Luzira

Place in Central Uganda, Uganda

00°18′06″N 32°38′42″E / 0.30167°N 32.64500°E / 0.30167; 32.64500Country

UgandaRegionCentral UgandaDistrictKampala Capital City AuthorityDivisionNakawa DivisionElevation

3,740 ft (1,140 m)

Luzira is a suburb of Kampala, the capital of Uganda. It is best known for the country's main prison, Luzira Maximum Security Prison, which has seen significant redevelopment thanks to the work of African Prisons Project, a charity based in the UK and Kampala.^[1]

Location

Luzira lies in Nakawa Division, one of the five administrative divisions of Kampala. It is located approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), by road, southeast of the central business district of Kampala.^[2] It is bordered by Butabika to the north, Mutungo and Kitintale to the northwest, Mpanga to the west, Port Bell to the south and an inlet of Lake Victoria to the east.^[3] The coordinates of Luzira are:0°18'06.0"N, 32°38'42.0"E (Latitude:0.301667; Longitude:32.644999).^[4]

Overview

Luzira is the name that the indigenous Baganda use to refer to the general neighborhood. Port Bell is the area where the landing pier is situated, at the tip of the peninsular into Lake Victoria, in the most southern part of the general Luzira neighborhood. Mpanga is the location of Uganda's maximum security prison, located in the western part of the general Luzira neighborhood. The central part of Luzira is mainly an industrial park, where most of the factories are located. The eastern part of Luzira township is mainly a middle-class residential neighborhood.^[3] Prehistoric artifacts dating back to around 1000 AD, have been uncovered at the site where the maximum security prison is located. This includes the famous Luzira Head, which is currently housed in the British Museum.^[5]

Luzira Maximum Security Prison

The prison, the largest penal institution in Uganda was designed with capacity of 1,700 inmates, but often houses close to 8,000.^[6] On 27 August 2014, the day of the 2014 national population census, the prison housed 6,336 people; 3, 373 were in the Luzira Upper Prison, 1,495 were in Murchison Bay Prison, and Kampala Remand Prison had 1, 040 inmates. The Luzira Women's Prison had 400 inmates and 28 children.^[7]

Points of interest

The following points of interest are found inside or near Luzira:

Luzira Maximum Security Prison, designed to house 1,700 but with population above 7,700 in April 2016, including the country's only death row.^[6]
Uganda Breweries Limited, a division of East African Breweries.
Quality Chemical Industries Limited, an antiretroviral drug factory.
Port Bell, which is located on the shores of Lake Nalubaale, handles both passenger and cargo traffic destined for Kisumu, Kenya, Mwanza and Musoma in Tanzania.
Butabika National Referral Hospital, Uganda's national psychiatric referral hospital with a bed capacity of 900. Located in the adjacent community called Butabika.^[8]

References

^ Kakembo, Freddie (5 June 2013). "When Luzira Maximum Security Prison is home". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
^ Globefeed.com (23 October 2016). "Distance between Uganda Post Office, Kampala Road, Kampala, Uganda and Luzira, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda". Globefeed.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
^ ^a ^b Google (23 October 2016). "Map of Luzira, Excluding Luzira Maximum Prison" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
^ Google (23 October 2016). "Geographical Coordinates of Luzira, Nakawa Division, Kampala, Uganda" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
^ "The Luzira Head". British Museum. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
^ ^a ^b Bagala, Andrew (25 April 2016). "Government revives plans to shift Luzira prison". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
^ Mudoola, Petride (2 September 2014). "Prisoners register for the national census". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
^ FOA (23 October 2016). "Butabika National Referral Hospital". Fortune of Africa (FOA). Retrieved 23 October 2016.