Nateete, where westerners breathe the first of Kampala

If you are from the western part of Uganda and you reach Nateete, you breathe new Kampala air much different from what you breathed on your way from upcountry. Your journey to Kampala is almost over. But as you go through this crowded suburb, you cannot believe that it was a slum area in the 1970s and 1980s.

One of the shopping malls at Nateete

 
Location
Nateete is located in Rubaga Division on the southwestern edge of the city of Kampala. It is bordered by Busega to the north, Lungujja to the northeast, Lubaga to the northeast, Ndeeba to the southeast, Mutundwe to the south and Buloba to the west. The road distance between Kampala's central business district and Nateete is approximately 8 kilometres.

Nateete is one of the places that has many connecting routes and these include Wakaliga Road, Kibuye/ Nalukolongo, New Masaka Road which connects to the Northern Bypass; and the Old Masaka Road which connects to Entebbe Road. This makes it one of the most strategic places anywhere in Kampala. Something good for business.

Nateete is divided into 13 villages of Nateete Central A, B, C, D, Nanfuka, Mirembe, Kivumbi, Factory Zone, Parish Nateete, Musoke Zone, Church, Kigaga and Kitoro which are highly populated.


The common businesses there are grain milling, retail shops and Boda boda cycling.

Origin
The name "Nateete" was adopted from Luteete, the bush that was in the area.
Nateete land is divided into two; one side is Kabaka's land and the other is mailo land. There are barely any homesteads and most people are tenants while others run businesses.

Accessibility
It is very accessible especially if you are coming from the central business district of Kampala. It takes one about 20 minutes boarding from Kampala to Nateete and all you need is Shs1,500 if you board a commuter taxi and between Shs2,000 to Shs3,000 by boda boda.

Pupils of Nateete Muslim Primary School

 
Growth
The LC1 Chairman, Hajji Abassi Mponye, says there has been a great change in the area. He says, initially, Nateete was a deserted place but this has changed with the establishment of different businesses that has also attracted a large population.

He says that Nateete had nothing to write about in the last 30 or so years but overtime the infrastructure has greatly developed something that has seen the place that used to be sparsely populated into one of the most populated place in Kampala.

Some of the notable developments include the Nateete Mosque, banks, Nateete market, the Taxi Park plus several private primary and secondary schools.


From clinics, patients are referred to Rubaga and Mengo hospitals which are nearby.

 

 

 
The Community
Hajji Mponye insists that Nateete is a highly cosmopolitan neighbourhood with all sorts of people from all over the country.

 "You will find Baganda, Bakiga, Basoga and Banyankole all as tenants and business people"

He adds that although Nateete has developed into a business hub, it is a slum with a poor drainage system whose impact is felt when it rains.


The growth of grain milling factories in Nalukolongo and Nateete has contributed a lot to the floods which affect the area during the rainy season.

"Water blocks several roads such as Nakawuka and Mutundwe Kanisa which affects transport."

The estimated total population is more than 20,000 people.

Firewood on sale at Nateete

 
 Security
"The crime rate in Nateete is very high but whenever we get cases, we refer them to Nateete Police Station and then to Makindye Police Station then to Nsangi Magistrates' court," Mponye explained.

If you intend to move to Nateete, you need to know that the area is more suitable for business and not as a residential place because it is highly populated, noisy because of the many factories in the area.

In a nutshell, Nateete is the place for you if you have something to offer for sale.