Kampala, estimated population 1.300.000, is Uganda's capital as well as its
administrative, communication, economic, and transportation centre.
It is located in the southern part of the country on Lake Victoria. Kampala:
it is said to be built on seven hills, but the city centre is just one of them,
Nakasero.
Despite its proximity, (20 mi/32 km), to the equator, Kampala has a moderate
climate, largely because of its altitude, (c.4,000 ft/1,220 m).
Kampala is one of the few African capitals that were not founded by the colonialists.
On one of the hills that characterize the city at present, the kings of the
Baganda-people had long established their court.
In 1890 Captain Frederick Lugard, representative of the British East Africa
Company, built a fort on the opposite hill and the city grew a lot around it.
In 1962, Kampala replaced Entebbe as the national capital.
Unfortunately, much of the city was destroyed after the 1979 overthrow of Idi
Amin's dictatorship and the subsequent Civil War.
In just a decade, since President Museveni came into power in 1986, Kampala
has rapidly recovered and is now a safe, busy and lively city with an undeniable
vibrant nightlife.
|
