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Kampala City »
Kampala
Kampala is the capital city of Uganda popularly known as the
city on many hills because it is spread over 10 hills. The name Kampala came out
of a Kiganda saying, "Kasozi Kempala" meaning the hill for Antelopes. Before the
arrival of the British, the Buganda King, the Kabaka had chosen the area that
was to become Kampala as one of his favourite hunting grounds. The area was made
up of numerous rolling hills and lush wetlands. It was an ideal breeding ground
for various antelopes - particularly the Impala. When the British arrived they
called the area the "Hills of the Impala". The word Impala is used to describe a
particular species of antelope (Aepyceros melampus) common across Africa - the
word's origin is likely to have been from the Zulu language in South Africa. It
was then adopted into the English language by the British.
The Buganda language (Luganda) adopted many 'English' words from Buganda's
interaction with the British. In this case, the word "Impala" was adopted and
the Baganda translated the "...hill of the Impala" as "Kasozi Ka Mpala" - "Kasozi"
means "hill" in Luganda, "Ka" means "of" and the word Impala was pronouced with
a silent "I" - thus "Mpala". When spoken in Luganda the "Ka" and "Mpala" sound
like one word - "Ka'mpala", and soon whenever the Kabaka went hunting the
Baganda would say "Kabaka a'genze e Ka'mpala" - "The Kabaka has gone to Ka'mpala".
The name Kampala soon stuck.
Kampala grew up around a fort constructed by Frederick Lugard in 1890 for the
British East Africa Company. In 1962, Kampala replaced Entebbe as the national
capital. Much of the city was destroyed after the 1979 overthrow of Idi Amin's
dictatorship and the subsequent civil war. Manufactures include furniture and
machine parts. Agricultural exports include coffee, cotton, tea, and sugar.
The Seven Original Hills of Kampala
Like many cities, Kampala is said to be built on ten hills, although this isn't
quite accurate. Originally, Kampala was built on seven and these are the seven
historical hills that made up Kampala.
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The first hill in historical importance
is Kasubi Hill, which is where the Kasubi Tombs of the previous Kabakas
are housed. |
| The second is Mengo Hill where the present Kabaka’s
Palace is and the Headquarters of the Buganda Court of Justice. |
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| The third is Kibuli Hill, which is home to the Kibuli
Mosque. Islam was brought to Uganda before the Christian missionaries
came. |
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The fourth is Namirembe Hill, home to the Namirembe
Protestant Cathedral. The Protestants were the first of the Christian
Missions to arrive. |
| The fifth is Rubaga Hill, where the Rubaga Catholic
Cathedral is, and was the headquarters of the White Fathers. |
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| The sixth Nsambya, was the Headquarters
of the Mill Hill Mission. It now houses Nsambya Hospital. |
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The seventh, the little hill of Kampala,
the hill of the Impala is where the ruins of Lugard's Fort were.
However, the ruins were recently destroyed (2003), when the Uganda
Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) started on reconstruction of a
15,000-seater mosque on land that included the fort. The mosque was
begun by President Amin but was never completed. The fort was then
re-located to a nearby area (a new and similar one constructed), a move
that has since been a source of controversy between The Historic
Buildings Conservation Trust (HBCT) of Uganda and the UMSC. The UMSC was
given the gazetted land as a gift by President Idi Amin in 1972 during
its inauguration. This hill is where Kampala got its name. |
The City spread to Nakasero Hill where the administrative
centre and the wealthiest residential area are. There is also Tank Hill, where
there is a water tank. Mulago Hill is the site of Mulago Hospital, which is the
largest and national referral hospital in Uganda. Makerere Hill, where Makerere
University is situated. The city is now rapidly expanding along both sides of
the Makindye Hill and Konge Hill. Makindye Division incorporating Kibuli, Tank
Hill and Makindye now has 300,000 residents. Medical provision in this part of
town, being more recently developed, is limited. Hospitals include Kibuli
Hospital, St Francis Nsambya and the International Hospital (IHK). Philanthropic
health services are provided by Hope Clinic Lukuli situated between Makindye/
Konge and Tank Hills.
Suburbs include Kololo in the East on Kololo Hill the highest hill, home to the
Uganda Museum; Namirembe; Kibuli; and Rubaga.
Other features of the city include the Ssezibwa Falls, Ugandan National Theatre,
St. Balikuddembe Market (formerly Owino Market) and Nakasero Market. Kampala is
also known for its nightlife, which includes a casino. Entebbe International
Airport is located at Entebbe, 22 miles/35 km away, while Port Bell on the shore
of Lake Victoria is 7 miles/10 km away.
Also to note is that Kampala hosts one of only seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship in
the world. It is known as the Mother Temple of Africa and is situated on Kikaya
Hill on the outskirts of the city. Its foundation stone was laid in January
1958, and was dedicated on January 13, 1961.
The legislature
Kampala was first started in about 1891 when the king of Buganda had his
administrative centre on 2 hills in Kampala; they were Rubaga and Mengo hills
which are still part of the city. But they were donated to missionaries and to
date they host the seats of the two great Christian churches: Rubaga hill is the
seat of the Catholic Church in Uganda and Mengo is the seat of the Anglican
Church and on these two Hills we find the official residences and Cathedrals of
the Archbishops of both churches.
The town slowly grew and in 1950 it got a municipal status and in 1962 it
officially became a city. Today the scene is still growing and can be seen from
the hills surrounding it. It commands great views and excellent beauty though
some time the view is disrupted by the tall profiles of the modern city
buildings that Kampala is proud of.
Fantastic charisma
Kampala has got tremendous charms and remains the greenest in the whole of
Africa. It is the central administrative centre of Uganda and a big commercial
city for nearly all East and Central Africa. The city centre is a modern
metropolis adorned with attractive vegetation and surrounded with great parks.
There are lots of hotels, restaurants and hostels for people who wish to visit
the country. Kampala now has a good mix of people from all over the world and
this has brought new varieties of food to Kampala. Kampala is located on the
shores of Lake Victoria, which make it a popular location for water sport
activities and fishing. It is also a gate way to most of Uganda's attractions
like Safari parks, cultural sites and so on. |
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