Roosevelt's 1909 expedition through Buganda, Bunyoro, and Murchison Falls is becoming a 1,000-mile heritage trail — and a platform for Ugandan tourism, coffee, and trade in the US.

Scholars, scientists, and diplomats gathered at the American Center with members of the Buganda Kingdom to revisit Theodore Roosevelt's 1909 East African expedition and the century of U.S.–Uganda encounters that followed. The conversation came as the United States marks 250 years of independence and Uganda prepares to open the Roosevelt Heritage Trail.

MEDORA, N.D. – From 1909 to 1910, former President Theodore Roosevelt went to modern day Uganda, Kenya, Congo and South Sudan backed by the Smithsonian Institution to gather thousands of plant and animal specimens and catalogue them for future generations.

Uganda has launched the Roosevelt Rhino Campaign in the United States, positioning wildlife conservation as a bridge for strengthening US-Uganda relations. At a hybrid event hosted at Uganda's UN Mission, a live link from Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary revealed a three-year-old rhino cub named "Roosevelt," set to be officially christened in October 2026 at Ajai Wildlife Reserve. Central to the campaign is A Rhino Named Roosevelt, a children's book developed with NABU publishers to promote conservation education along the historic Roosevelt Africa Trail. The initiative aims to raise USD 5 million for rhino rewilding and community development.

Uganda joined delegates from Kenya, South Sudan, and US partners in New York for the Roosevelt Africa Trail Summit. The event announced a partnership with Kahawa 1893 to create Roosevelt Africa Safari Coffee — potentially Uganda's largest coffee deal in history. Tendo Naggenda, former Vice President of Disney and Netflix, presented "Roosevelt Encounters Africa," a documentary on Roosevelt's journey and its impact on conservation and cultural diplomacy. He emphasized that the initiative's success hinges on compelling storytelling. Rus Gant, MIT also unveiled immersive XR and AI tools, including the "Roosevelt Africa Virtual Trail," launching during America's 250th independence celebrations.

Uganda has joined the Roosevelt Africa Trail, a cross-continental initiative linking Africa and the United States through tourism, coffee, and conservation. Joshua Sentongo, Director of Strategy and Business Development, described the project as "Uganda's largest coffee commercialization effort to date," with potential to unlock up to 450,000 metric tonnes of Ugandan coffee for the US market.

US-Africa Connect is a premier platform of strategic engagements and initiatives designed to promote mutually beneficial cross-continent partnerships between the United States and Africa.