Know your hood : Kisementi, more than bars and lights

Kisementi i is famed for its night life, but it is much more than nightlights, hangouts and bars

When one talks about Kisementi, people get the picture of just a street with bright lights at night and the party people that storm it. Kisementi is more than that; it is a suburb with very many hangouts and also boasts of corporate facilities like banks, offices for different organizations, supermarkets and many others. For starters, Kisementi is under Kamwokya 1D.

Origin of the name
“In 1935, Kisementi was a market, it used to attract people from Bukoto, Nakawa, Ntinda and Komwokya. Because the stalls were cemented, the people who used go to the market always said that they are going to “Kisementi” (loosely translated as “the place of cement”)and that is how this place happened to have the name Kisementi,” Sulaiman Tahika, the Defense Chairman, Komwokya 1D, narrates.

Tahika says supermarkets and offices to let started coming up in the early 1960s and the market started to slowly vanish. Bars and restaurants also started to come up. “After work, the cooperates used to come and gamble from here. It was just an open place but it could attract many gamblers, others used to stake their cars, most of them would always lose and have their cars taken,” he adds.

Landmarks
Kisementi boasts of significant institutions like radio stations, Capital FM and Beat Fm It also has offices, apartments and banking facilities. According to Tahika, the apartments are mainly occupied by the Indians and some Europeans. “The supermarkets are mostly owned by the Indians and some of the bars and restaurants like Saffron,” he says.

The place is also has very many night spots, among which include; Fat Boyz, Iguana, Just Kicking, Saffron, La Fontaine and many others, making it a busy area both during the day and at night; with banking facilities, offices and supermarkets operating during the day and the night clubs operating until the wee hours.

The manager, Just Kicking sports bar and restaurant, Mohammed Noor reveals that Just Kicking is the first ever sports bar in Uganda, having started 15 years ago. “This is the best sports bar in the area with eight HD screens and one giant screen. Just Kicking is the only place around here that shows more than five various gaming activities at the same time. They include sailing, cricket, football, and motor cross at the same time,” he adds.

Development
Although Kisementi is very well developed with mainly commercial buildings and has a good neighborhood (Kololo), I noticed that the road that branches to Kisementi, off Kiira road is in a very appalling state.

Tahika also complains of the sewerage system being blocked and the dirty smelly water that ends up flowing up to the roads.

Schools
Kisementi is home to two high profile schools, Lohana Academy and Daffodils Academy.

Security
Being a very developed area, security at Kisementi is very tight because every organisation has security personnel (either a police officer or an askari). The apartments are also highly guarded leaving no room for hooligans from the neighboring Komwokya.

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