Find royalty in Mengo
AT 4,000 feet above sea level, Mengo is a hill steeped in political and religious history. Strategically positioned in a vantage point; Namirembe, Rubaga, Nakasero, Kibuli and Old Kampala hills are splashed with gold as the yellow sun rises in the morning.
By Titus Kakembo
AT 4,000 feet above sea level, Mengo is a hill steeped in political and religious history. Strategically positioned in a vantage point; Namirembe, Rubaga, Nakasero, Kibuli and Old Kampala hills are splashed with gold as the yellow sun rises in the morning.
The hills are hurriedly engaged in a staring contest and the blue sky grips the horizon in bare hugs before the disappearing green hills are depleted by the construction fray in the city.
Residents here have two universities namely Mutesa Royal University and Ndejje University Campus. Within the same proximity is Mengo Hospital, Rubaga Hospital and private clinics. Criminals sent to prison from Mengo court cannot forget this part of Kampala City.
The Central Broadcasting Station has its headquarters there.
Concerning the nightlife, patrons are trapped on bar counters at either Bamboo Spot or Maggies Pub. Pool, darts and gambling are gaining popularity at the royal grounds.
“Mengo is a Luganda noun for a grinding stone,†says a resident. Legend has it that, a long time ago, ancient migrant communities from Ssese Islands settled on these hills and used stones to grind food.
The place is royalty. The neighbourhood comprises Kabaka’s four square miles palace (Lubiri) and the magnificent Twekobe (Kabaka’s official residence).
Word has it that this Kabaka Anjagala Road (Royal Mile) is where King Frederick Mutesa learnt how to drive.
The 1900 Agreement between the Kabaka of Buganda and British colonial officials establishing Uganda as a Protectorate was signed in Mengo.
Not so far away is the Kabaka’s lake. This is the biggest of its kind in the country. The lake, like the pyramids of Egypt, was manually dug by Kabaka’s subjects in the 1880s following the orders of Kabaka Basamula Mwanga. His aim was to link it to the fabulous Munyonyo shores on Lake Victoria.
Mwanga, a staunch fan of regatta, a series of boat races, wanted to sail from Mengo to Munyonyo on his many hunting expeditions.
Today Mengo boasts of a variety of different species of birds.The history of Mengo hill is also entertwined with that of Namirembe hill, the seat of the Anglican Church in Uganda, because of the monarchy’s close association with the Church of England.
There is a green tiled house called Kisingili’s flat. It is a three-storied structure that was built more than 100 years ago. In its courtyard are turtles that have lived for more than a century. They came back with Kabaka Mwanga from the Seychelles islands where the British once exiled him.
Mengo’s proximity to Kampala city makes it the destination for civil servants, students, the business fraternity and tourists looking for accomodation. The quietness here, in comparison with what is down town Kampala makes Mengo desirable.
However, residents of Mengo have to leave for work early enough to beat the jam that lasts all day between Bakuli and Kampala or Katwe and down town Kampala. Taxi fare is sh1,000 from the city to Mengo and sh500 back to town. Cabs charge between sh10,000 and sh20,000 to get you there.
It all depends on one’s haggling skills.
A three bed-room flat in Mengo is tagged at sh800,000 and sh1m per month.
A self-contained bed sit goes for sh200,000 and above. Buying land is a very scarce opportunity in Mengo. Land owners may rent you a chunk of their property for some years after which the ownership reverts back to them.
AT 4,000 feet above sea level, Mengo is a hill steeped in political and religious history. Strategically positioned in a vantage point; Namirembe, Rubaga, Nakasero, Kibuli and Old Kampala hills are splashed with gold as the yellow sun rises in the morning.
The hills are hurriedly engaged in a staring contest and the blue sky grips the horizon in bare hugs before the disappearing green hills are depleted by the construction fray in the city.
Residents here have two universities namely Mutesa Royal University and Ndejje University Campus. Within the same proximity is Mengo Hospital, Rubaga Hospital and private clinics. Criminals sent to prison from Mengo court cannot forget this part of Kampala City.
The Central Broadcasting Station has its headquarters there.
Concerning the nightlife, patrons are trapped on bar counters at either Bamboo Spot or Maggies Pub. Pool, darts and gambling are gaining popularity at the royal grounds.
“Mengo is a Luganda noun for a grinding stone,†says a resident. Legend has it that, a long time ago, ancient migrant communities from Ssese Islands settled on these hills and used stones to grind food.
The place is royalty. The neighbourhood comprises Kabaka’s four square miles palace (Lubiri) and the magnificent Twekobe (Kabaka’s official residence).
Word has it that this Kabaka Anjagala Road (Royal Mile) is where King Frederick Mutesa learnt how to drive.
The 1900 Agreement between the Kabaka of Buganda and British colonial officials establishing Uganda as a Protectorate was signed in Mengo.
Not so far away is the Kabaka’s lake. This is the biggest of its kind in the country. The lake, like the pyramids of Egypt, was manually dug by Kabaka’s subjects in the 1880s following the orders of Kabaka Basamula Mwanga. His aim was to link it to the fabulous Munyonyo shores on Lake Victoria.
Mwanga, a staunch fan of regatta, a series of boat races, wanted to sail from Mengo to Munyonyo on his many hunting expeditions.
Today Mengo boasts of a variety of different species of birds.The history of Mengo hill is also entertwined with that of Namirembe hill, the seat of the Anglican Church in Uganda, because of the monarchy’s close association with the Church of England.
There is a green tiled house called Kisingili’s flat. It is a three-storied structure that was built more than 100 years ago. In its courtyard are turtles that have lived for more than a century. They came back with Kabaka Mwanga from the Seychelles islands where the British once exiled him.
Mengo’s proximity to Kampala city makes it the destination for civil servants, students, the business fraternity and tourists looking for accomodation. The quietness here, in comparison with what is down town Kampala makes Mengo desirable.
However, residents of Mengo have to leave for work early enough to beat the jam that lasts all day between Bakuli and Kampala or Katwe and down town Kampala. Taxi fare is sh1,000 from the city to Mengo and sh500 back to town. Cabs charge between sh10,000 and sh20,000 to get you there.
It all depends on one’s haggling skills.
A three bed-room flat in Mengo is tagged at sh800,000 and sh1m per month.
A self-contained bed sit goes for sh200,000 and above. Buying land is a very scarce opportunity in Mengo. Land owners may rent you a chunk of their property for some years after which the ownership reverts back to them.