[2] At the time, many inhabitants were Nubians, an ethnic group whose members were viewed as supporters of President Idi Amin.

After Idi Amin's government had been factually overthrown and Kampala been captured by the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) as well as allied Ugandan rebels on 11 April, UA soldiers of Nubian origin as well as their families began to terrorize other locals in Bombo.

[2][3] Many Nubian, Kakwa, and Lugbara locals subsequently fled the town, fearing reprisals by anti-Amin groups.

[3] Following the war's conclusion, Bombo was not provided with relief aid like other settlements, as the new Ugandan government suspected its large Nubian population.

[3] Bombo's barracks continued to be used during the Ugandan Bush War, and the Uganda National Liberation Army was known to imprison civilians there from 1981.

All three town councils are located on the Kampala - Masindi highway, that continues to Gulu and Arua in the Northern Region.

[citation needed] Bombo has an army barracks and was the headquarters of the Ugandan Ministry of Defense until December 2007, when they moved to Mbuya in Nakawa Division in south-eastern Kampala.