Spelling street names is as hard as finding the street

Jan 02, 2009

WHAT is in a name if a rose by any name still smells as sweet? Could that have been what the person who erected the road sign; Dewington Road, in central Kampala was thinking? Because just across the road lies another naming the same road as ‘Dewinton R

By Maureen Nakatudde
and Anne Abaho


WHAT is in a name if a rose by any name still smells as sweet? Could that have been what the person who erected the road sign; Dewington Road, in central Kampala was thinking? Because just across the road lies another naming the same road as ‘Dewinton Road’.

Maybe it was a mistake. Those annoying typos that make Kampala City Council (KCC) look like a joke. Once is forgivable unless you move on to Said Barre Avenue. Close to that road sign is another one saying, Siad Barre Avenue! Isn’t twice too much?
Enter Colville Street. You will wonder which sign to believe; the one that says Colville or the smaller one saying Colvile?

Herbert Semakula, the Kampala City Council (KCC) assistant public relations officer says these are just spelling errors. “We hope to correct them but they shouldn’t confuse you. The different spellings still mean the same streets.”

The 2007 Commonwealth Summit came and went and all the money that came into beautifying Kampala still failed to correct the spelling mistakes! Now in 2009; will KCC look on as teachers get confused about which correct name to teach pupils?
There are more pressing issues; Semakula says, for instance, garbage. No one will vote for spending money on correcting a name when the stench is polluting the air.

After all, city goers know where they go without having to note street names. How many roads have changed names and most people continue living in history like they all seem to say they don’t care about the name of a rose, as long as it smells as sweet?  

When the first chairman of NRM and former president, the late Yusuf Kironde Lule died in 1985, his body couldn’t be brought for burial in Uganda. He was later buried at Kololo Airstrip, pioneering the state cemetery, created by the National Resistance Movement for Uganda’s heroes. Soon after, Kitante Road was named Yusuf Lule Road. But ask many where Yusuf Lule Road is, they will get baffled until you say Kitante Road. Restaurants like Ibamba and Ariaka still advertise for clients to come to Yusuf Lule Road before explaining that the road was formerly Kitante Road.

South Street has also remained South Street for many people even when it was changed to Ben Kiwanuka Road. Ben Kiwanuka was the first prime minister of Uganda before becoming the Chief Justice up to 1972 when he was kidnapped by security operatives who said they were sent by the then president Idi Amin. He was allegedly shot by Amin and buried in Luzira. But still, traders along that street will occasionally call it South Street.

And how many of you know that Acacia Avenue is John Babiha Road? We must confess we did not. John Babiha was a vice-president and minister of animal industry and fisheries in Milton Obote’s first government.
Wandegeya Road has been named Haji Kasule Road. Haji Kasule was a prominent business man in Wandegeya and a holder of many estates in Kampala. I still wonder how many people would die if they were told the only way to survive was to take safe haven on Kasule Road! Many!

Then there is a new one of last year; Gadafi Road. The name replaced Makerere Hill Road without notice. This was after the Libyan President Col Muamar Gadafi financed the Gadafi Mosque at the Old Kampala summit. Maybe time will tell. There are many people who still prefer Makerere Hill Road.
But who decides that such a road should be named after a certain individual?

Semakula says it is KCC. “The council sits and resolves which street and road should be given which name as per application.”

Interested parties first express desire in naming the street after a certain individual and apply to KCC giving reason(s) why they are deciding to give a road a name of a certain individual.

“To be approved by the council, the application must be accompanied by the person’s profile, reasons why such a person’s name should be given to the road or street and a proposal. The application should also not come from an individual – it should be from many people, especially elders residing in that area.”

Not any name can qualify, however, it must not be a prominent thief or notorious criminal. “The person must be of importance and ought to have done good to people. He can be a religious leader, a businessman, a political leader, an elder in a community or any other local person who has been of great help to the people.”

Semakula also emphasises that the roads applied for should be in existence. You cannot apply for a road that has not been constructed.

After receiving the application, the KCC works committee discusses the proposal. The minutes are forwarded to the council which makes the final decision. The committee consists of LC5 councillors, technical advisors like engineers and the council members while the council consists of elected councillors, technical advisors, the speaker and the mayor.

After approval, council authorises technical advisors to make sign posts naming a street after the particular individual.  For some people who want to name their private roads or a road that leads to their abodes, Semakula says it is possible to name your private road or a road that leads to your home. However, before you carry out the job, you have to notify the council for the purpose of mapping, design and planning and management.

Next time you are walking along Colville (or is it Colvile) Street, think of a local hero whom you can market and make an application to KCC to replace the confusing colonial name. Who knows, our own Kabalega may get a chance. We hope he won’t be spelt Kabalyeka!

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