Namasuba, The secure haven

Namasuba is a mid-size place in the central district of Kampala in Uganda with a population of approximately 22,507 people and is one of the largest places in Uganda.

It is a suburb about 6 Km south of Kampala that lies astride the Kampala-Entebbe highway. It is bordered by Najjanankumbi to the North, Bunamwaya to the west, Busabala to the East and Zana to the south.

Part of Namasuba is in Bunamwaya Parish and the other is in Masajja Parish, all under Makindye Sabagabo or Kyadondo South Constituency. Some of the villages that comprise Namasuba are Namasuba Central Zone, Kalina Zone, Para Zone, Kikajjo Zone and Ndikutamadda Zone, all LC1 areas.

Freedom city mall is one of the bulidings around the neighbourhood

Origin
Sebugwawo Fredrick, a carpenter, who moved to the area as a boy in the early 70s claims the area is named after Mzee Sekambo, the Kabaka's parish chief in the area. ‘Namasuba' was Mzee Sekambo's nickname. Nobody knows how the nickname came about, although they think it has something to do with mangoes. The area was famous for having a lot of mangoes. Eventually, the area assumed the Mzee's nickname.

Security
According to Mr. Sebugwawo there are several security organisations trying to maintain the calm and peace of the locals, although there are still a few cases of insecurity.

He says;

"Because the number of youth is big, we expect it."
 There are three Police posts in the area; one at Zana-Kikombi, another at Kirimaga and another near the Namasuba stage.

Social Amenities
This place is for some reason full of schools, lots of clinics and some few factories. Some of the notable schools in the area include;

White Angels schools, very good private primary and secondary, Bright Light School, Green Light Secondary School and the Omega Primary and Secondary schools. Also the very popular Turkish Light Academy is located in this neighbourhood.

It seems like Namasuba has many believers in the Christian faith as a bunch of make shift churches are trampled upon in almost every kilometre you walk. However there are some notable ones like Life Church, Omega Healing centre, led by Pastor Michael Kyazze and Gospel Life Church International, led by Pastor Umar Mulinde.

The factories in the area are the African Industries Ltd., which makes nails and barbed wire and Movit Industries, a cosmetics factory. There are about three to five fuel stations in the area.

The Rain Problem
During the rainy season, life becomes a bit difficult. The place is always flooded. You find people's property destroyed, roads become impassable especially in areas far from the Entebbe highway.
 Not so many years ago the Red Cross Society had to come in, to rescue the situation. People were given blankets, jerry cans and saucepans because most of their houses had been eroded according to some of the residents. This definitely brings about poor sanitation and people's hygiene gets worse. The situation hasn't been handled to its entirety even when the government has intervened.

Accommodation
According to a one Muzungu, one of the brokers in Namasuba, a one roomed house goes for about Shs100,000 in rent. A two roomed apartment (toilet and bathroom without), can go for about Shs150,000 to Shs200,000.
A self-contained house (one room) can go for between Shs200,000 to Shs300,000 in rent. A two bed roomed house can be between Shs250,000 and Shs300,000, depending on the quality of the house and the area. A three bed roomed house can go for between Shs500,000 and Shs600,000. In the low-lying areas, it can go for about Shs400,000; while on the hills, it can be about Shs500,000.

Most of our neighbourhoods have challenges that can be sorted by the locals themselves but it seems the onus is left on just the leaders and the locals forget to take care of themselves which has sort of slowed down the development process but as for Namasuba, so far so good.