Mengo is a hill in

Rubaga Division Rubaga Division, also Lubaga Division, is one of the divisions that makes up the city of Kampala, Uganda. The division takes its name from Rubaga, where the division headquarters are located. Location Rubaga Division lies in the western part of t ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

's capital and largest city. The name also applies to the neighborhood on that hill.

Location

Mengo is bordered by

Old Kampala Kampala Hill, commonly referred to as Old Kampala, is a hill in the centre of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. Location Kampala Hill is bordered by Makerere to the north, Nakasero to the east, Mengo to the south and Namirembe to ...

to the north, Nsambya Hill to the east, Kibuye to the south-east,

Ndeeba Ndeeba is a neighborhood in the city of Kampala, Uganda's capital. Location Ndeeba is located in Lubaga Division, one of the five administrative divisions of Kampala. It lies on the southern edge of the city. It is bordered by Mengo to the nor ...

to the south, Lubaga Hill to the west, and

Namirembe Hill Namirembe is a hill in Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. It is also a common name given to girls in several Baganda clans. Namirembe comes from the Luganda word "mirembe" meaning ''peace''. Namirembe loosely translates into ''Full of ...

to the north-west. This location is approximately , by road, directly south of the central business district of Kampala. The coordinates of Mengo Hill are 0°18'06.0"N, 32°33'58.0"E (Latitude:0.301667; Longitude:32.566111). The peak of the hill is at above sea level.

Overview

Mengo Hill is the location of the main palace (known as

Lubiri Lubiri (or Mengo Palace) is the royal compound of the Kabaka or king of Buganda, located in Mengo, a suburb of Kampala, the Ugandan capital. The original Lubiri was destroyed in the May 1966 Battle of Mengo Hill, at the culmination of the strug ...

Mengo Palace Mengo can refer to: *Mengo, Uganda **Mengo Hospital **Mengo Senior School *Clube de Regatas do Flamengo *Letin Mengo, an electric car {{disambig ...

) of the

Kabaka the kabaka Palace in kireka Kabaka is the title of the king of the Kingdom of Buganda.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, According to the traditions of the Baganda they are ruled by two kings, one spiritual and ...

(King) of the

Kingdom of Buganda Buganda is a Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Buganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala. The 14 m ...

, a monarchy that dates back almost 800 years. Mengo has been the main palace since it was first constructed in 1885 by

Mwanga II of Buganda Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II Mukasa (1868 – 8 May 1903)D. A. Low''Fabrication of Empire: The British and the Uganda Kingdoms, 1890-1902'' Cambridge University Press, 2009, p. 210, note 196. was Kabaka of Buganda from 1884 until 1888 and fro ...

, the 31st Kabaka of Buganda. Measuring , the palace is ringed by a six-foot brick fence and has a small

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

within its walls. Mengo Hill has played an important role in Ugandan political and religious history. "Mengo" is a

Luganda The Ganda language or Luganda (, , ) is a Bantu language spoken in the African Great Lakes region. It is one of the major languages in Uganda and is spoken by more than 10 million Baganda and other people principally in central Uganda including ...

word for

grinding stones Grind is the cross-sectional shape of a blade. Grind, grinds, or grinding may also refer to: Grinding action * Grinding (abrasive cutting), a method of crafting * Grinding (dance), suggestive club dancing * Grinding (video gaming), repetitive a ...

. According to legend, ancient migrant communities from the Ssese Islands who settled on the hill used these stones to grind their food. It is here that the

Buganda Agreement of 1900 Signed in March 1900, this agreement formed the basis of British relations with Buganda, the Kabaka (King) was recognised as ruler of Buganda as long he remained faithful to her Majesty, the Lukiko (council of chiefs) given statutory recognition. T ...

was signed between the Kabaka of Buganda and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

colonial officials establishing the

Uganda Protectorate The Protectorate of Uganda was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1894 to 1962. In 1893 the Imperial British East Africa Company transferred its administration rights of territory consisting mainly of the Kingdom of Buganda to the Brit ...

. The history of Mengo Hill is also entwined with that of adjacent

, the seat of the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Church of Uganda The Church of Uganda is a member province of the Anglican Communion. Currently there are 37 dioceses which make up the Church of Uganda, each headed by a bishop. Each diocese is divided into archdeaconries, each headed by a senior priest known a ...

, because of the monarchy's close association with the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. The Bulange, which houses offices for the Kabaka and the Lukiiko (Buganda Parliament), is at the base of

. The building was constructed between 1953 and 1958 by

Muteesa II of Buganda Sir Edward Frederick William David Walugembe Mutebi Luwangula Mutesa II (modern spelling: Muteesa) (19 November 1924 – 21 November 1969) was Kabaka of the Kingdom of Buganda in Uganda from 22 November 1939 until his death. He was the thirty ...

at a cost of US$5 million, which was a colossal sum at that time. Also located on Namirembe Hill is

Mengo Hospital Mengo Hospital, also known as Namirembe Hospital, is a private, faith-based, community, teaching hospital in Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. Location The hospital is located on Namirembe Hill in Lubaga Division in northwestern ...

, a private, non-profit

community hospital A community hospital can be purely a nominal designation or have a more specific meaning. When specific, it refers to a hospital that is accessible to the general public, and provides a general or specific medical care which is usually short-term, ...

administered by the Anglican Church in Uganda.

Landmarks

Landmarks on Mengo Hill or near the hill include: * The main palace of the

King of Buganda the kabaka Palace in kireka Kabaka is the title of the king of the Kingdom of Buganda.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, According to the traditions of the Baganda they are ruled by two kings, one spiritual and ...

, the ''

''. * ''

Bulange Bulange (''boo-lah-ngeh''), is a building in Uganda. It houses the '' Lukiiko'' (Parliament) of the Kingdom of Buganda. The Kabaka of Buganda and the '' Katikkiro'' (Prime Minister) of Buganda also maintain offices in the building. The building ...

'', the Parliament Building of the Buganda Parliament (the ''Lukiiko''). Moved outside of the palace to the adjacent

, to accommodate the size of a modern building in 1958. The building also houses the offices of the

Kabaka of Buganda the kabaka Palace in kireka Kabaka is the title of the king of the Kingdom of Buganda.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, According to the traditions of the Baganda they are ruled by two kings, one spiritual an ...

* The ''Kabaka's Lake'', a man-made lake approximately , for the personal use and enjoyment of the Kabaka; located just outside the main palace entrance. *

- A 300-bed private hospital, affiliated with the

; located at adjacent Namirembe Hill * The ''Joint Clinical Research Center'' - Located adjacent to the palace, the medical research center is housed in the ''Butikkiro'', the former official residence of the Prime Minister of Buganda (''Katikkiro''). This building is one of Buganda's assets that have yet to be returned to the Kingdom. * The main campus of St. Lawrence University (Uganda) - Located close to the Kabaka's Lake. * The Buildings of the Uganda Supreme Court *

- Adjacent to and immediately northwest of Mengo Hill. It is the location of St. Paul's Cathedral, the most prominent

place of worship in

Buganda Buganda is a Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda, Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Buganda's Districts of Uganda, Central Region, inclu ...

* Lubaga Hill - Immediately west of Mengo. The seat of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kampala The Archdiocese of Kampala is the Metropolitan See for the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical province of Kampala in Uganda. History The present Kampala Archdiocese is the result of territorial changes: * Victoria Nyanza Vicariate (1883). It was ...

. Location of St. Mary's Cathedral Rubaga, built between 1912 and 1925.

Photos

Photo of the Buganda Parliament Building (Bulange)Photo of the "Twekobe", the Kabaka's Residence Within Mengo PalacePhoto of the Newly Reconstructed "Kabaka Anjagala Road", Fitted With Solar Lights. The Bulange Building Is In the Background

References

External links