Know your hood : Kikaaya, a peaceful, remote suburb

Kikaaya is a remote residential and institutional suburb. Photo by ABU BAKER LUBOWA

What you need to know:

Kikaaya derives its name from a multi-faceted calabash.

Significant, because of the Baha’i temple, Kikaaya village is situated four and half miles along Gayaza Road. The village constitutes of a parish also known as Kikaaya parish with six zones namely; Kikaaya A and B, Ddungu, Kisoota, Kikulu and Kaniisa zones.

Origin and history
The name Kikaaya is believed to have originated from olwendo (small calabash) and it was usually said, e kikaaya lwendo (what makes it sour is the small calabash)

Born in 1933, Ndiikuno Semwogerere an elder in Ddungu zone who has spent 80 years in the area says that in the past the small calabash was an important item in every household.

It was grown usually in the compound and when they matured, they would be harvested and placed in the kitchen where they would dry.
These were used to serve drinking water and if a visitor drunk the water, it became sour.

The calabash of adultery
The same water would be served to the husband and he would go on his errands and on his return, he would be served with the same water before entering the house and if he had committed adultery on his journeys, he would die.

The same method applied for the women thus if a wife was cheating on the husband, and she took the water from the calabash, she would be killed by worms.

According to Semwogerere, the calabash had a way of sorting its victims and as such, people always respected it and never carelessly used it. As such, the people always said, e kikaaya lwendo (what makes it sour/ bitter is the calabash) thus the origin of the name.

Population boom
The elderly man says that people were very few and as such people owned huge chunks of land because an individual could even own close to 10 acres of land but today, a lot of land has been bought and very many houses have been constructed and the population has increased.

Developments
According to the LC1 Chairperson, Edward Kamya, Kikaaya has really developed over the years because the area was very remote but to date, the area has a tarmacked road with facilities such as schools both primary and secondary, a daycare centre, entertainment places, electricity, security, water and many economic activities are coming up.

“Many responsible people have occupied the place and this has contributed to the improvement in the standards of living.”
Schools like Kampala Quality and Golden Gate primary schools have been built. Many more buildings are under construction and the local administration is planning to create subzones within for easy administration.

Residence
The area is mainly residential. Very many estates are available for rent and sale and people are constructing permanent homes.
According to one of the brokers, renting a house depends on its nature, for instance a self contained house is more expensive compared to one that is not and usually at Shs300,000 or more per month, one can rent a house while buying land is not expensive but there is no constant price as that might depend on the land owner. The cost of living is fair and accessibility of the city is not a problem due to availability of taxis.

Security
“We have never reported a murder case. Crime is low and in a day, we receive on average two-three crimes and these are usually cases of burglaries and break-ins,” says Robert Walugembe, area superintendent He notes that the area is safe since few crimes occur but above all, they work with the patrol police to stop crime usually at night.