Ndeeba; where crime threats developement
A man making multi-purpose stoves that act as ovens and a barbeque grills in Ndeeba. Such businessses are responsible for the development of the area. File Photo.
Ndeeba is a suburb that lies on the main highway between Kampala and Masaka. It is quite a large area composed of about 15-zones and among them are; Mutaawe zone, Central zone, Wilson zone, Spire zone. Ndeeba was once a residential area, but it is more of a commercial than a residential situate. It was just a trading centre by then, however today Ndeeba has morphed into a busy –business-metropolitan area with small industries, retail shops, spare parts garages and a busy farmer’s market. There are multiple branches of various businesses put up in Ndeeba like financial institutions and malls that reflect the booming business in the multi-cultural area. Negatively, Ndeeba is one of the dirtiest slum areas in Kampala with an increased number of crimes.
According to the 41-year-old chairman of Ndeeba market, Fred Kazibwe, “Ndeeba was a swampy area, a bush with no people and a dumping place for the dead bodies and was called ‘oluleeba’. So people started moving in and after a great number of people occupied the place, they called it Ndeeba because it got people in.”
Development
According to 53-year-old Teddy Namubiru the women’s chairman of Mutaawe zone, “Ndeeba’s development has since increased and in 5-years to come, it will have greatly changed because of the flourishing businesses in the area. We have a lot of business activities in the area that have led to the improvement of the locality”.
She however adds, “A few youth are employed and a few of them even go to school leaving them idle, thus increased crime rate. We have tried to call upon our fellow leaders in the front to come up with programs that help sensitize the youth, but we have instead looked like fools because we are the same people who put them where they are.”
“Our access roads are in a poor condition and we quickly need help from KCCA which is supposed to dig them and widen them. They are quick in collecting revenue from us, but very slow in responding to our problems. People have also started conducting business on the roads; mainly the mechanical technicians have enjoyably encroached on the access roads leaving it narrow”, says the Namubiru. The LC1 chairperson of Mutaawe zone, Abbas Kadogo says KCCA has failed their work around Kampala’s suburbs; they often take two weeks to collect rubbish from our area. This has prompted to dumping of garbage along the roads and has led to wide spread of diseases in the community. “Our sanitation is very poor and calls for government’s intervention. We lack public toilets and a substantial hospital in the whole of Ndeeba.
Namubiru says, KCCA has only concentrated on the main road and has failed to work on the inside areas of the place, this she illustrates thus “smearing yourself with a lotion yet you haven’t bathed.”
Trenches on the main road have been worked on, yet the inside looks more of a village than a city it is in, our sewage systems are in a poor condition and need to be re-constructed”
“Our water is clean and available since we have wells and taps all over the Ndeeba. We have never taken a single day without water; at least people around here appreciate that. For electricity, sincerely speaking, many residents here don’t have electricity, because the bills are expensive and are always sky-rocketing forcing them to live without it”, says a one resident, Joan Nalwanga.
Security and transport
Namubiru says security is very poor and wanting, “Young children and women are often raped, we have tried call upon our leaders to come down and look at the matter as a threat, but they have since promised to come.” James Lubega, the CID OF Ndeeba Police post says, “We have always caught up with this individuals and we have made sure they pay the price as an example to the rest, but I think idleness has greatly caused this, many youth in the area are unemployed and a few go to school”. He also adds, “we have often heard of different crimes, but as security officers, we do our best to catch up with the criminals are brought to book with assistance of Katwe Police Station”
Namubiru says, criminals upon being arrested are later on released after paying off a bribe to the defence personnels, “I think when the security officers run broke, that Is when they think of arresting idle youth, then after getting bribe from them, they release them, so we see no change in the place” Transport is fair compared to other areas, one pays only Shs700 to town and Shs1,000 from town. However, there is a lot of traffic jam in the area because of the Entebbe road.
