Entebbe is a city in CentralUganda which is located on Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately 36 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala.[3] Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. The city is the location of Entebbe International Airport, Uganda's largest commercial and military airport, which gained worldwide attention in 1976 Israeli rescue of 100 hostages kidnapped by the militant group of the PFLP-EO and Revolutionary Cells (RZ) organizations. Entebbe is also the location of State House, the official office and residence of the President of Uganda.[4][5]
Etymology
The word came from Luganda languagee ntebe which means 'seat' / 'chair'. Entebbe was a cultural site for the Mamba clan and it was called "entebbe za Mugula" - Mugula was the title of a chief of a subdivision of the Mamba clan - and is now the location of the official office and residence of the President of Uganda, as it was for British governors before independence. Entebbe was the former seat of power in the country, but has now been replaced by Kampala.[6]
Location
Entebbe sits on the northern shores of Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake. The town is situated in Wakiso District, approximately 34 kilometres (21 mi) south of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.[7] The metropolis is located on a peninsula into Lake Victoria, covering a total area of 56.2 square kilometres (21.7 sq mi), out of which 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi) is water. The coordinates of Entebbe are:0°03'00.0"N, 32°27'36.0"E (Latitude:0.0500; Longitude:32.4600).[8] Neighborhoods within Entebbe City include Bugonga, Katabi, Nakiwogo, Nsamizi, Kitooro, Lunnyo and Lugonjo.[9]
Population
During the 2002 national census, Entebbe's population was estimated at about 55,100 people. In 2010, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) estimated the population of the town at 76,500. In 2011, UBOS estimated the population of Entebbe at approximately 79,700.[10] On 27 August 2014, the national population census put Entebbe's population at 69,958.[1]
"Entebbe", in the local Luganda language, means a "seat" and was probably named that because it was the place where a Baganda chief sat to adjudicate legal cases. It first became a British colonial administrative and commercial centre in 1893 when Sir Gerald Portal, a colonial Commissioner, used it as a base.[12]Port Bell went on to become Kampala's harbour. Although no ships dock there now, there is still a jetty, which was used by Lake Victoria ferries.
Entebbe International Airport, the main international airport of Uganda, has been the site of some well known events, making it famous in Europe and abroad. It was from this airport that QueenElizabeth II departed Africa to return to England in 1952 when she learned of her father's death and that she had become Queen. The airport was the scene of Operation Entebbe, a hostage rescue on 4 July 1976, when soldiers from the Sayeret Matkal, Paratroopers Brigade and Golani Brigade units of the Israeli Army freed over 100 hostages following a hijacking by a group of Palestinian and German militia.
Entebbe is the location of the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC)[16] The centre also serves as the national zoo. The entrance to the centre is located near the jetty. Foreign visitors have noted the seeming incongruity of wild monkeys sitting in the trees over the centre's paths.
Entebbe is also home to one of the historical site in Kigungu where the first catholic missionaries Brother Amans and Father Mon Maple Lourdel landed to establish the catholic faith in Uganda.
Entebbe sits on the northern shores of Lake Victoria
Entebbe along Lake Victoria
Entebbe is home of the oldest golf course in East Africa called Entebbe Golf Club, which was established in 1900. Entebbe Golf Club is surrounded by the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, (formerly Entebbe Zoo), on its south side.
The Special Forces Command, a specialized unit of the Uganda People's Defense Forces, responsible for the security of the president of Uganda, his immediate family, constitutional monarchs, state guests and vital national assets, including the national oil fields, maintains its headquarters in Entebbe.[20]
Other points of interest
Other points of interest within the city limits or close to its edges include the offices of Entebbe City Council and several branches of foreign and indigenous commercial banks. The supermarket chain, Shoprite, maintains a branch in Entebbe.[21] In 2014, the American fast-food chain KFC opened a franchise in the town.[22]
Entebbe is home to the Entebbe Children's Surgical Hospital, a children's hospital, center of excellence for pediatric surgery, owned and operated by Emergency, an international NGO that offers "free medical treatment to the victims of war, poverty and landmines".[23]
Geography
Climate
Entebbe experiences tropical rainforest climate (Af) according to the Köppen climate classification as the city has no real dry season throughout the year. The driest season is January with precipitation total 65 millimetres (2.6 in), while the wettest season is April with precipitation total 256 millimetres (10.1 in). The temperature is moderated by the altitude. The hottest month is February with average temperature 22.8 °C (73.0 °F), while the coolest month is July with average temperature 20.6 °C (69.1 °F).
^"STATIONSNUMMER 63705"(PDF). Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2016.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Uganda
