Kampala

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Kampala , city (2002 pop. 1,189,142), capital of Uganda, on Lake Victoria. It is Uganda's largest city and its administrative, communications, economic, and transportation center. Manufactures include processed foods, beverages, furniture, and machine parts. Agricultural exports include coffee, cotton, tea, and sugar. It is linked by railroad with Kasese, a mining center in SW Uganda, and with Mombasa, Kenya, on the Indian Ocean coast. Steamers on Lake Victoria link the city with ports in Kenya and Tanzania. An international airport is nearby, at Entebbe . Kampala grew up around a fort constructed (1890) by Capt. Frederick Lugard for the British East Africa Company. In 1962, Kampala replaced Entebbe as the capital of Uganda. Despite its proximity (20 mi/32 km) to the equator, the city has a moderate climate, largely because of its altitude (c.4,000 ft/1,220 m). The city is built on and around six hills and has modern government and commercial quarters as well as wide avenues that fan out toward the surrounding suburbs. Much of the city was destroyed after the overthrow (1979) of Idi Amin 's dictatorship and subsequent civil war. With the coming of the Museveni regime in 1986, Kampala enjoyed relative stability, and foreign investment provided funding for the rehabilitation of the city's infrastructure and the restoration of services. Kampala is the seat of the East African Development Bank and Makerere Univ.

Kampala, Uganda Mengo, Fort Hill The original settlement, known as Mengo, was scattered over seven hills and was the capital of the Kingdom of Buganda. In 1890 Captain (later Baron) Frederick Lugard (1858–1945) led an expedition to the kingdom seeking British control over the source of the River Nile. He built Fort Hill for the Imperial British East Africa Company on a nearby hill which was called Kampala by the Bagandans. Eventually the town grew to include Mengo. In 1905–62 the capital of the Ugandan Protectorate was Entebbe, but in 1962 Uganda achieved independence and Kampala, Lugard's headquarters in 1890–2, became the capital. It is said to take its name from the antelope, the impala, locally mpala.

Kampala Capital and largest city in Uganda, on the n shore of Lake Victoria. Founded in the late 19th century on the remains of a royal palace of the Kings of Buganda, it replaced Entebbe as capital when Uganda attained independence in 1962. It is the trading centre for the agricultural goods and livestock produced in Uganda. Industries: textiles, food processing, tea blending, coffee, brewing. Pop. (2002 est.) 953,400.

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