📷 Pastor Kayanja commends KCCA for road works along Kabaka’s Lake

KAMPALA - Miracle Centre Church senior Pastor Robert Kayanja has commended Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) for constructing a tarmac road near Kabaka’s Lake in Ndeeba.

He said the road construction is a big contribution to the already ongoing works to restore Kabaka’s Lake, which is scheduled to be turned into a modern tourist site in the city.   

Kayanja was speaking on Friday (July 11, 2025) at the unveiling of the grand plan to redevelop Kabaka’s Lake in Rubaga Division. 

Lord mayor Erias Lukwago on top of a DOTT Services grader

The road construction is a big contribution to the already ongoing works to restore Kabaka’s Lake, which is scheduled to be turned into a modern tourist site in the city. (All Photos by Eddie SSejjoba)

He unveiled the plan to KCCA officials led by the Minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs, Hajati Minsa Kabanda, Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, executive director, Hajati Sharifah Buzeki and other officials.

In implementing the grand plan, Pastor Kayanja is working with the Kingdom of Buganda, which was represented by Israel Kazibwe Kitooke, information and mobilisation minister and the kingdom spokesperson.

The unveiling of the Kabaka’s Lake redevelopment project coincided with KCCA’s commissioning of the 0.47km Kabaka’s Lake Road, which is scheduled to cost sh550b. 
The road construction, contracted to DOTT Services, is planned to take four months to complete, starting this month.

Kayanja unveiled the plan to KCCA officials led by the Minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs, Hajati Minsa Kabanda, Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, executive director, Hajati Sharifah Buzeki and other officials.

Miracle Centre Church senior Pastor Robert Kayanja and KCCA executive director, Hajati Sharifah Buzeki.

The roadworks are part of KCCA’s support to ease connection between Nabunya and Ring roads, but also support efforts to redevelop Kabaka’s Lake.

“We thank the Government of Uganda and KCCA for coming at a time when we have started implementing the restoration of the Kabaka. We should say KCCA has saved its face because unplanned water channels have been causing much soil erosion into this Lake and polluting it,” Pastor Kayanja said.

He explained that he was working with a committee from Buganda Kingdom, chaired by Fredrick Kiyimba and was working on the process of evicting encroachers to restore the Lake boundaries, erect a fence around it, install solar lights and dig ponds adjacent to the Lake to help in sieving wastewater erosions.

Kampala minister Minsa Kabanda descends from a grader after commissioning the Kabaka Lake Road.

He said they ordered special machines to help in de-silting the Lake and make the place beautiful. Among other amenities, the team plans to build hotels, gardens for meetings and weddings, walkways and other facilities for tourism.

“We therefore appeal to KCCA and the NEMA (National Environment Management Authority) to join our efforts in pushing away encroachers, some of whom have started dumping waste and car parts where we are clearing,” Kayanja explained.

Pastor Kayanja appealed to KCCA to give conditions to hotel owners and homes to submit plans of their waste disposal, but renewing their licences, saying many were not connected to the national water and sewerage line and often release faecal matter into the Lake whenever it rains.

Kampala affairs minister Hajat Minsa Kabanda.

Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago

“This Lake should be treated as a matter of national importance, apart from serving as a tourist site, it can also save us from wildfire by serving as the nearest water source in case the city catches fire,” he explained.

The redevelopment plan, he said, had already started in phases, with the digging of channels and planting of papyrus to help in sieving running water.

Hajati Buzeki explained that the Kabaka’s Lake Road was part of the proposed upgrading and reconstruction of 14.65 kilometres of various road links across the city by the Government of Uganda over a period of three years.

The executive director of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Hajat Sharifah Buzeki, remarks.

DOTT Services management team

She commended President Yoweri Museveni for allowing these roads to be worked on, saying they were bound to ease transport in the city and cause immediate development.
 
Kabanda said that her office has been receiving complaints from the public about the bad state of the road and commended the people around it for agreeing to surrender land without demanding for compensation.  

She, however, rejected demands by people who settled around the Kabaka’s Lake, saying this is a wetland where the Government cannot compensate anyone. She asked encroachers to leave as soon as possible.

Lukwago, however, warned DOTT Services that if they do not complete the road in the stipulated time, they risk losing other contracts.

He called on government to honour the counterpart funding requirement for infrastructure development in the city, citing the failure of construction of Nalukolongo channel and other drainage Channels.

“Due to government failure to provide counterpart funding, some residents dont give right of way,” he stated, and called on the local leaders to demand from central government to fulfil its obligations,” Lukwago said.

He noted that whereas it’s a welcome initiative to have local content in undertaking of infrastructure projects in the city, it has been marred with shoddy and derailed work,
Lukwago commended Pastor Kayanja and the Buganda Kingdom for the commendable efforts in restoring the historical Kabaka’s Lake, adding that it’s important for all stakeholders to have a shared vision in developing the City.

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Kabaka's Lake in Ndeeba

Front row from left: Buzeki, Kazibwe, Lukwago and Kabanda during the unveiling of the conceptual master plan for the proposed redevelopment of Kabaka’s Lake on Friday.

The master plan for Kabaka's Lake.

The road construction, contracted to DOTT Services, is planned to take four months to complete, starting this month.