GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
Kagera region is one the 26 administrative regions of Tanzania mainland. Located on the North Western corner of Tanzania, the region borders Uganda to the North, Rwanda and Burundi to the West and Lake Victoria to the East. Its population was estimated to be 2,502,000 by 2008. The Lake Victoria border gives the region another easy access to Kenya and Uganda, apart from the road access to these neighbor countries. Formerly known as West Lake region, its present name is derived from Kagera River, which flows from Rwanda and meanders through the region to Lake Victoria, thus partly contributing to the waters of the Nile River. Kagera river became more prominent worldwide during what is popularly referred to as “Idd Amin’s war” between Tanzania and Uganda, of 1979, when the late Uganda’s Dictator entertained the ambition to annex to Uganda a part of Tanzania area lying between the Ugandan border and Kagera river. It was after the war, won by Tanzania, when the former West Lake region was renamed Kagera, partly as a permanent record of this historic event

LAND AREA AND ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS
Kagera region is divided into eight administrative districts, which include Bukoba Municipal, Bukoba Rural, Muleba, Karagwe, Ngara and Biharamulo, Chato and Missenyi. These districts are a home to the four predominant tribes in the region, which are Bahaya, of Bukoba Urban, Bukoba Rural and Muleba districts; the Wanyambo of Karagwe district; the Wahangaza of Ngara district and the Wazinza of Biharamulo district. There is much interaction of these tribes in the region, a trend attributed to the fact that communication among them is easy, given that tribal vernaculars and cultural aspects have much in common.

During pre-colonial and colonial days, the administrative setup in the region was based on Kingdoms, major ones being those of Kihanja, Ihangiro, Kiziba, Misenyi, Bugabo, Kyamutwara, Bukara, Karagwe and Biharamulo. It is documented that both the German and British colonialists quickly discovered that the Kingdoms were highly organized administratively and opted to make use of these structures for colonial administration and Interests, instead of dismantling them. After independence however, the kingship system was abolished in the country, in order to build a more coherent and democratic nation, with central administrative structures under elected leadership. The regional capital is Bukoba, located on the shores of Lake Victoria, and ranked the second largest part on the Tanzanian side of the Lake.