Kabaka’s Lake, the Largest man-made Lake in Uganda.

Kabaka’s lake

The Kabaka’s lake is situated in Ndeeba in between Nabunya road and ring road. The lake is a few kilometers away from Kampala Uganda’s capital city. Historically this lake was constructed in 1880. Kabaka Mwanga II orded wanted it mainly act as an escape corridor during the British armed conflicts.

Historically, the Kabaka lake is the largest Man-made lake in Uganda and its said to be Africa’s excavated lake. During the construction of the lake, 52tribes of Buganda cooperated and agreed to construct the Kabaka lake. During the Ssekabaka Mwanga’s regime between the 1885 and 1888 and this was a sign of respecting the kabaka’s orders.

Kabaka Mwanga 2 also had other reasons for the construction of the lake for instance:

He wanted the lake to act as a connecting channel to Lake Victoria. Where he could travel on boat to access Lake Victoria so that he can enjoy fishing and swimming. Kabaka Mwanga II also wanted an easy access to another built palace in Mulungu hill. That is close to Lake Victoria in Bunyonyi built by his father Mutesa before he dead.

Kabaka Mwanga II was known for his notorious, aggressiveness, pride and ruthless holocaust behaviour. During his regime, despite the Kabaka’s aggressiveness and ambitious plans towards the Kabaka’s lake.

Later on, the construction of the late was abruptly interrupted and stopped before it could connect to Munyonyi. Due to the religious wars that arose in the Buganda Kingdom, this made the lake construction incomplete.

With the help of our knowledge guide, you will come to know that in the beginning of the construction. The prince, princess and the parish chiefs had refused to take part in the digging of the lake, so they were reported to the Kabaka.

This annoyed him and decided to take up the tusk by himself and joined other people who had obeyed to dig. By doing this, the prince and princess plus the parish chiefs got ashamed and they as well joined in the digging along with the Kabaka.

At the moment, Kabaka’s lake covers an area of about 1.8 square kilometers and approximately 200 feet in depth. On a Kampala city tour, Kabaka’s lake is one of the top attractions. You shouldn’t miss visiting and it is a significant conservation site jewel to the Kingdom of Buganda.

Tourists that enjoy birding, the lake is one of the birders paradises filled with numerous bird species for instance little egrets. The Kabaka’s lake has got nice picturesque views which is backed the awesome surrounding environment.

When you visit Kabaka’s lake you will get a chance to explore Kabaka’s palace, which is just adjacent to the lake.

The lake has no inlet river tributaries which supplies water to this lake but supplied by underground springs. Whether in the dry or rainy season, the water levels have always been consistent.

Right now, the lake is under renovation and improvement for tourism and one of the future plans is to construct a five-star hotel accommodation close to it so as to encourage a lot of tourists to visit it.

During the annual Buganda tourism Expo which takes place around August. The king of Buganda takes courtesy with his subjects to be of the officiate water sports on the lake. The Kabaka is escorted with his soldiers known as Abambnowa . Dressed smartly in their traditional clothings well-armed with shields and the spears together with the ministers as well as dignitaries and security convey.

The Kabaka’s lake is a recognized important conservation area frequently visited by many tourists because of its fascinating features and attractions such as;

• The Lake consists of two small islands. They have vegetation on it, these islands have tress which are home to bird nests which create a beautiful scenery.

• The Kabaka lake offers canoeing. Enjoy a canoe ride operated by the locals when you visit.

• The Kabaka’s lake is also a beautiful relaxing spot as you get to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the islands in the middle of the lake, birds and fresh air.

• It’s a home for many bird species. Many are seen floating on the water vegetation, bird species which can be seen include; Egrets, crested crane and many more.