Kabaka’s Palace

Population
6,000,000
Visit Period
Year-round
Famous for
Shopping

Few places in Kampala carry the emotional weight of Kabaka’s Palace, known locally as the Lubiri, on Mengo Hill. It is, at once, the official seat of one of Africa’s oldest surviving monarchies, a site of devastating political violence, and one of the most sobering historical stops on any Kampala itinerary. Where the Kasubi Tombs tell the spiritual story of the Buganda Kingdom and the Uganda Museum offers the broader national narrative, the Lubiri tells the story of power — who has held it, who has lost it, and the price paid along the way.

Where the Name “Mengo” Comes From

After succeeding his father Kabaka Muteesa I in 1884, Kabaka Mwanga II constructed the Lubiri in 1885 on a hill that had previously been known for the grinding stones, or emmengo, used by the Nvubu clan to grind herbal medicine and millet — giving the area its name, “Mengo.” Mwanga had taken the throne the year before at the age of 18 and admired the hill, known as Nkaawo, where these grinding stones were kept; he had them relocated so he could build his palace there instead. The palace would go on to serve as the primary royal seat for successive Kabakas of Buganda, anchoring the kingdom’s political and ceremonial life for well over a century.

Lubiri, also referred to as the Kabaka’s Palace, Mengo Palace, or Twekobe (“working together” in Luganda), is the official royal compound of the Kabaka, sitting on a sprawling four-square-kilometre site on Mengo Hill that overlooks the city and stands directly opposite the kingdom’s administrative seat, the Bulange. The two sites are connected by Kabaka Anjagala Road — known as the Royal Mile — a ceremonial route historically lined with candlenut trees symbolising the kingdom’s clans. The Royal Mile is famously lined with 52 trees, one representing each of Buganda’s clans, making the walk between the palace and parliament a living map of the kingdom’s social structure.

1966: The Battle That Changed Everything

The palace’s modern history pivots on one devastating event. In 1966, during what became known as the Buganda Crisis, Ugandan government forces under Prime Minister Milton Obote attacked the palace, forcing Kabaka Edward Mutesa II into exile. The assault was ordered by Obote and led by Colonel Idi Amin, then an army commander under Obote’s government, and after several days of fighting, Mutesa was forced to flee the country and live in exile in the United Kingdom. Mutesa II would go on to die in exile in London, never returning home alive.

What followed was even darker. The site suffered significant damage, and under Idi Amin’s regime from 1971 to 1979, parts of the palace grounds were converted into military barracks, including notorious underground torture chambers. The building was converted into an army barracks, while an adjacent site became the infamous underground prison and torture-execution chamber built by Amin in 1971. It would take decades, and the eventual fall of Amin’s regime, before the palace could begin its long road back to its rightful role.

The Idi Amin Torture Chambers: A Hard Truth Worth Confronting

For many visitors, the most haunting part of a Lubiri visit is the underground chambers — and their origin story is itself unsettling. The structure was not originally built as a prison. In the early 1970s, Israeli engineers designed the underground tunnel for Idi Amin, intended as an armoury for the safe underground storage of weapons. It later became a series of cells, originally built for use as an armoury and then repurposed as a torture chamber during Amin’s rule. Five cells make up the dungeon, which today serves as a sombre historical exhibit rather than an active military site.

Visiting the chambers is, by most accounts, a heavy but valuable experience. For visitors, the site offers a direct encounter with a painful chapter in Uganda’s past, far removed from the city’s more familiar markets, hills, and cultural landmarks. Reactions among visitors vary — some describe it as a haunting and essential history lesson, while others note that physical evidence within the chambers themselves is limited, leaving much of the impact to rest on the guide’s storytelling and the historical record. Either way, it remains one of the most discussed and debated stops on any Kampala city tour.

Restoration and the Monarchy’s Return

The monarchy of Buganda was restored in 1993, and the palace was returned to the kingdom. It was renovated in 1999 to host the wedding of the current Kabaka, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, marking a symbolic turning point from a site of trauma back toward one of celebration and continuity. Although renovated, the current Kabaka rarely resides at the palace due to its violent history, preferring a private residence elsewhere — a quiet but telling detail about how deeply the events of 1966 and the 1970s still shape the site’s identity today.

What You’ll See Inside the Grounds

A visit to the Lubiri blends royal tradition with difficult history, all within a single compound.

The eternal fire (Kyoto Ggombolola): A perpetual fire, lit twice daily by the Nakisinge clan, symbolises the Kabaka’s enduring reign and is extinguished only upon a Kabaka’s death. This fire burns at the main gate and never goes out as long as the King is alive — one of the kingdom’s oldest customs, signalling to every visitor that the kingdom remains strong and its leader present.

The collection room: A room displaying royal photographs, regalia, and artifacts, including a vintage Rolls-Royce that once belonged to Mutesa II and remnants salvaged from the 1966 attack.

Twekobe, the main residence: A bright white, formally designed building constructed by Sir Edward Mutesa, who later became the first president of independent Uganda. The building houses the royal throne, the namulondo, and remains restricted to visitors — the palace tour takes place around the grounds rather than inside this residence.

The torture chambers: The underground dungeon described above, included as part of most guided tours.

Gardens and grounds: Visitors often note the wide variety of fruit trees on the property, along with a small art shop selling bark-cloth paintings and other crafts created by local artisans.

Practical Information for Visitors

Location: Mengo Hill, in the Mengo suburb of Kampala. It sits roughly 3 kilometres from the city centre along the Kampala–Masaka road and is accessible by public transport, taxi, or boda boda.

Opening hours: Open to tourists all year round, though it’s best to visit on weekdays, as weekends can get busy with larger numbers of visitors. Tours generally run during daylight hours.

Tour length: A typical guided tour lasts between 15 and 30 minutes, though many visitors spend closer to two hours exploring the wider grounds, the chambers, and walking sections of the Royal Mile.

Entrance fees: Reported pricing varies, but recent figures suggest international visitors pay around 50,000 Ugandan Shillings, foreign residents around 30,000 Shillings, and Ugandan citizens around 10,000 Shillings, with the fee covering both the palace grounds and the torture chambers. Note that some visitors report payments at the gate are card-only, so it’s worth confirming the accepted payment method before arrival.

Dress code: Modest clothing is recommended, ideally covering the shoulders and wearing long trousers or a skirt, in keeping with the respect expected at a royal and cultural site. As with the nearby Bulange, women are traditionally advised not to wear trousers when visiting Buganda cultural and royal sites.

Etiquette: Visitors are asked to be respectful inside the grounds — avoid shouting or running, and ask before taking photographs, since some areas of the torture chambers are kept quiet out of respect for those who died there.

Facilities: There are no restaurants or food stalls directly within the palace grounds, so it’s best to eat before or after your visit, with central Kampala offering plenty of dining options nearby. Parking is available on-site for those arriving by private vehicle.

Pairing the Palace With the Rest of Kampala

The Lubiri sits naturally at the centre of a Buganda heritage route through Kampala. Most visitors combine it with the Bulange, the Buganda Parliament building directly across the Royal Mile, where construction began in 1955 after Ssekabaka Mutesa returned from exile in Scotland with his own drawing of how he wanted it to look, with the building completed in 1958. From there, it pairs well with a visit to the Kasubi Tombs, the burial site of four Buganda kings, for a fuller picture of the kingdom’s royal history — and many travellers round out the day with a stop at the Uganda Museum for broader national context, or Nakasero Market for a taste of everyday Kampala life after a heavier morning of history.

For further background and official heritage listings, the Kampala Capital City Authority’s tourism portal provides details on the palace, Bulange, and Royal Mile as a connected historical circuit, while Wikipedia’s entry on the Lubiri offers additional historical detail on the site’s construction and turbulent twentieth-century history.

Why the Lubiri Deserves a Place on Your Itinerary

A visit to Kabaka’s Palace is unlike any other stop in Kampala. It is simultaneously a working royal residence steeped in centuries of tradition, a monument to one of the darkest chapters of Uganda’s modern political history, and a powerful symbol of a kingdom that has survived exile, occupation, and abolition to remain standing today. The eternal fire still burns at its gate. The Royal Mile still connects palace to parliament exactly as it always has. And the underground chambers remain open, deliberately, so that the history they hold is never forgotten. For travellers wanting to understand not just Uganda’s culture but its politics, resilience, and complicated twentieth century, the Lubiri is essential.

Ready to walk the Royal Mile and step into the story of the Buganda Kingdom? Explore our full range of Kampala city tours and let our local guides bring the history of Kabaka’s Palace to life.

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