Eight East and Central African Cities from Jimma to Iringa in Order of Recorded Latitude, North to South

Jimma sits farthest north at a recorded latitude of 7.67 degrees, at an elevation of 1780 meters. It was developed by the Italians in the 1930s near Jiren, the capital of the Kingdom of Jimma, which Ethiopia absorbed after the death of Abba Jifar II in 1932. The Jimma Research Center, founded in 1968, is known for coffee and spice research.

Bunia, at 1.57 degrees north, is the capital of Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on a plateau about 30 kilometers west of Lake Albert. It became internationally known during the Ituri conflict and the Second Congo War and hosted one of Africa's largest United Nations peacekeeping deployments. The city remains an important trade link to Uganda and South Sudan.

Entebbe lies almost exactly on the equator, at a recorded latitude of 0.05 degrees north, on a peninsula in Lake Victoria about 36 kilometers southwest of Kampala. It was the seat of government of the Protectorate of Uganda before independence in 1962 and still holds State House, the president's official office and residence. Its airport drew worldwide attention in 1976 when Israeli commandos raided it to free hostages.

Mbarara is just south of the equator, at a recorded latitude of 0.61 degrees south, and is the second largest city in Uganda after Kampala. It is the main commercial center for most of southwestern Uganda and was granted city status in May 2019, effective from 1 July 2020. Its name comes from a colonial mispronunciation of Emburara, a tall grass that once covered the area.

Naivasha, at 0.72 degrees south and 2085 meters above sea level, stands on the shore of Lake Naivasha in Nakuru County, Kenya, about 93 kilometers northwest of Nairobi. Its population grew roughly seventeenfold from 1969 to 355,383 at the 2019 census. The name is a colonial era approximation of the Maasai word enaiposha, meaning water that heaves with waves.

Thika, at 1.05 degrees south, is an industrial town in Kiambu County, Kenya, about 42 kilometres northeast of Nairobi at the confluence of the Thika and Chania rivers. It was established under a government gazette in 1924 and became a municipality at independence in 1963. It has the largest economy in the county, with roughly 100 small industries and 50 major factories, and it inspired Elspeth Huxley's memoir The Flame Trees of Thika.

Goma, at 1.66 degrees south, is the capital of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the northern shore of Lake Kivu. It lies only 13 to 18 kilometres south of the active volcano Mount Nyiragongo and had a 2024 population of about 782,000. The city has been shaped repeatedly by volcanic activity and by the wars that followed the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Iringa ends the trail farthest south, at 7.77 degrees south and 1550 meters above sea level, in the southern highlands of Tanzania. Its name comes from the Hehe word lilinga, meaning fort. Its cool climate is unusual for Tanzania, and the city lies near Ruaha National Park, one of the largest national parks in Africa.