Kampala, city, southern Uganda, capital of the country, near Lake Victoria. Livestock, hides, coffee, cotton, and sugarcane are traded in the city; industries include flour and sugar milling, cotton ginning, tanning, coffee processing, and the manufacturing of textiles, cigarettes, and cement. Port Bell, a lake port about 10 km (about 6 mi) to the southeast, is connected with Kampala by road and rail. Kampala is the site of government buildings, of the National Theatre, and of the Uganda Museum. On Old Kampala Hill a tablet marks the site of a fort established by the British in 1890, and on Kasubi Hill are tombs of the kabakas (kings) of Buganda. Also in the city are Makerere University (1922), Uganda Technical College (1954), and Rubaga Cathedral. Mengo, to the southwest, was the traditional capital of the kingdom of Buganda, formally dissolved in 1967. Kampala succeeded nearby Entebbe as capital when the country became independent in 1962. Population (1991 estimate) 773,463.
