Kagera

Kagera is a name used for several places and features in East Africa. It most commonly refers to the Kagera Region in northwestern Tanzania, as well as to the Kagera River, a major river in the same area. The term also appears in historical contexts, most notably the Uganda–Tanzania War of 1978–79, which is often called the Kagera War after the Kagera River region near the border.

Kagera Region is one of Tanzania’s administrative regions. Its capital is Bukoba. It lies in the Lake Victoria basin in the country’s northwest and shares land borders with Uganda to the north and with Rwanda and Burundi to the northwest. The regional economy is largely based on agriculture, with crops such as coffee, tea and bananas, and is supported by fishing and cross-border trade around Lake Victoria and along regional transport routes.

Kagera River is a major river in East Africa. It rises in the highlands of Rwanda and western Burundi and flows generally eastward into Tanzania, eventually draining into Lake Victoria. The river has historically been significant for the broader Nile basin and is sometimes cited as one of the Nile’s sources. Along parts of its course it forms or approaches international borders, illustrating its role in the region’s geography and geopolitics.

Historically, the name Kagera is linked to the Uganda–Tanzania War, in which Tanzanian forces crossed the Kagera River into Uganda in 1978, contributing to the overthrow of Idi Amin. The name thus anchors both a geographic region and a notable historical event in East Africa.