Kitetika: A suburb famous for goat meat

Kitetika is located in Masooli Parish, Nangabo Sub-County, Kyadondo East County in Wakiso District. It neighbours Luteete, Mpererwe and Kyanja.
Commonly known as Ku Mbuzi or Ku Musanvu. The area attracts many people, including elites who go to enjoy roasted goat meat. Mbuzi in Luganda means goat.
According to Mary Nakawuka, 85, a resident of the area, the land on which Kitetika sits was owned by a man called Mutetika O’wenkima. He had an affiliation to Buganda Kingdom. She says people gradually started referring to the place as Kitetika’s and the name eventually metamorphosed into Kitetika.
Kitetika was not as popular as it is today but it was known as the area that houses the junction connecting Kisaasi-Kyanja and Mpererwe along Gayaza Road.

The business hub
Charles Nsamba Pilaato, one of the meat vendors, says the area was quiet but because it is on a highway, a few residents decided to setup small bars on the roadside for people to stop over. It was after this that the idea of roasting goat meat as an accompaniment for beer in the bars was conceived.
He adds that because consumption of goat meat is not forbidden by any religion, the goat hub has attracted many meat lovers. Business people grabbed the opportunity and invested in the bars making the area big and widely known.

Not just goat meat area
Nsamba, however, notes that Kitetika, is not just the small area where goat meat is roasted, it stretches beyond the goat roasting place, and has people who reside in it.
Business has greatly improved in Kitetika. Being a growing residential area, it still has small retail shops.
However, the bar business has attracted beer depots and several other businesses to the area.
Land and housing.

People always leave areas close to the Kampala Central Business District to settle in Kitetika. Sulaiman Lubwama, a real estate broker, says, the construction of Ntinda-Kisaasi Road that connects Kitetika to the Northern Bypass, changed the dynamics of the area. This is because it became easier to get to Kitetika through Kyanja than through the main Gayaza road.
The cost of land in Kitetika has gone up. A 100 by 100 plot costs about Shs50m. He adds that it is very hard to find someone selling an acre of land in Kitetika because most of the people who own huge chunks of land are farmers not willing to sell their land.

He says some land owners project high development in the area and are constructing houses and estates for sale.
Renting a double self-contained house costs between Shs200, 000 and Shs250, 000. A two bedroomed house is between Shs350, 000 and Shs400, 000.
Residents access clean water from National Water and Sewerage Corporation. Those without access to piped water use wells and others buy a jerrycan of water at Shs200.

Nakawuka says the area has got many private schools. She adds that if the government constructs a good school, it will be an added advantage as some residents cannot afford the private school tuition.
She says Kitetika also has private clinics but in case of severe health conditions, residents are rushed to Kasangati where there is a government health centre or to neighbouring Komamboga. The area is connected to the national power grid and there is constant power supply.

Sanitation and hygiene
The area, especially, the trading centre, is very clean as the vendors themselves employ workers who regularly clean in order to maintain their customers who are keen about hygiene.
According to Charles Nsamaba Pilaato, who owns one of the biggest goat meat stalls, there was a big worry by the Kasangati Town Council over the sanitation of the area especially in the trading centre. However, they were rescued by area Member of Parliament Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu commonly known as Bobi wine, who constructed a modern toilet facility. The vendors say this saved them from the toilet facilities they had previously.

Security and crime
Real estate broker Lubwama says the area is relatively safe. However, he adds, there are still a few elements of crime because the of the increasing population, and areas such as Kamwanyi, are no-go areas after midnight.
“We do not have a police post in the area but because we are near Kumukaaga [which has a police post], they help us in case of any emergency”, says Lubwama, adding: “If the situation is tense, we involve Kasangati police station.”

Challenges
Nsamba says they have a challenge of parking space in the trading centre. He also notes that their clients do not have proper parking space and thus end up disrupting traffic as they try to find parking along the roadside. He appeals to the town council to help them get secure parking space for their clients because they pay taxes. They are also willing to pay for the parking space to accommodate their clients.