Masindi

History

As capital of Bunyoro, Masindi was visited by Samuel and Florence Baker, British explorers and anti-slavery campaigners, from 25 April 1872 to 14 June 1873. The Baker expedition was forced to withdraw because of the hostility of the Omukama Kabaléga, the King of Bunyoro at the time. The White Fathers founded here a mission in the 1910s. The town was developed as a commercial centre due to trade in cotton during the second half of the 19th century. During World War II, Masindi was the location of the second-largest refugee camp for Poles escaping from Soviet-occupied Poland in East Africa. There were 3,635 people, including 1,759 children. There was a Polish preschool, three primary schools, a general education liceum and a vocational school for girls. Two Polish newspapers were issued in Masindi, Czuj Duch and Brzask.

Most-observed species

• Common Bulbul

  Pycnonotus barbatus (Desfontaines, 1789) · Aves
  668
• White-thighed Hornbill

  Bycanistes albotibialis (Cabanis & Reichenow, 1877) · Aves
  615
• Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill

  Bycanistes subcylindricus (P.L.Sclater, 1871) · Aves
  608
• Bronze mannikin

  Lonchura cucullata (Swainson, 1837) · Aves
  559
• African Pygmy-Kingfisher

  Ispidina picta (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  534
• Speckled Mousebird

  Colius striatus J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  504
• Yellow-mantled Widowbird

  Euplectes macroura (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  421
• Red-faced Cisticola

  Cisticola erythrops (Hartlaub, 1857) · Aves
  420

Most recent

• M 4.4 — 2026-05-31
  27 km N of Nakasongola, Uganda
• M 4.3 — 2023-04-08
  23 km SSW of Buliisa, Uganda
• M 4.5 — 2020-06-08
  47 km W of Kigorobya, Uganda
• M 4.5 — 2019-04-03
  22 km NW of Kigorobya, Uganda
• M 4.7 — 2017-02-25
  26 km W of Hoima, Uganda
• M 4.2 — 2015-11-24
  30 km W of Hoima, Uganda