Know your hood :Entebbe has a very rich history

Entebbe is home to the International Airport and is the main air entrance to Uganda from various international destinations; it is the first destination for travelers coming to the capital city, Kampala. The first sight one get when you are landing is the view of the Lake Victoria blue waters, so high profile people like Queen Elizabeth II, Pope John Paul II, George Bush and many others have witnessed this stunning view.

For starters, Entebbe was the first capital city of Uganda. It is 23miles (approximately 1hour) away from the current capital city, Kampala and is under Wakiso district.

Origin of the name
Ms Mary Nambi an old woman who has spent over 75 years in the city reveals that “Entebbe” is a local language (Luganda) word that means a seat. “Mugula (one of the Buganda chiefs) used to hold court and preside over criminal cases of the locals from a place which had a few rocks that developed like chairs. Whenever people were going to this place, they used to say we are going to ‘entebbe za Mugala’ (directly translated as Mugula’s seats), but it was shortened to Entebbe which exists up to date,” she recalls.

Ms Nambi points out that, places like Kitooro and Kinyarwanda were named because of the very many occupants from Bunyoro and Rwanda respectively. “These people occupied these places because they enjoyed watching the planes flying and landing at the airport,” she adds.

Development
Entebbe has state of the art roads without pot holes. It is blessed with so many beaches because of it is surrounded by Lake Victoria. These beaches like Anderita, Lido, Aero, Banga, Resort and very many others attract both local and international clienteles; they act as leisure centers and accommodation is also available.
The city also has 5-star hotels like Imperial Resort Beach Hotel, Lake Victoria Hotel and many others. These hotels have conference facilities and accommodation for the visitors.

Entebbe is also home to the State House, which is the official residence of the President of the Republic of Uganda (which has a breathtaking look at night because of the trendy and gaudy lighting), Uganda Wild Life Education Center, Uganda Virus Research Institute and Entebbe golf course and others all located in Katabi Parish along Kampala road, Entebbe.

There are very many stunning residential buildings but I also noticed a not-so-bad ghetto at Kiwafu zone after Kitooro.
Although Entebbe city has so many commercial facilities like Banks, Supermarkets, it is yet to get a shopping mall. One is under construction at the junction towards Anderita beach.

Tight security
Soldiers guard in and around the state house 24/7. They stand along the roads that lead to it so that depicts the maximum security in Entebbe. There is also a police station that maintains law and order around the city. Ronald Kabi a resident at Kitooro, a sub-parish in Entebbe says that security is very tight in the city but insists there are law breakers like thieves and Al Shabab terrorists that land in the Entebbe international airport and end up camping in the town. “Police is very vigilant and patrols the whole city every night, so there are very few cases of law breakers,” he adds.

Night life
Uganda being the number one alcohol consuming country, there is no doubt Entebbe helped push us to that position. The city has multiple hang outs like 4 Turkeys, Nicky’s Pizza, Stone Pub, Steak Out, Knight Riders and many others.

Cost of living
According to Mr Francis Ssentamu, a landlord at Kitooro, The cost of living in Entebbe is quite high since houses to let range from 100,000-2.5 million Uganda shillings and a plot of land can be acquired from 20 million Uganda Shillings onwards.

Education
Entebbe highly contributes to the Uganda education system with so many Primary and Secondary schools, Institutes and Universities. Some of the schools in this impressive city include Mary Reparatrix Girls’ School, Merylland High School, Boston High School, Entebbe Junior School,Lake Side Academy, Uganda Virus Research Institute, Nkumba University and many others.

The people
Entebbe city has a variety of people from different parts of Uganda and the world. It is a population of both the locals and the internationals who come for holidays and decide to settle here.

The bad
Mr Babel Kiwanuka a resident in Entebbe town complains about the street lights not working very well. “The street lights from the airport to the Kampala highway are in a poor condition. Most of them are dim and do not light so well,” he says. When I asked him about the sound pollution brought about by the aeroplanes, he said it is also a disadvantage to some but insists others are fine with it.

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