Terrorism in Uganda primarily occurs in the north, where the Lord's Resistance Army, a militant Christian religious cult that seeks to overthrow the Ugandan government, has attacked villages and forcibly conscripted children into the organization since 1988.^[1] The al-Shabbab jihadist group has also staged attacks in the country.

This article needs to be updated. (November 2010)

From 1997 the Allied Democratic Front, a terrorist organization based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, threw bombs into taxis and public buildings. More than 50 people were killed and more than 160 were injured. Suspects were held in safe houses. The Uganda Human Rights Commission and other non-governmental organizations criticized this process because suspects were allegedly held for more than the legal 48 hours before being charged with a crime and were tortured.^[2] In 1998, the Uganda Salvation Front attacked Tororo Prison and abducted several inmates.^[3]

On 11 July 2010, suicide bombings were carried out against crowds watching a screening of 2010 FIFA World Cup Final match during the World Cup at two locations in Kampala. The attacks left 74 dead and 70 injured. Islamist al-Shabbab claimed responsibility for the attacks as retaliation for Ugandan support for AMISOM.^[4]

On 5 July 2014, several tribal gunmen armed with machetes and spears attacked in Kasese, Ntoroko and Bundibugyo districts killing civilians, military officers and policemen. It led to loss of 93 people and property worth millions of shillings.^[5]

On 1 June 2021, General Katumba Wamala was travelling in a vehicle when four gunmen appeared and opened fire, wounding Wamala and killing his driver and his daughter.^[6][7][8][9] After a month of investigation, on July 1, 2021, authorities revealed that the attackers were Islamic extremists who were trained in a jihadist camp in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, and had links with the Allied Democratic Forces and the Islamic State.^[10]

On 24 October 2021, a deadly explosion occurred at a restaurant in Komamboga, Kampala, killing one person and wounding three more. The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack.^[11] Two days later, an Allied Democratic Forces suicide bomber blew himself up at a bus in Kampala, wounding several people.^[12] On 29 October, two children were killed during a bomb explosion at a village in Nakaseke. The device looked like an exotic “jackfruit” and was given to the children while they were playing.^[13]

On 16 November 2021, twin suicide bombers exploded their improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near in the capital, Kampala. The three suicide bombers together with other three innocent victims died. Twenty-seven people were wounded and admitted at Mulago National Referral Hospital. The Islamic State later claimed the attacks through their Telegram channel.

On 16 June 2023, rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a jihadist group speculatively linked by analysts to the Islamic State,^[14] attacked a school in Mpondwe, a town in western Uganda's Kasese District on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Forty-two people were killed, including 38 students.^[15]

Defence Ministers Amama Mbabazi of Uganda, Kivutha Kibwana of Kenya and Philemon Sarungi of Tanzania met with other military officials in Kampala, Uganda from 21–23 November 2003 in a U.S.-sponsored counter-terrorism conference.^[16][17]

Ugandan Military Intelligence Chief Colonel Nobel Mayombo told reporters in Kampala that terrorism is "one of the items high on the agenda of the meeting and how East African resources could be put in place to create security. The meeting will assess the three countries' readiness to defense challenges and increase information-sharing including issue on training. As for Uganda... we also have targets that have to be protected" because some of the countries near Uganda are "incubators of terrorism."^[16]

Representatives from the governments signed an agreement on tracking terrorist suspects in East Africa.^[17]

Ugandan police chief Major General Kale Kayihura, Honorary Consul Noraihan Haji Adnan, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs James Mugume, and Malaysian police chief Tan Sri Musa Hassan met in Bukit Aman Police Headquarters, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 15 February 2007. They agreed to provide information on counter-terrorism, drug trafficking, riot control and marines. The Malaysian government will train the Uganda Police Force for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November 2007.^[21]