated to form Amuru District). It has historically been seen as the most important and influential of the northern districts. It shares borders with seven other districts as well as Sudan. The 2002 census put the population at 479,496. Over 90% of the population is considered to be agriculturalists. The main highway running from Kampala to the north runs through Gulu District.

Gulu is the birthplace of prominent poet Okot p'Bitek. It has been the location of much of the insurgent fighting by the Lord's Resistance Army and was the birthplace of both Alice Auma and Joseph Kony. Over 90% of the population has been displaced, mostly into camps clustered around towns and trading centers. To avoid abduction by the LRA thousands of children travel from rural areas to seek refuge in towns every night. However due to the improving security situation the number of 'night commuters' fleeing every night in the district has reduced from around 25,000 in 2004 to 4000 in 2006.

References

Article by Steve Bloomfield in The Independent newspaper, 29 August 2006

External links

* [http://www.udg.or.ug/DIP/Gulu/index.htm Gulu page at District Information Portal] Dead link|url=http://www.udg.or.ug/DIP/Gulu/index.htm|date=October 2008