Kampala (redirected from capital of Uganda)

Kampala (kämpä`lä), 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.

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Kampala

City (pop., 1998: 1,154,000), capital of Uganda. The country's largest city, it is in southern Uganda, north of Lake Victoria. It was selected in 1890 by Capt. Frederick Lugard as the headquarters of the British East Africa Company. Lugard's fort on Old Kampala Hill remained the Ugandan colonial administrative headquarters until 1905. In 1962 Kampala became the capital of independent Uganda. It is the site of the headquarters of most of Uganda's large firms and of Makerere University (1922) and the Uganda Museum.

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Kampala

the capital and largest city of Uganda, in Central region on Lake Victoria: Makerere University (1961). Pop.: 1 208 544 (2002 est.)