Busolwe town council in Butaleja: Get there before 7 pm or don’t bother

Busolwe Town Council. Photo by Collins Hinamundi.

What you need to know:

Butaleja, which is well known for the late Cerina Nebanda is home to Busolwe town council.

Before Butaleja became a district, it was known as Bunyole county in Tororo district, then President Yoweri Museveni granted it District status. Here two towns battled to have the District Head quarters, one of these towns was Busolwe, the more developed town in the area, but against all odds the Headquarters where taken to Butaleja giving the District its name and Busolwe as named a town council.

Busolwe town is built on the cross roads of two feeder roads, one connecting Namutumba to Mbale while avoiding Budaka and Paliisa, and another connecting Tororo to Paliisa district.

Special features
The town still retains some of its early buildings and including a cinema that has now been turned into a school. Another unique feature in Busolwe like is the rocks that are said to appear and disappear at their convenience these rocks stand out for the forms and shapes they take, some bringing to mind the Tororo rock, Mubali, a resident of the town calls the rocks an extension of the famous Tororo rock.

Amenities
Busolwe town council has three guest houses one as old as 40 years, it is called Clyde Hotel and it is on the Road to Namutumba where a self contained room will cost you about Shs40,000 per night, then there is Good News Guest House located directly opposite Busolwe Hospital which is Butaleja Districts referral hospital and one of the 22 hospitals that was built by Dr Apollo Milton Obote in the 60s, the town also has over 8 secondary schools which don’t perform poorly by upcountry standards but could surely do better, plus 9 primary and Nursery schools. The Town will also see its first layer of Tarmac in 2015 after the completion of the Mbale- Namutumba road.

Security
Busolwe town has a low crime rate and is considered safe even after midnight. Iddi Higudi says he has lived in the town all his life and there was a time he had no lock on his door but no burglar ever came his way.

Getting there
Getting to Busolwe will cost you about Shs20,000 from Kampala, however there are no direct taxis in the park so you will have to go to Mbale and get a connect taxi or go to Namutumba and get one from there to Busolwe at 8000 shillings and like the rest of Butaleja its abit tricky for those travelling using public means and those travelling there must get to a connecting stage before 7pm or else you will not find the last taxi.

Planning to rent or buy in Busolwe?
Land in Busolwe is not that expensive, with rent for a whole month costing as little as Shs20,000 in a house with no electricity and Shs40,000 with electricity and Shs50,00 with electricity for a double and Shs70,000. Hamala a landlord in the trading centre says the construction of the Mbale -Namutumba road is going to have an impact on the price of land and he expects the price to double.