[2][3] Soroti city was immediately approved for operationalization ahead of schedule by the Parliament of Uganda in the Financial Year 2020/2021.

[4] In the late Uganda–Tanzania War, Soroti suffered from lootings as well as mass killings committed by fleeing Uganda Army troops.

[5] When the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) and the Tanzania People's Defence Force's 7th Battalion captured the town as part of the Eastern Uganda campaign of 1979, they found it plundered and discovered the corpses of about 50 civilians.

[5] In the last phase of the Ugandan Bush War in early 1986, the area around Soroti became the site of heavy fighting.

[8] On 12 February 1986, Soroti itself was captured by the National Resistance Army (NRA) as part of its efforts to conquer northern Uganda.

Soroti is approximately 103 kilometres (64 mi), by road, northwest of the city of Mbale, the largest urban centre in Uganda's Eastern Region.

The recently completed Soroti–Katakwi–Moroto–Lokitanyala Road connects the town to Moroto, in extreme northeastern Uganda.

[24] Soroti is also home to Soroti Fruit Processing Factory, a joint venture between Uganda Development Corporation and Teso Tropical Fruit Growers Cooperative Union, built with assistance from Korea International Cooperation Agency and was opened in April 2019.