{UAH} Uganda: Kinyarwanda - the Posh Area With the Making of a Rural Town

Uganda: Kinyarwanda - the Posh Area With the Making of a Rural Town

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• East Africa
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• Uganda
• Urban Issues

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Photo: Gillian Nantume/Daily Monitor

One of the nice houses in Kinyarwanda, a posh residential area on Entebbe Road.

ANALYSISBy Gillian Nantume

When you ask around in Kitooro, Entebbe, you will be told Kinyarwanda is the poshest place to live. This is because there are beautiful houses in the area. Its proximity to the airport and the UN Base also makes it attractive. The upside is that the neighbourhood is deathly quiet. It really has a tranquil feel to it. Legend has it that during the colonial period, the area was a Rwandan settlement.

The UN influx

When the UN Base was first established, many of its international employees only found standard accommodation in Kinyarwanda. House owners, anxious to cash in on the free flowing dollars (UN staff pay rent for a whole year) quickly modified their homes and rented them out. Others converted their homes into guest houses. As a consequence, the rent prices shot up. A two-bedroom bungalow that once cost Shs200,000 now goes for Shs600,000 a month for a Ugandan. For a foreigner, the price is much higher.

Security concerns

Because of the many nationalities living there, security is a big concern. Almost every outer wall is topped by razor wire, barbed wire, or spikes. Many homes, including rentals, are guarded by gun-wielding private security guards.

Michael Mugisha, a resident says it is easy to get mugged on the roads in Kinyarwanda. "Beyond 8pm, the roads are deserted and pitch black. Not a week goes by without one hearing about a break-and-entry situation. In most cases, the thieves do not break into the house; they use master keys which give them easy access. They come from the outskirts of Kinyarwanda, where there are poor settlements with many unemployed youth." The burglars are part of Swaga Attack, an outfit of soldiers' children that has become the terror of Entebbe. Directly opposite Kinyarwanda is a housing estate whose sole tenants are soldiers from Uganda People's Defense Air Force (UPDAF). Two months ago, police busted a notorious criminal racket that was resident in Kinyarwanda.

Hajati Bukeesa, a resident narrates how she was robbed. "Before we went to sleep, we locked the gate and the doors to the house. However, when we woke up at 5.30am to pray, we found the sitting room empty. Thieves had broken in but surprisingly, we did not hear them." There are no police patrols in Kinyarwanda, giving the burglars leeway to operate undetected.

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