Soroti is a city in Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main city, commercial, and administrative center in Soroti District, one of the nine administrative districts in the Teso sub-region.
History
In the late Uganda–Tanzania War, Soroti suffered from lootings as well as mass killings committed by fleeing Uganda Army troops. When the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) and the Tanzania People's Defence Force's 7th Battalion captured the town as part of the Eastern Uganda campaign of 1979, they found it plundered and discovered the corpses of about 50 civilians. The local
Radio Uganda station was left mostly undamaged, however, and was quickly broadcasting again.
In the last phase of the Ugandan Bush War in early 1986, the area around Soroti became the site of heavy fighting.
Geography
Soroti City is surrounded by
Soroti District, of the Teso sub-region, in the Eastern Region of
Uganda, lying north of
Lake Kyoga. Soroti is approximately , by road, northwest of the city of
Mbale, the largest urban centre in Uganda's Eastern Region.
Soroti lies on the Tororo–Mbale–Soroti Road or Lira-Mbale route, approximately , by road, northeast of
Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.
The coordinates of Soroti are 1°42'54.0"N, 33°36'40.0"E (Latitude:1.715000; Longitude:33.611111).
Soroti lies at an average elevation of above mean sea level.
Climate
Population
The 1969 national population census enumerated the population of Soroti at 12,398. In 1980, the population had increased to 15,048. During the 1991 national census, Soroti's population was 40,970. In August 2014, the national population census put Soroti's population at 49,685. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) estimated the mid-year population of Soroti in 2020, at 60,900. The table below illustrates the data in tabular format.
Education
Soroti hosts the main campus of Soroti University, a public institution of higher education, located in the suburb of
Arapai.
Soroti is also home to secondary campuses of
Kumi University,
and Kyambogo University.
Soroti Secondary School is one of the biggest day school in
Teso sub-region.
Transport
Soroti is connected to Mbale and Lira via the tarmacked Tororo–Mbale–Soroti Road and Soroti–Dokolo–Lira Road. The recently completed Soroti–Katakwi–Moroto–Lokitanyala Road connects the town to
Moroto Town, in extreme northeastern Uganda.
The Soroti–Amuria–Abim–Kotido Road, remains gravel surfaced, as of July 2020.
Soroti is also served by Soroti Airport, lying approximately , by road, northeast of the central business district of the town.
Points of interest
The following points of interest are located in Soroti or near the town limits: 1. The headquarters of
Soroti District 2. The offices of Soroti Town Council 3. A branch of the National Social Security Fund 4. Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, a 275-bed public hospital administered by the Uganda Ministry of Health 5. The main campus of Soroti University, a public institution of higher education 6. Teso College Aloet, an all-boys boarding secondary school 7. Lwala Soroti Hospital, a 135-bed, non-governmental hospital, administered by the Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau 8. Soroti Solar Power Station, a privately owned solar power plant with generation capacity of 10 megawatts 9.
Soroti Rock, a volcanic rock formation. 10. Soroti central market 11. The headquarters of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Soroti and 12. Tororo-Lira-Kamdini Highway, which passes through the center of town in a north-west/south-east direction.
Soroti is also home to Soroti Fruit Processing Factory, a joint venture between Uganda Development Corporation and Teso Tropical Fruit Growers Cooperative Union, built with assistance from Korea International Cooperation Agency and was opened in April 2019.
See also
Notes
Works cited
External links
