Mengo turns focus on Kabaka’s Lake
A section of Kabaka’s Lake in Ndeeba, a Kampala suburb.
KAMPALA- Katikkiro of Buganda Charles Peter Mayiga received a standing ovation from the Lukiiko (Parliament) members as he announced plans by the kingdom to reclaim and re-develop the Kabaka’s Lake located in Ndeeba, a Kampala suburb.
Mr Mayiga, who spoke for about three hours giving an account of the achievements and challenges of his leadership in the last two years ending yesterday, kept the media and members in the gallery on their toes as he saved the long awaited news for the last.
A debate has been raging on what project the kingdom would embark on after the successful completion of the Masengere building, which was handed to Kabaka Mutebi II on his birthday last month.
Many people, according to Mr Mayiga, had suggested that the kingdom embarks on such projects like a hospital, television and a bank.
But Mr Mayiga said it was a matter of urgency that what is left of Kabaka’s Lake is saved.
“What shall we tell those to come after us? That the only lake dug manually in Africa disappeared under our watch! When they ask us, shall we tell them that we started with a hospital, a television station or a bank?”
While he emphasised the importance of the proposed projects, Mr Mayiga said the people have alternative hospitals like Mulago, Nsambya, Mengo and others and also noted that there are a number of television stations and banks that people can still go to.
Some of the key elements proposed in the re-development of the lake include a floating restaurant, a hotel, a Mwanga II Monument, a fence around the whole area and a system to sieve effluents before running water enters into the lake.
Mr Mayiga announced that the kingdom would work with various authorities to ensure that those who have been polluting the lake stop it. Work on the project will commence in August and it is then when the date of completion will be announced.
While the title for the lake and its environs has 49 acres, it has been encroached on by people who have built houses and conduct other works leaving the main water body with only 22 acres and only six acres for the surrounding land.
About the lake
The man-made lake was dug in 1886 on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga II in order to create a channel which was to enable him travel between his palaces at Lubiri, Mengo, and Munyonyo.
