UGANDA - Republic of Uganda / Jamhuri ya Uganda

Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda (Swahili: Jamhuri ya Uganda), is a landlocked country in East-Central Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region. Uganda also lies within the Nile basin, and has a varied but generally a modified equatorial climate. Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country, including the capital Kampala. The people of Uganda were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, when Bantu-speaking populations migrated to the southern parts of the country.

Beginning in 1894, the area was ruled as a protectorate by the UK, who established administrative law across the territory. Uganda gained independence from the UK on 9 October 1962 with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and Queen of Uganda. In October 1963, Uganda became a republic but maintained its membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. The official languages are English and Swahili, although "any other language may be used as a medium of instruction in schools or other educational institutions or for legislative, administrative or judicial purposes as may be prescribed by law." Luganda, a central language, is widely spoken across the country, and several other languages are also spoken, including Acholi, Runyoro, Runyankole, Rukiga, Luo and Lusoga.

The first stamps used in Uganda were the 1890 issues of the British East Africa Company. The Uganda Cowries were mission stamps typewritten by E. Millar in 1895; these stamps are among the most rarest and valuable postage stamps of the world. In 1898 a set of seven stamps portraying Queen Victoria and inscribed Uganda Protectorate was issued. Uganda then used stamps of East Africa & Uganda (1903-1922), Kenya & Uganda (1922-1927) and Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika/Tanzania (1935-1976).

East Africa and Uganda Protectorates was the name used by the combined postal service of the British protectorates, British East Africa and Uganda, between 1 April 1903 and 22 July 1920. The administration issued postage stamps with the profile of King Edward VII and inscribed "EAST AFRICA AND UGANDA PROTECTORATES" in 1903. On 23 July 1920 British East Africa became a Crown Colony of Kenya, with the exception of a coastal strip which remained a protectorate.  Stamps were then inscribed "KENYA AND UGANDA".

Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika (KUT) is the name on British postage stamps made for use in the British colonies of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika. The stamps were circulated between 1935 and 1963 by the joint postal service of the three colonies, the East African Posts and Telecommunications Administration, reconstituted as part of the East African High Commission from 1948 to 1961, the East African Common Services Organization from 1961 to 1967, and the East African Community from 1967 to 1977. Even after independence, the new separate nations continued to use the KUT stamps, and they remained valid for postage until 1977. The first stamps marked Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika were issued in 1935, in the form of common design commemoratives for the Silver Jubilee of King George V as well as a definitive series featuring a profile of the king and local scenes. They replaced stamps marked "East Africa and Uganda Protectorates" and "Kenya and Uganda". The definitives included a dramatic departure from the usual engraved stamps of the period; the 10c and £1 stamp were typographed and had a silhouette of a lion, with color combinations of black/yellow and black/red, respectively. These stamps were issued in parallel with stamps from each of the newly independent nations. The Common Services Organization continued to issue various commemoratives, at the rate of about 10-12 per year, until early in 1976.

Although Uganda had its own postal administration from 1962, commemoratives inscribed Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania remained in use until 1976. Uganda issued a set of four stamps on 28 July 1962 commemorating the centenary of Speke's discovery of the source of the Nile. This was the only set issued by Uganda as a self-governing state. The first stamps of independent Uganda were issued on 9 October 1962. Uganda regularly issues both commemorative and definitive stamps.