Makindye: The 'Beverly Hills of Uganda'
Apr 26, 2016
According to an elderly resident the name was derived from a tale
Makindye is a hill in Kampala. It's the seat of Makindye division which is one of the five administrative zones of Kampala.
The place has seven zones and among them Wasswa zone, Barracks zone and Namisalo zone. It has a great view of the surrounding areas of the whole city and of neighbouring parts of Wakiso District. It also affords a view of Murchison Bay, a part of Lake Victoria to the east and southeast of Makindye.
Origin
According to 68-year-old Stephen Mawejje, the name ‘Makindye' was derived from a tale.
He says: "There once lived three women in the area, they shared a room every night. Those days animals ate human beings, so one night a weird animal came and snatched one of the women and ate her. So one of the two remaining women told the other to lock the door, but the other woman refused and cried out ‘mama nze zindye?', so she refused to close the door and the animal ate them one by one till they were gone."
Somehow people called these women's neighbourhood Makindye.
Home of the popular
Makindye's proximity to town has allowed so many celebrated artistes and politicians to access and live there.
A friend of mine once called it ‘The Beverly Hills of Uganda' simply because if you need a recording studio, any musician or the politicians who love the night life, then head over to Makindye.
Some of the artistes who live in this gorgeous neighbourhood include: Eddy Kenzo, Rema Namakula, Radio and Weasel, Haruna Mubiru, Maro, Dax Kartel, Spice Diana among a host of others.
Also politicians such as Dr. Ian Clarke, Peter Sematimba also live in this neighbourhood.
Growth
According to the LC1 chairman of Wasswa zone, 61-year-old Ssalongo Luyombo: "If you compare the past Makindye of about five years ago and today's, there is a bigger difference in terms of development. Makindye has greatly developed and has thus attracted many residents from different places who have bought land and have permanently built good buildings."
"It was already one of the most densely populated divisions in Kampala, but as we speak now, the population has greatly risen," adds Ssalongo.
A broker Edward Muteesa, "It's even harder to get land to buy since the place has got a huge number of people residing in the area."
Some other people are not happy though. They fault KCCA for having failed to collect rubbish from the area.
"They are supposed to collect rubbish every day, but they can even take over four days without coming around, leaving the area miserably filthy and exposing the people around to many infections.
However I thank them for having helped a lot in the digging and well-channeling of the trenches in the area" a one Sebakijje adds.
Security
Ssalongo attributes the poor security situation in the area to the number of idle youth who have gravely punished the area in terms of security.
"We have a terrible crew here in Makindye that calls itself ‘Kifeesi'. They are a group of young boys and girls of about 15-25years of age; they have killed, stolen and destroyed people's lives and property in the area. We have tried to arrest a few, but we have learnt that they even recruit young idle and school boys and girls".
"The Kifeesi crew has strangled and hit very many people with iron-bars especially those who move in the night, we have tried to sensitize our residents about late movements, but some have failed to listen, however some have no option since they work and come back late."
Landmarks
The headquarters of Makindye division is located here, the common Makindye Military Police Barracks and Prison is also one the landmarks in the place.
Makindye General Hospital is also found in this area. Makindye has also got a lot of hotels and recreation spots.
It also has a lot of schools like Military Primary School, Makindye Parents, St. Mbuga Vocational Primary and Secondary School among others.