HISTORY KAMPALA

Uganda is a country that attracts many tourists in its cities to travel to and especially in Kampala town. Bearing in mind that Kampala is one of the beautiful towns in the East African Community and the largest in Uganda, it is the best place to visit.

Remember, Kampala is the capital city of Uganda due to its locality and majorly its rich cultural heritage that sum up the history of the people of Uganda in a great way. This city is broken down into five boroughs that help Uganda in the management of its resources. This includes:

Kampala Central Division,

Makindye Division,

Kawempe Division,

Nakawa Division and

Lubanga Division.

The history of Kampala Uganda dates back in 1881 where it developed as the capital city of the Buganda Kingdom. It began growing from the development of several buildings for example the Kasubi Tombs, the Palace of Lubiri, the Parliament of Buganda and the Buganda Court of Justice. Although, it was brought down during the Uganda/Tanzania war that hampered its development and administrative projects/plans, it has since witnessed a lot of growth.

The history of Kampala Uganda states that Kampala was built on seven hills based on various assumptions. This history unravels that the first hill was the Kasubi, where the Kasubi tombs that hosted the previous Kabakas were. The second is Mengo Hillwhere the Kabaka’s palace the Lubiri and the headquarters of the Buganda court of Justice and parliament are presently.

The third hill is the Kibuli which is the home to the famous Kibuli Mosque for the Islams in Kampala Uganda. The fourth hill is the Namirembe which is the home for the Namirembe Anglican Church Cathedral. Lubanga hill is the fifth that stood at the headquarters of the White fathers. Nsambaya hill is sixth, one that was the head quarters of Mill Hill Mission but now grounds Nsambya Hospital.

The city is 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) above sea level in the southern part of Uganda, eight kilometers (6 miles) north of Lake Victoria.  Thus Kampala experiences a mild climate even with its close proximity to the equator. In the Kiganda language spoken by the Buganda people, Kampala’s name was derived from the phrase kasozi k’ mpala, which translates to “hill of impala,” since the area once had a large impala population.

Kampala is the largest city and the capital of Uganda.  In 2006 its population was approximately 1,189,000 but today Kampala’s population is 1353189.

The city was built over the old capital of the Buganda Kingdom located on Mengo Hill.  Some buildings from the Kingdom still survive in the city such as the Buganda Parliament Building and the Buganda Court of Justice.  Originally a city of seven hills, it is much larger today

In 1890, Frederick Lugard built a fort for the Imperial British East Africa Company near Mengo Hill and made it the capital of the Uganda Protectorate to help the British gain control of the Nile. After the British made formal claims to the land, the capital city was moved to the nearby city of Entebbe, about 30 miles away but Kampala remained the commercial and communications center and was a major industrial center of the protectorate. When Uganda became an independent country in 1962, the capital was returned from Entebbe to Kampala. In 1922 Makerere Technical Institute was founded. Today it is Makerere University, the oldest largest institution of higher education in East Africa.

Kampala experienced political unrest during the times of it first president, Milton Obote and his successor, Idi Amin.  During those two decades the national government could not construct an infrastructure of roads, bridges, and highways quickly enough to accommodate the large number of rural migrants to the city. 

Most of the many hills of Kampala are topped with religious institutions such as churches and mosques as well as hospitals and large hotels.  The city's lowlands frequently have flood-prone shantytowns, where the majority of the population resides.  Over 75 percent of Kampala’s population lives close to or in poverty.  Although the British had occupied Uganda for six decades, their architectural impact was slight unlike other African cities occupied by Europeans during the colonial era.  Thus Kampala is known as a distinctly African city in architecture and culture.  

The city had approximately 100,000 Asian citizens before they were expelled by Idi Amin in 1972.  That population has not returned.

This tells how much people of Uganda and actually visitors can relate to Kampala city amid other towns and Districts like Kampala. Basically, the history of Kampala Uganda is nothing short of good experience factoring in the fact that it features tropical wet and dry climate and cool temperatures.

Finally, the Kampala hill which is the seventh is famously known as the old Kampala where the ruins of Lugard’s Fort were put. These hills help to sum up the history of Uganda in a beautiful way especially when narrated to by a tour guide or a travel Travel agency.

However, besides these historical hills that makes Uganda's cities to travel to a good place to be, there are other tourist attraction sites that are fantastic and ecstatic, like the Lake Victoria beach amid lovely hotels and restaurants for your stay. So, take up the challenge and come and visit this beautiful town where you will never stop asking for more!