Kireka shoulders Kampala’s population
Mar 11, 2011
KAMPALA City is overwhelmed by a fast growing population. Like a glutton, 21 hills have been swallowed up by its expansion. The 19sqkm on the seven hills as it were in the 1960s are no more.
By Titus Kakembo
KAMPALA City is overwhelmed by a fast growing population. Like a glutton, 21 hills have been swallowed up by its expansion. The 19sqkm on the seven hills as it were in the 1960s are no more.
Kireka, a suburb which carelessly sits along the Jinja-Kampala highway, is one of the most affected areas. The city seems to have extended to Kireka while we were not looking.
Housing estates, supermarkets, hostels, banks, hawkers and hotels are conducting brisk business here.
Property in Kireka does not come cheap. Renting a two bed-roomed unit costs sh250,000 and above. Land lords ask for the initial payment to cover three months in rent advance. Thereafter, payments are done monthly.
A flat is available for sh450,000-sh600,000 per month. A two roomed house is tagged sh150,000 while a plot measuring 50x100metres goes for sh20m and above.
The construction of Mandela National Stadium in 1995/6 triggered development. Residents still whisper about how wild dogs mysteriously disappeared from the area during those 12 months of construction.
Shortly after, the Northern Bypass came to life, making Kireka easily accessible. The now tarmacked Kamuli Road connects Bugolobi and Naalya to beyond. Business is brisk while real estate buildings has borne millionaires in this neighbourhood.
With radars of money-minting opportunities on full alert, hotels of all classes have been established.
Today, you cannot ignore Kabaka Mutebi’s motorcade and the presence of diplomatic Waswa Birigwa.
Before royality got an address there, President Museveni and Ndugu Ruhakana Rugunda were once residents. This was before the NRM rebellion started in the 1980s. However, efforts to locate where they lived at that time are fruitless.
All day, traffic in Kireka is heavy as civil servants, students and traders commute to and from the city. During the just concluded presidential elections, all eyes were on Kireka because Mandela National Stadium was the national tallying centre.
Most political parties have held their national meetings at the stadium while international evangalists like Benny Hinn and Creflo Dollar once filled the same stadium to capacity with congregations.
Folks with huge appetites patronise Kado Pado, Zinc Pub, Planet One, Nassanga Restaurant and Blue Bar. Ask and you will join a chess or scrabble club in Kireka.
At Extreme dance-hall, night life revellers hop about like they are stepping on live electric wires. It is the Stamina dance style in vogue and the youth cut of a Mohawk hairstyle.
Some of these joints are open 24 hours throughout the week. Patrons here have preferences — the Sebei and Karimojong prefer Victoria Club. Petima is popular for lovers and gamblers.
Kireka is swarming with prostitutes and by midnight most men are drunkenly swearing their undying love or even proposing marriage to these women of the night.
Diners of toninyira (mobile food vendors) have a long menu comprising pilao, yams, kikomando, tea, bushera, roast sausages, fish and chips. The negotiable pocket friendly prices range between sh200 and sh2,000 a meal.
Students from hostels, bachelors and spinsters are often seen eating or taking away their dinner.
Second-hand car markets and hardware shops which cater for the needs of residents here are a brisk business.
Paint, cigarettes and a brewery employ part of Kireka’s population.
Kireka market was recently renovated and has better stalls and a more hygienic environment. This is the place that feeds the swelling population.
Kireka can become a better place to live in if there is reduction in sound pollution, improvement in garbage collection and construction of more public toilets.
KAMPALA City is overwhelmed by a fast growing population. Like a glutton, 21 hills have been swallowed up by its expansion. The 19sqkm on the seven hills as it were in the 1960s are no more.
Kireka, a suburb which carelessly sits along the Jinja-Kampala highway, is one of the most affected areas. The city seems to have extended to Kireka while we were not looking.
Housing estates, supermarkets, hostels, banks, hawkers and hotels are conducting brisk business here.
Property in Kireka does not come cheap. Renting a two bed-roomed unit costs sh250,000 and above. Land lords ask for the initial payment to cover three months in rent advance. Thereafter, payments are done monthly.
A flat is available for sh450,000-sh600,000 per month. A two roomed house is tagged sh150,000 while a plot measuring 50x100metres goes for sh20m and above.
The construction of Mandela National Stadium in 1995/6 triggered development. Residents still whisper about how wild dogs mysteriously disappeared from the area during those 12 months of construction.
Shortly after, the Northern Bypass came to life, making Kireka easily accessible. The now tarmacked Kamuli Road connects Bugolobi and Naalya to beyond. Business is brisk while real estate buildings has borne millionaires in this neighbourhood.
With radars of money-minting opportunities on full alert, hotels of all classes have been established.
Today, you cannot ignore Kabaka Mutebi’s motorcade and the presence of diplomatic Waswa Birigwa.
Before royality got an address there, President Museveni and Ndugu Ruhakana Rugunda were once residents. This was before the NRM rebellion started in the 1980s. However, efforts to locate where they lived at that time are fruitless.
All day, traffic in Kireka is heavy as civil servants, students and traders commute to and from the city. During the just concluded presidential elections, all eyes were on Kireka because Mandela National Stadium was the national tallying centre.
Most political parties have held their national meetings at the stadium while international evangalists like Benny Hinn and Creflo Dollar once filled the same stadium to capacity with congregations.
Folks with huge appetites patronise Kado Pado, Zinc Pub, Planet One, Nassanga Restaurant and Blue Bar. Ask and you will join a chess or scrabble club in Kireka.
At Extreme dance-hall, night life revellers hop about like they are stepping on live electric wires. It is the Stamina dance style in vogue and the youth cut of a Mohawk hairstyle.
Some of these joints are open 24 hours throughout the week. Patrons here have preferences — the Sebei and Karimojong prefer Victoria Club. Petima is popular for lovers and gamblers.
Kireka is swarming with prostitutes and by midnight most men are drunkenly swearing their undying love or even proposing marriage to these women of the night.
Diners of toninyira (mobile food vendors) have a long menu comprising pilao, yams, kikomando, tea, bushera, roast sausages, fish and chips. The negotiable pocket friendly prices range between sh200 and sh2,000 a meal.
Students from hostels, bachelors and spinsters are often seen eating or taking away their dinner.
Second-hand car markets and hardware shops which cater for the needs of residents here are a brisk business.
Paint, cigarettes and a brewery employ part of Kireka’s population.
Kireka market was recently renovated and has better stalls and a more hygienic environment. This is the place that feeds the swelling population.
Kireka can become a better place to live in if there is reduction in sound pollution, improvement in garbage collection and construction of more public toilets.