Is Kasese safe?
Uganda · Africa · data updated 2026-09-04
Kasese is a city in Uganda, home to about 102k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,966 of 6,168, with a safety score of 35.3 out of 100, placing it clearly below the global midpoint.
Emergency 999 (ambulance, fire, police)
- Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 2,623 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (587 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
- US State Department: Do not travelOfficial travel advisory level 4 of 4 for Uganda, updated 2025-12-07.
- Elevated homicide rate8.82 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 3× the global city median.
- Same-sex activity criminalized - death penalty in lawLaw on the books in Uganda as of 2025 (OWID legal-status series) - enforcement varies, but LGBTQ+ travelers face legal risk.
Deadliest recorded locations nearby
- Beni territory150 deaths · 23 events
- Mangambo, Katerrain and Kotaokola 20 km west of the town of Oicha in Beni /three villages in the locality of Babila-Bakaiko, located in the Batangi-Mbau group / several villages of Batangi-Mbau, on the border with the territory of Mambasa in Ituri50 deaths · 1 event
- Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe on Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mpondwe town, 2 kms, from the DRC border -> http://www.geonames.org/229006/mpondwe.html44 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Kasese, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.
How safe is Kasese really?
No published homicide figure exists for Kasese itself, so the national rate stands in: Uganda recorded 8.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - roughly 3 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Uganda's income inequality is middling (Gini 42.7) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 2,623 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Kasese across 587 events in 2022-2024. That is active-conflict territory, and ordinary crime figures say nothing about it. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Beni territory (150 deaths), Mangambo, Katerrain and Kotaokola 20 km west of the town of Oicha in Beni /three villages in the locality of Babila-Bakaiko, located in the Batangi-Mbau group / several villages of Batangi-Mbau, on the border with the territory of Mambasa in Ituri (50 deaths), Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe on Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mpondwe town, 2 kms, from the DRC border -> http://www.geonames.org/229006/mpondwe.html (44 deaths).
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Uganda at level 4 of 4 - "Do not travel" (updated 2025-12-07). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Uganda without any avoid-travel warning in force. Both advisories are country-level: no official source publishes verified neighborhood-level crime guidance for individual cities, which is why this page reports named areas only where an official source names them.
What to watch out for in Uganda
Terrorism in Uganda · Political situation · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Vehicle crime · Food and drink spiking · Methanol poisoning · Scams · National cleaning day · Personal ID · Wearing military-style clothing · Helping children on Kampala’s streets · Smoking and e-cigarette bans · Illegal drug penalties · Using cameras in secure areas · +7 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Uganda — country-level, not specific to Kasese. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 8.8 /100knational rate, 2024 · ~3× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 2,623within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 42.7country, 2019
- Human development
- HDI 0.582country, 2023
- Income
- $3,410/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 102kurban centre · 5,371/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 29.4 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 48/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 44/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 25/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 6.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.59Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 31.2 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 18%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 0.2 doctors /1k0.5 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 264 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Uganda
- Drought
- 7.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 3.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 3.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Uganda as a whole, not Kasese specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Uganda, with the death penalty applying in law (as of 2025). This describes the law on the books, not necessarily enforcement practice.
All country-level figures shared by every city in Uganda; none of them affect the safety score.
How the score works
One fixed, calibrated mix for every city: 40% homicide · 25% peace · 25% equality · 10% HDI. Homicide and conflict deaths are measured outcomes; income inequality carries the structural share because it predicts real city violence far better than national income (which is shown above but scored at zero). Each factor maps to 0-100 against fixed anchors, missing data drops out and is never estimated, and cities with data behind less than half the weighting get “no data” instead of a score. For Kasese that gives 35.3/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Kasese compared with Beni
| Measure | Kasese | Beni | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 35.3 | 30.3 | +5.0 — better for Kasese |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 8.8 /100k | no data | — |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 2,623 | 5,339 | −2,716 — better for Kasese |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 42.7 | 44.7 | −2.0 — better for Kasese |
| Human development (HDI) | 0.582 | 0.522 | +0.060 — better for Kasese |
| Road deaths | 29.4 /100k | 34.9 /100k | −5.5 /100k — better for Kasese |
| Rule of law | 44/100 | 29/100 | +15/100 — better for Kasese |
| Corruption perceptions | 25/100 | 20/100 | +5/100 — better for Kasese |
| Air quality (PM2.5) | 31.2 µg/m³ | 35.8 µg/m³ | −4.6 µg/m³ — better for Kasese |
| Natural-hazard risk | 6.7/10 | 8.0/10 | −1.3/10 — better for Kasese |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Country-level rows describe the two countries, not the cities themselves. Full report for Beni →
Nearby cities
- Bwera 34.7
- Beni, DR Congo 30.3
- Butembo, DR Congo 31.6
- Mbarara 51.4
- Kirumba, DR Congo 33.0
- Kanyabayonga, DR Congo 32.5
- Bunia, DR Congo 31.0
- Rutshuru, DR Congo 32.5
See Kasese on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Africa → · Full travel briefings →