Kabakas Lake
Kabakas Lake is positioned just a few kilometers from the city center, located in Ndeba between Nabunya Road and Ring Road in the Rubaga division. Kabakas Lake is one of Uganda’s manmade lakes and perhaps Africa’s largest surviving manmade lake on earth.
The lake was dug between 1884 and 1888 on orders of King Daniel Mwanga II with more than a hundred people who loved Buganda and the kabaka (king) himself had to dig with the aim of making a connection to Lake Victoria, joining it with the king’s palace at Munyonyo in order to ease the shipping of goods.
The county chiefs, “chiefs” from different countries in the Buganda kingdom, used to mobilize people from their respective areas to come and involve themselves in the digging of the lake in respect to the kingdom and the king, and whoever chief who was not able to mobilize his people to participate in digging was subjected to death.
Unfortunately, the plan of connecting the lake to the Munyonyo palace failed due to religious conflicts and they decided to dig it in a wetland since its own springs were positioned there.
The kabaka’s lake is one of Kampala’s top attractions because in the middle of the lake there is an attractive island that is called in the local name “Nambi Natutululu,” and on this island it’s only the king who is supposed to sit on it to view the undertaking activities along this lake, such as boat riding completion, Bird watching and many more, and also to have beautiful scenery that surrounds the lake.
Kabakas Lake measures an average of 200 ft deep in the water on an area of 2 square kilometers, and it is surrounded by beautiful structures of Rubaga Miracle Centre and St. Lawrence University, which lie close to the peaceful water body.
The historical culture of Buganda.
Traditionally the king’s plan was to construct a channel wide enough for him to travel by boat to Lake Victoria for swimming and fishing and also to stay at another palace. The story is based on the site that stretched far back to 1882 when the king Muteesa II relocated the lake and dug on orders of the “kabaka,” king Mwanga in the 1880s and since then the kabaka’s lake has become a cultural attraction in Uganda.
His Majesty Kabaka Ronald Edward Frederick Kimera Muwenda Mutebi II, who is the current king, hosts one of the major events once a year during the Buganda Tourism week where people come and gather in traditional dress as they enjoy water sports on the lake, thus developing tourism in Uganda. Many tourists have visited this lake on a Kampala city tour and they leave with a traditional experience for a lifetime.
However, thousands of tourists have visited Kabaka’s Lake on their city tour encounter in Kampala, Uganda’s largest city. The lake is remarkable for birdwatching. The island, which is found in the heart of the lake, has contributed a lot to Uganda’s tourism.
Visit Kabakas Lake on the Kampala city tour and encounter one of the kabaka’s historical attractive places within the Rubaga division and have an amazing experience of bird watching in the city as well as viewing the boat riding along the lake.
