Gulu District
district in Northern Region, Uganda
Gulu is a district in the Northern Region of Uganda. The regional headquarters are located in the city of Gulu, which is also the administrative capital of Northern Uganda. the district consists of two main divisions, Gulu West and Gulu East.
Location
Gulu District is bordered by Lamwo District to the north, Pader District and Omoro District to the east, Oyam District to the south, Nwoya District to the southwest, and Amuru District to the west. The district headquarters in the city of Gulu are 333 kilometres (207 mi), by road, north of Uganda's capital city, Kampala. The coordinates of the district are, near the city of Gulu are: 02°49'50.0"N, 32°19'13.0"E (Latitude:2.830556; Longitude:32.320278).
Overview
As of November 2019, the district was one of the eight districts that constituted the Acholi sub-region, the historical homeland of the Acholi ethnic group. The district is composed of Aswa County and the Gulu Municipal Council. The economic activity of 90 per cent of the population in the district is subsistence agriculture.
The district has been the location of much of the fighting between the Ugandan army and the Lord's Resistance Army.
“Gulu District” enters the record as district in Northern Region, Uganda. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Gulu, District and district can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Gulu District” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Gulu, District and district provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1028215. VIAF identifies the subject as 142059657. The Library of Congress control number is n95911397. Authority coordinates are 2.750, 32.000. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2019.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Gulu District”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Gulu District primary sources, Gulu District archive and Gulu research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Gulu District”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Gulu District” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.