Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty

From 1894 until the height of decolonisation during the 1960s, Uganda was a protectorate of the United Kingdom within its colonial empire. In the run up to independence, a subcommittee was formed to determine an anthem for the forthcoming state. It proceeded to hold a nationwide contest, with the criteria they stipulated for the anthem being that it should be "short, original, solemn, praising and looking forward to the future". The song was officially adopted in 1962, the year the country gained independence. The first public occasion where the anthem was played was at the celebrations marking independence on 9 October 1962. He alleged that the government gave him a mere USh.2,000/=, equivalent to less than £1 in 2008, as a "token of thanks". Kakoma died before the country's Court of Appeal dismissed the case in 2019, finding that the anthem's copyright vested in the government and not the author. ==Lyrics==

In national languages In local languages Along with the Luganda and Swahili translations, the national anthem has also been translated into several other local languages. ==Composition==

At only eight bars long, "Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty" is musically one of the shortest national anthems in the world, together with Japan's anthem. Both Michael Bristow, the editor of the book National Anthems of the World, and Philip Sheppard have identified Uganda's national anthem as the shortest. As a result, multiple verses are typically sung when it is performed at public events like international football games. ==Notes==