Uganda’s central bank has confirmed it will begin purchasing domestically produced gold this month, becoming the latest African nation to move toward building up gold reserves as bullion prices scale record highs and global economic uncertainty deepens.
Adam Mugume, Executive Director for Research and Economic Analysis at the Bank of Uganda, said the institution aims to acquire at least 100 kilograms of gold between March and June 2026. He said the bank is finalising arrangements with contracted gold refineries that will carry out fire assaying and refining of gold to the purity levels required before purchases can proceed.
The programme was first announced two years ago, with the central bank citing the need to bolster the country’s reserves and cushion Uganda’s economy from volatility in international financial markets. Uganda exported US$5.8 billion worth of gold in 2025, a 76 percent rise from the prior year, making it one of the continent’s most significant gold export economies. Despite that scale of output, small-scale and artisanal miners still dominate domestic production. The central bank will purchase from artisanal operators as well as medium and large-scale producers.
The move comes as gold prices surged more than two percent on Monday to US$5,395.99 per troy ounce, driven by demand for safe-haven assets following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Bullion has repeatedly broken records in recent months amid sustained geopolitical and economic turbulence, with central banks worldwide accelerating purchases to reduce dependence on the US dollar and diversify their reserve holdings.
Uganda commissioned its first large-scale gold mine last year. The Chinese-owned facility is projected to process 5,000 metric tonnes of gold ore per day and produce approximately 1.2 tonnes of refined gold annually. The country established its first bullion processor, Africa Gold Refinery, in 2017, and several additional refining facilities have since been set up, handling both locally produced gold and material brought in from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Central bankers in Kenya and the DRC have similarly announced gold reserve diversification plans in recent months. Ghana has been at the forefront of the continental trend since 2021, with the Bank of Ghana’s domestic gold purchase programme helping push the country’s gold reserves to more than 37 tonnes by late 2025 and contributing to the cedi’s strong performance against the US dollar.
