In 1954 Bugwere and Bugisu were separated again, and Bugwere was again combined with Budama to create Bukedi District. The town of Mbale remained the administrative capital of these districts, but was made a "territory" separate from both Bugisu and Bukedi. From 1954 to 1967 Bukedi District, Bugisu District and Mbale District were all administered from Mbale.
Charles Oboth Ofumbi was appointed district commissioner for Bukedi District in 1960. Ethnic tension grew as independence approached. The
Gisu people wanted to make Mbale "their" town, while the
Gwere people resented the presence of the Bagisu in Mbale and resented having to cross a narrow part of Bugisu District to reach Mbale. In 1962 the government appointed a special commission of inquiry. It recommended changing the borders so Bukedi District would directly adjoin Mbale, while making the town part of Bugisu. The Bukedi administrative center would be moved to Tororo. However, in the short term nothing was changed. In 1962 the leaders of the Padhola people in West Budama county wanted to spilt out a new Budama District. This was because the Bukedi District administration was dominated by the Bagwere and
Banyuli people. By the end of the 1950s there were often complaints about the chiefs in the district, who were abusing their power by assessing taxes unfairly and demanding that adult men do work other than community work. In January 1960 there were riots throughout Bukedi District. The ostensible cause of the riots were the unfair tax assessments, but there was also a religious element where the mainly Catholic people thought the Protestand chiefs were favoring the minority of Protestant people. After the riots many people refused to pay taxes and administration was handicapped by loss of authority by the chiefs. In 1961-1962 there were severe floods that caused much damage to the cotton crop. For many years the people of Bukedi District, particularly West Budana, suffered from malnutrition. A Food and Nutrition Project was undertaken in Bukedi District from July 1960 to the end of 1963 with assistance from
UNICEF and the
Food and Agriculture Organization. At that time the district had a population of 400,000 to 500,000 people in an area of . The project was poorly organized, with poorly defined scope, frequent changes of staff and personnel who often knew nothing about nutrition. Many did not understand the difference between proteins and calories, and most thought the main goal was to increase production of exotic fruits and vegetables. One instructor wanted babies to be weaned from breast milk at six weeks of age and then bottle fed on commercial foods. Overall, the project was a failure. In 1967 the new constitution placed Mbale and the surrounding strip of land in Bugisu, while
Tororo was to become the administrative center of Bukedi. The district headquarters were moved from Mbale to Tororo as of 1968. The district contained the counties of Pallisa, Budaka-Bugwere, Bunyole, West Budama, Tororo, and Samia-Bugwe. In February 1973 President
Idi Amin announced a major restructuring of the five regions into nine provinces. Bukedi District became part of Tira Province, which also included North Busoga District and Jinja District. The name was later changed to
Tororo District under Amin's regime. North Bukedi District was separated from Tororo District in 1976, but this change was cancelled after the
Uganda–Tanzania War of 1979 deposed Amin. ==Current districts==