Kinyarwanda: the posh area with the making of a rural town

When you ask around in Kitooro, Entebbe, you will be told Kinyarwanda is the poshest place to live. This is because there are beautiful houses in the area. Its proximity to the airport and the UN Base also makes it attractive. The upside is that the neighbourhood is deathly quiet. It really has a tranquil feel to it. Legend has it that during the colonial period, the area was a Rwandan settlement.

The UN influx
When the UN Base was first established, many of its international employees only found standard accommodation in Kinyarwanda. House owners, anxious to cash in on the free flowing dollars (UN staff pay rent for a whole year) quickly modified their homes and rented them out. Others converted their homes into guest houses. As a consequence, the rent prices shot up. A two-bedroom bungalow that once cost Shs200,000 now goes for Shs600,000 a month for a Ugandan. For a foreigner, the price is much higher.

Security concerns
Because of the many nationalities living there, security is a big concern. Almost every outer wall is topped by razor wire, barbed wire, or spikes. Many homes, including rentals, are guarded by gun-wielding private security guards.
Michael Mugisha, a resident says it is easy to get mugged on the roads in Kinyarwanda. “Beyond 8pm, the roads are deserted and pitch black. Not a week goes by without one hearing about a break-and-entry situation. In most cases, the thieves do not break into the house; they use master keys which give them easy access. They come from the outskirts of Kinyarwanda, where there are poor settlements with many unemployed youth.” The burglars are part of Swaga Attack, an outfit of soldiers’ children that has become the terror of Entebbe. Directly opposite Kinyarwanda is a housing estate whose sole tenants are soldiers from Uganda People’s Defense Air Force (UPDAF). Two months ago, police busted a notorious criminal racket that was resident in Kinyarwanda.
Hajati Bukeesa, a resident narrates how she was robbed. “Before we went to sleep, we locked the gate and the doors to the house. However, when we woke up at 5.30am to pray, we found the sitting room empty. Thieves had broken in but surprisingly, we did not hear them.” There are no police patrols in Kinyarwanda, giving the burglars leeway to operate undetected.

ACCESS
There are no local kiosks in the area. If you forget to buy something in Kitooro Trading Centre or Entebbe Town, you will have to do without until the next day. Besides, there is no boda boda stage in the area and taxis do not use that route.
The neighbourhood also has a cemetery of fallen colonialists. This cemetery probably influenced some ingenious individual in the Entebbe Municipal Council who decided to give some roads such names as, Cemetery Lane and Cemetery Link Road.

No proper roads
Considering that Kinyarwanda is an affluent neighbourhood, it is surprising that there is no tarmacked road. After stepping out of the gate of your posh house, be prepared to be enveloped in a slew of thick dust at any moment. Residents who have cars treat the dirt roads like racetracks. You would think there is a motor sprint game in place.

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