The Bahá’í Faith was introduced to Uganda in 1951, making it one of the earliest Bahá’í communities in Eastern Africa. Since then, the Ugandan Bahá’ís have firmly established the Faith in their country, with members representing nearly every tribal and religious background and being located in over 2,800 localities throughout the country.
Kampala Bahá’í House of Worship. The first Bahá’í House of Worship on the African continent, completed in 1961, is situated in Kampala and has become a well-known landmark of the capital. Bahá’í Houses of Worship are spiritual gathering places open to all peoples.
The Bahá’í community sponsors several social and economic development projects, such as providing training and support for local volunteer health workers in the Kumi and Soroti districts in Eastern Uganda, and UPLIFT, the Uganda Program of Literacy for Transformation, which aims to assist participants acquiring the skills, knowledge and incentives for self-directed, life-long learning and emphasizing moral education and inter-religious harmony. Bahá’ís have also founded schools for preschool and primary education.
The Baháʼí Faith in Uganda started to grow in 1951 and four years later there were 500 Baháʼís in 80 localities, including 13 Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assemblies, representing 30 tribes, and had dispatched 9 pioneers to other African locations. Following the reign of Idi Amin when the Baháʼí Faith was banned and the murder of Baháʼí Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga and his family, the community continues to grow though estimates of the population range widely from 19,000 to 105,000 and the community’s involvements have included diverse efforts to promote the welfare of the Ugandan people. The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on World Christian Encyclopedia) estimated about 78,500; however, National Population & Housing Census, 2014 recorded only 29,601.
Postal Address
The National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá’ís of Uganda
P.O. Box 2662 Kampala Uganda
Telephone
+256-41-540511
