Ndikuttamadda : Where residents don’t wear white

The roads in Ndikuttamadda are very dusty and this affects the sale of certain items because the dirt makes them look old. PHOTO by Racheal Ajwang

What you need to know:

Ndikuttamadda is one of those places with a name that makes it sound like a place deep in the village. But it is just a few kilometres out of Kampala.

Ndikuttamadda, the name sounds like one that would be given to a dark spot on a highway. But when I went to this place recently, I got a different picture. It is just a stone throw away from Kampala city centre and you can as well connect to Entebbe Road through Ndikuttamadda. The place is still developing with well-constructed structures and a growing population.

Origin
It is on Busabala Road, the same route that leads you to Kigo Prison and musician Bobi Wine’s One Love Beach. It has no specific trading centre apart from a few kiosks by the road side. Fred Kyeswa the LC I chairman of
Ndikuttamadda says the name originated in the 1880s during Kabaka Kyabagu’s reign who promised to kill the prisoners on his way back from Busabala.

“At that time, prisoners were killed from outside the Masajja Palace. One day, the Kabaka was in a hurry so he promised to complete this task on his way back. He said abbo njjakubatta madda meaning, (I will kill them on my way back).

“So people kept referring to his statement whenever they passed by and because he never came back, the name stuck till now,” he adds. Being a vast area it is divided into two zones; A and B.

Developments
Twenty years ago, Ndikuttamadda was more of a village with old mud brick houses, roofed with papyrus and polythene, according to Kyeswa.
But at the moment, there are a number of beautiful houses for both commercial and residential purposes. The place has two secondary, six primary and three infant schools plus a health centre IV.

Amenities
Water is not a problem in the area according to Kyeswa. Most residents have piped water in their homesteads and those who do not have, pay between Shs200 and Shs300 for a 20-litre jerrycan.
However, the area has three spring wells where people go to get free clean water.

The security is relatively good with a few cases of petty theives who break into people’s houses in their absence.
There is also a group of boys who deal in scrap who walk away with people’s utensils like sauce pans, among others, when left outside.

Because the area has no police station, Kyeswa forwards the cases to Kikajjo Police post and it is from there that they are forwarded to Katwe Police Station.

John Katera, an officer at Kikajjo police post says they commonly receive burglary and theft cases from Ndikuttamadda. According to the police report, there are many cases reported during the festive seasons.
Katera further notes that after tightening the security in the area, they receive none or two cases in a month which wasn’t the case five years ago. “To ensure safety in the area, we patrol the place every after two days and this is normally done at night,” says Katera.

housing and land

•Housing. A two-roomed house costs Shs170,000 and Shs80,000 for a single roomed house. A family house with three bedrooms goes for Shs750,000 per month for self-contained house. For business, a room costs Shs80,000 to Shs100,000 depending on where it is located.
• Land. Before, people owned Bibanja and it would cost around Shs600,000 and below. Today, you cannot find any kibanjja in Ndikuttamadda, apart from the plots that are sold expensively. It is also very hard to come across a 100x100 plot; however, by chance it will cost between Shs100m and 150m though the place seems like a village. Small plots of 50x100 cost Shs75m.