When Douglas Adams wrote about the bureaucratic and officious Vogon in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I can only assume he had just experienced passport control at Entebbe International Airport, the airport for Kampala. Once navigated, I met-up with the hotel driver.
As a former British Protectorate, Uganda reassuringly drives on the correct side of the road. You might not be aware of this when you see the ubiquitous motorcycles traveling the roads, but broadly they do. The driver pointed out we were on a Chinese built highway, the tolls from which would apparently go back to China for 50 years. The original roads still existed and were busier but for those who paid (the hotel driver chose the route) this was by far the quicker option. This has always struck me as a good way of getting roads built in the UK. With no money in the Treasury, we could upgrade our network with private enterprise to fund toll roads for those willing to pay. In what was a theme, once he had established I wasn’t American, the driver wanted to talk football, and about his love of Arsenal.
“Armed guards at the front of every major building and indeed my hotel, didn’t fill one with a sense of confidence”
Growing up next door to a Ugandan Asian family, like many my first thought of Uganda is of Idi Amin. Amin ruled the country from 1971 to 1979, despite his relatively short period of rule, and its ending over 45 years ago, the shadow of his time can still be felt. Uganda has one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, at about 6% per annum. Kampala the capital, however, feels part of a chaotic country. Armed guards at the front of every major building and indeed my hotel, didn’t fill one with a sense of confidence. Also as pre-warned the safety evident in Kigali is not readily felt here.
The new morning brought about a tour of some major sites and a chance to experience rush hour traffic. It is unfair to compare most countries roads with the UK which are some of the safest in the world. I am used to countries where people drive in a more disorderly fashion, however this is normally done at a slow or at least slower speed than we tend to drive in the UK. In Kampala the omnipresent motorcycles drive not only with little concern for the rules of the road, but they drive at speed!
“The people I met were overwhelmingly polite and friendly, but my tour driver told me not to open the windows in busy places”
Peoples Christianity and Islamic faiths are very openly displayed here, given the risk from traffic, I can fully understand this. The people I met were overwhelmingly polite and friendly, but my tour driver told me not to open the windows in busy places. I noticed when we stopped in traffic, he and other drivers would make sure the central locking was engaged.
Kampala has stark contrasts between modern high rises, more historic buildings, low rise small business blocks and areas that have the look of shanty towns. At one point on our tour, Google maps was telling the driver to turn onto a new road, one that I could see displayed on the map. “Road”, interesting terminology to describe the deep ditched mud path in front of me. This was not in the countryside or even the suburbs, this was half a mile from the British and Rwandan High Commissions in the centre of the city.
“I encountered some of the friendliest and open people I have ever met. The markets are crowded and full of people wanting a sale but also contain some amazing fresh fruit and great conversations”
A walking tour gave a great opportunity to see more of the city up close. One guide was keen to point out you must never trust a zebra crossing in Africa, and once you learnt to navigate them having three motorcycles driving at you from two different directions was not so concerning! My experience was Ugandans are outwardly tough, the Luganda language spoken by locals appears brusque. Yet also I encountered some of the friendliest and open people I have ever met. The markets are crowded and full of people wanting a sale but also contain some amazing fresh fruit and great conversations. One market I visited was full of second-hand clothes, originated in western countries and transported by the Red Cross. I was told the number of donated clothes overwhelms those in need, and these are often meant to be burned but make their way via criminals to the markets. I personally thought this was a great use of the clothes, as someone who has donated my share of old cloth, why not let someone make a few bob from it. I would hope they can find a way to take out the criminals and let some free enterprise flourish.
Arriving during an election period (local and a general election are being held in January 2026 and have a long run in), provided an opportunity to learn about the local politics. Uganda however is not a place it’s wise to ask too deeply about political leanings. The country has a president who is both head of state and head of government. Yoweri Museveni (M7 as he is known) has been the president since 1986. The Parliament of 557 members is elected with a mix of constituency, woman only, and other group representatives. Freedom of the press is limited, although both online and in the street, I did see papers appearing to criticise the government.
Still, it was interesting to see the election posters adorn many of the streets for both national and local elections. The posters make politics appear more straightforward than in the UK with many candidates calling for a ‘Protest Vote’ and a range of parties running including one straightforwardly called the Peasants Party. One driver I asked told me the election campaigns were everywhere, with occasions of people fighting each other. He went on to say he didn’t get political and “as long as the country is peaceful, I’m good”. Uganda has never had a peaceful transition of power, and perhaps the best summary came from a visit to the statue of Luhondeza. He was the first gorilla who, with his family group, allowed people to get close to take photos. This action (or rather his lack of it) opened tourism to large parts of Uganda. It is said he has done more for the people of Uganda than any president had.
Central Kampala has a very distinct uptown district, full of shops apparently only government officials can afford to use and a clearly poorer but more colourful downtown area. I was told getting a good job “is not easy, you have to be connected. Someone in the Government has to know you”. You also need to speak 3 languages, the local language Luganda, used for business and most interactions. Swahili, spoken by the Army and used for unity within it’s ranks and to connect with other East African armed forces, and finally English.
Some interesting discoveries for me included the separately owned Catholic and Anglican banks, used by their respective communities. Strange though this may seem, it was not so long ago here, that this distinction was common for the Royal Bank of, and Bank of Scotland. It’s important to show respect to your elders, when arranging a taxi for me my guide needed to chat to the elderly taxi drivers for a while to show them some respect before passing them business. One of the things you notice is what a young country this is, with a ‘old’ building being pointed out to me from 1930, and an ‘old’ market from the early 1900s. I visited the historic site of the Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo, where 25 martyrs were killed for refusing to renounce their Christianity. An event that happened only in 1885.
“Despite being a republic, Uganda has at least 5 kingdoms. Kampala is in the largest and the one the country gets its name from, ‘Buganda'”
No visit to Kampala is complete without a stop at the Gaddafi National Mosque, yes that Gaddafi. The National Mosque of Uganda as it is also known, has a capacity of 25,000 (although not for the first time what I was told and what I can verify online differs). Opened in 2008, work was started in 1972 by Idi Amin, stopped in 1976, and in the early 2000s Colonel Gaddafi picked up the effort to complete the build. Sitting on Kampala Hill and with a 272-step minaret it can be seen from many vantage points across the city.
Despite being a republic, Uganda has at least 5 kingdoms. Kampala is in the largest and the one the country gets its name from, ‘Buganda’. The Kingdom has had 36 Kings in an 800 year period, and old Kings, are said not to have died, but only, to have gotten lost. The first son never becomes King but is instead an advisor to the second son who takes on the role. The Kabaka Palace, located in the city and modelled on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, looks down to the Kingdoms Parliament. The road between the two buildings has a prominent roundabout with a gate used only by the Kings car. The King is said to only go in straight lines, and as such he needs a path through the roundabout.
The Palace, and Kingdom has been part of many political events since independence, but now they are ceremonial, and the Parliament discusses only cultural issues. My guide was trying to explain that although she is Ugandan, she sees her main identity as Bugandan, with her Ugandan identity being secondary. She had thought these multiple identities might be difficult for someone who is both an Englishman and a Brit to grasp.
Sadly, part of the history of the Palace was the site serving as the torture chambers for Idi Amin. Milton Obote was the second and seventh President of Uganda. His first period of office, and his actions towards the opposition was so bad people initially celebrated when Idi Amin overthrew him. I asked a guide if he was any different the second time, the guide said yes, as the second time “he had grudges”. Still Amin was by far worse, the small concrete basements in the Palace grounds would hold 100 people in them. The last one of which would have people piled up to die, to make room for more to come in. In this you could see the marks of people clawing to get out on the walls. It is believed some 25,000 people died in these chambers, just some of the 100,000 – 500,000 people who were killed by his period in power. Despite this some people in Uganda still think he was a good leader, although these are apparently mainly the families of those who were given the businesses of the Asians who he expelled.
“these very slums reflect the rapid urban growth and increased prosperity of the country”
The Kampala metropolitan area of ~8 million people is a crazy, busy city. People in bright modern clothes can be seen exiting slum housing, but these very slums reflect the rapid urban growth and increased prosperity of the country. The number of motorcycles (and I might add repair shops) indicates the level of industriousness in the country. Hopefully the economic progress can be coupled with some political progress for a more stable and peaceful future.
