Kampala 2011

Life in Kampala is certainly interesting, a lot can change in a couple of years. The last time i was in this country about 5 years ago, the city was still in darkness, life was slow and getting around was much more fun. Today it’s all bright lights in almost every corner, shopping malls and restaurants at every corner, new discos and bars plus the advent of coffee houses with unimaginative names like Javas (yes with an S at the end). 

This is the city that truly does not sleep. The mecca for club party goers and the place that makes every Kenyan realize what we have in nairobi is bars and kafundas (Ugandan dialect for a small shop or sheebeen). You can find a club to tantalize you at any hour of the night or day depending on your location. On my first night back, i went to Mateos which has become the yoyo spot. A place with lovely young ladies, TV screens at every corner so that you do not miss the sporting action or international news as was the case on this night and cold beer. It’s the first spot people normally start with as the night gets going and the music is certainly on point with a mix of old school, hip hop and R & B of the 90’s era. By the time i walked out it was warming up to the late 90’s. Next stop was a place i thought i knew, Garden City. FYI Sarit Center, Village Market, Yaya and other malls, you need to come have a quick look at this place. On one side you have a majestic hotel called the Golf Course Hotel and on the other, many shopping outlets, restaurants, casinos, movie theater, bowling alley and most importantly abundant parking which you do not pay for. They believe in come in, walk around enjoy and you will be tempted to come again or buy something. So the club i left there called the Venue is now called Boda Boda. Don't confuse it with the motocycle fad driven by suicidal kamikazi youth on the streets of Kampala. This club is managed by a friend of mine called Lui who certainly has held on to the term class rather nicely. One side has a bar and dancing area and if you walk through the outside partition on to what would be another side of the building, you find the dinning area that ouses pomp and glamour with a cute quaint bar and who’s who of Kampla. A double whiskey at this spot will set you back UGS 20,000 about KSH 750 which is not bad, but, considering the average price in this city, that is certainly high. Most establishments sell a double black at KSH 450 the equivalent of UGS 12,000. By the time we walked out of this club it was well past midnight and we hit the new club Guvnor that i had heard so much about. entrance is KSH 2,000 UGS 50,000 but the ambience is definitely worth it. The decor is all white including the speakers, the lighting and, sound is superb and on point. The place is a tad bit packed seeing that everyone and there grandmother wants to be inside but after talking to the owner Charlie Lubega of the Angenoir club fame, he tells me they scrutinize and make sure only well to do and people who spend are allowed in but in a way that it does not discriminate. Judging by the tables i saw, most people were out with their wives girlfriends or significant other aka mpango wa kando aka klande and, they were purchasing by the bottle i.e bottles of Jameson, Johnny Walker, Amarula, Chivas Regal, Absolute Vodka etc, the list is endless. The dj kept us on our toes until time to vacate at almost 5am. This was only Friday and i had been in the town for less than 10 hours, but that is a story to be continued at a later date.

Sadly there are a few draw backs to the development and fun loving town of champara. One major one is the fear of terrorist attacks since the world cup bombing last year at the Kyadondo rugby club and the Ethiopian restaurant in Muyenga, two places i constantly visited in the 4 years i was there from October 2002 to june 2006. It was a sad event and showed the vulnerability of the country. Something both President Museveni affectionately known as M7 and the people of uganda do not like to admit especially with the the kind of military and police wings they have. Incidentally in 1985 there existed 5 branches of the military and police wings combined, today April 2011, there exists 17 different wings of militia that range from anti terrorism to traffic and they all wear a coca-many of uniforms varying from fashion fatigues that look like Tommy Hilfigure to those that are plain and look like KK security guards back home. So with every corner or roundabout, you will find a bunch of security people milling around a tree or sitting lazying the day and night away on the grass and, around every other road where they wait sultry for a drunk driver or someone new in town to take a wrong turn into a one way street, a feat i managed on Buganda road a place i now so well. As is the case when in doubt, help the police man with chai and you are good to go. As i sit here hammering away at the laptop and staring at the hills of Kampala and the new buildings around me, i cant help but wonder what is in store for me on this wonderful impromptu holiday i took on the guise of a working holiday. A feat i have managed with only 2 meetings in 4 days and of the two, one was cancelled