Mbale City struggling to regain its lost glory

On June 26, 1906, the British Colonial State declared Mbale a township. By 1951, the town in the east had flourished, with Republic Street now lined with modern offices. Little wonder, when Uganda received its independence on October 9, 1962, the Mbale Municipal Council was the first town to be granted official status of an urban authority. 

Renowned as the cleanest town in East Africa, it came as little surprise when Apollo Milton Obote considered relocating Uganda’s capital from Kampala to Mbale, even laying a foundation stone for the President’s office at Mount Elgon’s Wanale…