Mbuya: Pay to view the lake
Jul 22, 2011
Mbuya hill is the kind of place with serene avenues lined with flowering trees and large detached houses behind imposing wall fences and hedges.
By Titus Kakembo
Mbuya hill is the kind of place with serene avenues lined with flowering trees and large detached houses behind imposing wall fences and hedges.
It is characterised by high towering apartments with numbered plots, large compounds, a cool breeze, pets and neatly manicured lawns. Mbuya lies in the south-eastern part of Kampala city. It is bordered by Kyambogo to the north, Kinawataka and Kireka to the northeast, Butabika and Biina to the east, Mutungo to the southeast, Luzira Port Bell, Kitintale and Bugolobi to the south, Namuwongo to the southwest, Nakawa to the west and Ntinda to the northwest.
For sh1,000, there are taxis available at the Kampala Old Taxi Park to Mbuya via Nakawa and the New Port Bell Road. There also boda bodas available to take you up the hill.
Mbuya was the seat of Kaggo - the title of the county chief of Kyadondo, which covers most of present-day Kampala and is one of the 20 counties of Buganda Kingdom. The county seat was subsequently moved to Kasangati and Mbuya was converted into an upscale residential and commercial area.
Today, it is home to the Ministry of Defence headquarters, Malawi honourary consul, Mbuya Military Referral Hospital, Embassy of the Vatican in Uganda, Residence of the Papal Nuncio, The Consulate of the Republic of Ghana, Our Lady of Africa Catholic Cathedral and Enkombe Apartments.
To get high up there, Ismail Sonko, a boda boda rider, gladly shows a passenger where the honourary Malawi consul to Uganda, Robert Mwesigwa, resides, where Leadership Magazine is published and where to access an ATM.
The profile of Mbuya residents comprise diplomats, army officers and the business fraternity. FDC president Kizza Besigye once resided here.
The price tag on most rental apartment is in dollars. An apartment goes for between $1,000 (about sh2.5m) and $3,000 (about sh7.7m). Plots of 70 decimals cost $650,000 (about sh1.6b), 60 decimals cost $550,000 (about sh1.4b) and 1.5 acres cost $1.3m (about sh3.3b).
The panoramic view of Lake Victoria splashed in gold at sunrise is worth the price.
Solent Road, which is an option for motorists when there is a traffic jam on Port Bell Road at rash hours requires fresh tarmack.
Residents are doing a good job to beautify the road reserve, but the pedestrian walk-ways are in a sorry state. One has to move with a torch at night to dodge gaping man-holes. For entertainment, residents have Silver Springs, Virgin Islands, Zone 7 and Red Chilli among others. Cocktail parties or dinner with live jazz bands music are often heard behind wall fences. Ndere Troupe in Kisasi, Garden City and Centenary Park are just a 20 minutes’ drive from Mbuya.
Gyms like Body wise and swimming pools are doing brisk business in the area as residents battle to keep fit.
The connecting roads are tarmacked but pot-holed. CCTV cameras monitor the neighbourhoods 24/7. This is in addition to sliding gates laced with alarm systems.
Given its proximity to an army barracks, secured by private guards and dogs, burglary is a rare occurrence here.
With Nakawa destined to become a satellite city, speculators expect property rates in Mbuya to spiral upwards in the near future.
Local artistes like Katatumba are common in the neighbourhood where they lighten up birthday parties and anniversaries.
For shopping, residents have to travel to Capital Shoppers near Makerere University Business School, Nakumatt in Bugolobi and Mini Price supermarket in Kitintale.
Mbuya hill is the kind of place with serene avenues lined with flowering trees and large detached houses behind imposing wall fences and hedges.
It is characterised by high towering apartments with numbered plots, large compounds, a cool breeze, pets and neatly manicured lawns. Mbuya lies in the south-eastern part of Kampala city. It is bordered by Kyambogo to the north, Kinawataka and Kireka to the northeast, Butabika and Biina to the east, Mutungo to the southeast, Luzira Port Bell, Kitintale and Bugolobi to the south, Namuwongo to the southwest, Nakawa to the west and Ntinda to the northwest.
For sh1,000, there are taxis available at the Kampala Old Taxi Park to Mbuya via Nakawa and the New Port Bell Road. There also boda bodas available to take you up the hill.
Mbuya was the seat of Kaggo - the title of the county chief of Kyadondo, which covers most of present-day Kampala and is one of the 20 counties of Buganda Kingdom. The county seat was subsequently moved to Kasangati and Mbuya was converted into an upscale residential and commercial area.
Today, it is home to the Ministry of Defence headquarters, Malawi honourary consul, Mbuya Military Referral Hospital, Embassy of the Vatican in Uganda, Residence of the Papal Nuncio, The Consulate of the Republic of Ghana, Our Lady of Africa Catholic Cathedral and Enkombe Apartments.
To get high up there, Ismail Sonko, a boda boda rider, gladly shows a passenger where the honourary Malawi consul to Uganda, Robert Mwesigwa, resides, where Leadership Magazine is published and where to access an ATM.
The profile of Mbuya residents comprise diplomats, army officers and the business fraternity. FDC president Kizza Besigye once resided here.
The price tag on most rental apartment is in dollars. An apartment goes for between $1,000 (about sh2.5m) and $3,000 (about sh7.7m). Plots of 70 decimals cost $650,000 (about sh1.6b), 60 decimals cost $550,000 (about sh1.4b) and 1.5 acres cost $1.3m (about sh3.3b).
The panoramic view of Lake Victoria splashed in gold at sunrise is worth the price.
Solent Road, which is an option for motorists when there is a traffic jam on Port Bell Road at rash hours requires fresh tarmack.
Residents are doing a good job to beautify the road reserve, but the pedestrian walk-ways are in a sorry state. One has to move with a torch at night to dodge gaping man-holes. For entertainment, residents have Silver Springs, Virgin Islands, Zone 7 and Red Chilli among others. Cocktail parties or dinner with live jazz bands music are often heard behind wall fences. Ndere Troupe in Kisasi, Garden City and Centenary Park are just a 20 minutes’ drive from Mbuya.
Gyms like Body wise and swimming pools are doing brisk business in the area as residents battle to keep fit.
The connecting roads are tarmacked but pot-holed. CCTV cameras monitor the neighbourhoods 24/7. This is in addition to sliding gates laced with alarm systems.
Given its proximity to an army barracks, secured by private guards and dogs, burglary is a rare occurrence here.
With Nakawa destined to become a satellite city, speculators expect property rates in Mbuya to spiral upwards in the near future.
Local artistes like Katatumba are common in the neighbourhood where they lighten up birthday parties and anniversaries.
For shopping, residents have to travel to Capital Shoppers near Makerere University Business School, Nakumatt in Bugolobi and Mini Price supermarket in Kitintale.