Soweto, a slum destroyed to create another slum

Located on the outskirts of Kampala City in Makindye division, Namuwongo is fast becoming one of Uganda's biggest slums. It is estimated that at least 20,000 people call Namuwongo home.

Of particular interest in Namuwongo is a place referred to as "Soweto." Soweto is north of the railway line in Namuwongo. Soweto is divided into seven zones: Industrial Area View, Go-Down, Kasanvu, Namuwongo B, Namuwongo A ,Masengere and Yoka.

Despite Namuwongo's proximity to the middle class suburbs of Nakawa and Bugolobi, life in Soweto couldn't be more different.

On the day this reporter visited, I was surprised to observe children of school going age with no plan to attend one. Although it was mid-morning, many of the younger children were either playing cards or simply lounging.

Once in Soweto, you are immediately struck by the multiplicity of Ugandan tongues spoken here. It seems every tribe and language is represented in Soweto, which fits the description of a slum.

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A slum is defined as a "squalid and overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very poor people."

John Kungu, an area leader, says due to lack of employment opportunities, many young people have resorted to crime in Soweto. Kungu says, "People don’t have jobs. They steal phones of those who move late at night and break into houses.”

However, it is not just jobs that are hard to come by in Soweto. Good accommodation is just as hard to find in Soweto.

Many of the wooden structures still standing in Soweto are semi-permanent. Residents leave in constant fear of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) swooping in to demolish structures constructed too close to the railway line.

One such KCCA operation last week forced former tenants to relocate and rebuild near a stream that snakes through Namuwongo.

Soweto suffers flooding because many natural water channels have been filled.  In addition to this, there is a scarcity of pit latrines for the residents. Eriku Yokoyada, a resident explains that, “The hygiene is not good. Most people don’t have toilets because one cannot dig a 5 ft pit latrine without water coming.”

The lack of toilets forces many Soweto residents to ease themselves in the open. A lot of this waste finds its way into the stream. Situated on the lower end of the water way, another resident Steven Mbazira reveals, "People who live in the upper Namuwongo release sewage which connects to this water stream.”

Mbazira adds that, "We are told that the water channel has been blocked for months now. The outcome is this artificial channel that has complicated means of transport for those crossing from and to Namuwongo."

Downstream, oblivious of the diseases they are exposed to, children happily swim in the stream.

Tito, a Soweto resident, says, "We need government intervention. Every time it rains, people are left with nowhere to sleep. Those whose houses are not swept away are forced to stand holding their mattresses and property over their heads all night.”

Makindye East Member of Parliament Ibrahim Kasozi castigates the government for failing to pay attention to the urban poor. Kasozi notes that, "Government focuses on upcountry places yet also places like Namuwongo in Kampala are in a poor state."

KCCA spokesperson Peter Kaujju says, "We recently acquired equipment but for the meantime, we shall be doing maintenance works and also desilting.”

As the day winds down, residents of Namuwongo sit around a pot of locally brewed beer (Malwa), welcoming everyone to celebrate and drink with them. It is here that they kill their frustrations.