Jinja, Uganda
Jinja is the second largest urban centre in Uganda, Africa, and was established in 1901. It is 87km north-east of the capital Kampala. It is located on the shores of Lake Victoria, near to the source of the White Nile river . The city takes its name from the district of Jinja, of which it is now the 'chief town'.
Population
The resident population of Jinja is approximately 106,000 (an increase from 45,000 in 1980 and 65,000 in 1991), but it also draws in some 80,000 commuters each day.
The majority of the population are of Bantu origin, and are English-speaking Anglican Christians. Lusoga and Luganda are the main local languages. Average annual household income is estimated at US $100.
Economy
Agriculture thrives on the fertile soils, abundant water sources and reliable rainfall. Other industries are metal processing, leather and paper processing, grain milling, sugar, some organic fruits and coffee growing for export, and brewing for local sale. There is some local and export fishing on Lake Victoria. British-American Tobacco Uganda (BATU) closed its Jinja tobacco-processing factory in 2005, due to high taxes. The biggest local employer is currently the Kakira Sugar works, which runs on sugar alcohol - there are said to be frequent power cuts in Jinja's mains electricity supply.
Infrastructure
There is a post office, town hall, a hospital, a golf course, and several internet cafes. There are numerous small shops.
There are many primary schools due to Uganda's universal primary education. For older children there are also secondary schools: the PMM Jinja Girls Senior School, and Jinja Senior Secondary School which is now the largest in Uganda. They operate a British-style system of education. The literacy rate is currently around 60 percent. There is a teacher's college at Jinja.
History
Jinja was formerly a fishing village that benefited from being on long-distance trade routes. The city was founded in 1901 by the British, as an administrative centre for the Provincial Government Headquarters for Busoga region. This was around the time that Lake Victoria's importance in transport rose due to the Uganda Railway linking Kisumu, a Kenyan town on the lake, with Mombasa on the Indian Ocean, 900 miles/1400 km away. Cotton-packing, nearby sugar estates, and railway access all enabled it to grow in size. In 1906 a street pattern was laid out, and Indian traders moved in from around 1910.
British-American Tobacco Uganda (BATU) established a tobacco processing factory in Jinja in 1928.
The city remained the capital of Busoga region, and was the industrial heart of Uganda between 1954 and the late 1970s - supported by power from the hydroelectric Owen Falls Dam completed in 1954.
Under Idi Amin's bloody rule, it is said that so many bodies were dumped in the White Nile that they often blocked the hydroelectric intake channels at Jinja's Owen Falls Dam.
The city once had a large Indian community, although these were expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin in 1971 and 1972. Much of Jinja's architecture is Indian-influenced, although the detailed shop-fronts and buildings were poorly maintained after the Indians left. Local industrial concerns also collapsed. Many of the East Indians who are now returning to Uganda are choosing to set up businesses in Jinja.
The city has been twinned with the Finchley in London, England since 1963.
Transport
Jinja is a major station on the Uganda Railway and is a port for Lake Victoria ferries. From the early 1900s access to the railway was by ferry to the railhead at Kisumu. It was not until the 1930s that the track was extended into Uganda. There is a good tarmac road between Jinja and the capital at Kampala (90 minutes by car, two hours by bus), but there are poor road connections across the nearby border at Tororo into Kenya.
Transport in Jinja is dominated by the 'bicycle taxi' (boda-boda) and motorbikes. The bicycle is very important to the town, and there are over twenty bicycle retailers.
There is an airfield at Kimaka.
Local attractions
The tourist season is late December to late February.
5 miles/8 km from Jinja is Bujagali Falls, which is located just downriver from Owen Falls Dam. Bujagali Falls is a world-class spot for kayaking and river rafting, and also a popular weekend picnic area for local Ugandans. However, the Falls are under threat from the construction of a proposed new 250MW hydroelectric facility.
There is a private Sailing Club on the shores of Lake Victoria. There is an animal sanctuary at Buwenge.
Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were scattered into the source of the White Nile. There is a small memorial garden at the spot. There is an active Hindu temple near Jinja, which has a bronze bust of Ghandi. There is also a Buddhist temple.
About 25km south, in Lake Victoria, is Buvuma Island - whose forests sometimes attract intrepid bird-watchers.
Geographic data
- Latitude and Longitude: 0:44:00N 33:20:00E
- Height above sea level: 3,700 feet.