2025/12/18 by Yasin Abdullahi · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #African studies and sociopolitical issues #Colonial History and Postcolonial Studies #South Asian Studies and Conflicts
paper · doi:10.1177/00020397251407661
openalex created_date 2025/12/18 · openalex publication_date 2025/12/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/19
Uganda has been home to a myriad of communities of Somali origin for over a century. Pioneering Somali-Ugandans can trace their arrival to the early days of the colonial administration. A second wave of Somalis migrated to Uganda in the 1980s, and a third wave of Somali refugees has been arriving in Uganda since the Somali Civil War. The article will focus on how a community of mostly Somali-Ugandans living in Kisenyi, also known as “Little Mogadishu,” navigated the COVID-19 crisis through mutual aid practices upheld by a shared sense of Soomaaliniimo . In doing so, it will foreground the role prominent religious leaders and women-led initiatives played in providing lifelines through community practices in areas where the Ugandan state infrastructure fell short.