Kasese

Kasese is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the capital of Kasese District. Kasese is also the largest town in the Rwenzururu region. In 2020 it had an estimated population 115,400. It lies north of Lake George and east of Rwenzori Mountains.

Location
Kasese is located approximately 380 km west from Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city, 40 km north-east of Mpondwe, a town at the international border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The coordinates of Kasese are 0°11'12.0"N, 30°05'17.0"E (Latitude:0.186667; Longitude:30.088050).

Population
The national census of 1969 enumerated the population of Kasese Town at 7,213 people. In 1980, the population census that year put the population of the town at 9,917. In 1991, the national census numerated 18,750 inhabitants in Kasese. That population had increased to 85,697 people, according to the 2002 national census. On 27 August 2014, the census and national housing survey enumerated 101,065 people in Kasese Town Council.

In 2020, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), estimated the mid-year population of the town at 115,400 inhabitants. UBOS calculated that the population of Kasese Municipality increased at an average rate of 2.3 percent annually, between 2014 and 2020.

Population dynamics


During the 1990s Kasese Town was one of the fastest growing municipalities in Uganda. The reasons for this rapid population growth include:


 * Increased tourism - Kasese is the gateway to Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of the most popular in Uganda, and the Rwenzori National Park.
 * Kilembe Mines employs a large number of workers; over 3,000 as of January 2015.
 * Hima Cement Limited is another big employer located in Hima, approximately 24 km, by road, north of Kasese.
 * Increased trade with the eastern districts of the DRC. The border town of Mpondwe is only 60 km south-west of Kasese.

Industry
Kasese Cobalt Company Limited (KCCL), located on the road from Kasese to Rubirizi just south of the central business district of Kasese, extracts cobalt from the sludge left after copper is extracted from the raw ore.

Points of interest


The following points of interest lie within the town or close to its edges:
 * Seat of Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu
 * headquarters of Kasese District
 * offices of Kasese town council
 * Kasese central market
 * branch of the National Social Security Fund
 * Hima Cement Limited
 * Kasese Airport
 * Kilembe Cobalt Company Limited
 * Kilembe Mines - Extraction of copper. Maintains a private hospital and a 5-megawatt mini-hydropower plant, Mubuku I Power Station, that supplies the town of Kasese.
 * Kilembe Mines Hospital - A 200-bed community hospital administered by Kilembe Mines Limited.