In Luganda one of Uganda’s local languages Entebbe means chair or seat a name the town was given to perhaps emphasizetheseat of the local Buganda chief judge in the area. Christened Entebbe the town has demonstrated its name true in the years gone by to this present day.
Entebbe was the first administrative seat of the British Protectorate government in the 1900s up until the period that ushered in Uganda’s independence in 1962. It’s host to the landing site of Uganda’s first catholic missionary brothers Amans and father Mon Ample Lourdel with a church now built at Kigungu in memory.The announcement of King George’s death and Queen Elizabeth II as heir to the throne found her at Entebbe International Airport in 1952.
In July 2016 the Entebbe rescue was commemorated 40 years later with a visit by the Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahua brother to the late Lt Col Yonatan Netanyahu a causality of the rescue operation on 4 July 1976.This globally renowned Entebbe rescue saved about 100 hostages from a group of Palestinian and German militia. The town presently hosts the office and residence of Uganda’s head of state and the Country’s only international Airport located by the beautiful shores of Lake Victoria.
Besides history this town offers interesting tourist sites for exploration like, the botanical gardens, Uganda’s Wildlife Education Center, Mabamba Wetland Sanctuary and access to Ngamba Island to see the orphaned Chimpanzees. Entebbe is also a pathway to the unspoiled Ssese Island on Lake Victoria, a good place for a getaway to rest from the daily hassle and buzz of life. The town is indeed a seat and more to that a pathway to things worth treasuring.