Page 60 - October - December 2022 Edition

Historical buildings Jinja source - Luuk Eickmans

ARTICLE BY LUUK EICKMANS & IMAGES BY LUUK EICKMANS / BIKEVENTURES
Jinja resident, promoter of Jinja heritage and director of Cycling out
of Poverty Foundation and Bikeventures Bicycle Tours and Rentals.

Jinja is East-Africa’s Capital of Adrenaline. But Jinja however has another underexposed attraction: its
rich and unique heritage. Its history, its architecture, its palm trees waving in the lake breeze and its
streets lined with giant Mvule trees make Jinja City a gem well worth visiting.
There are many buildings in Jinja with a stunning architecture. But unfortunately, most Jinja residents pay
little attention to the beauty that the city holds and don’t value the heritage value. They rather want to
see skyscrapers been build, more tarmacked streets and more shopping malls. Over the years I have
seen a lot of buildings with beautiful features reminding us of its history being torn down and replaced
by new, modern and standardized and - honestly - boring buildings. And even though I do understand
the ambition of the youth to develop a prominent city, it has become my personal goal to encourage
fellow residents and visitors to embrace Jinja’s beauty and history and appreciate and conserve its rich
heritage before it is too late. I want to show that conserving a rich heritage past can go hand on hand
with developing a prominent, modern city.

Together with a befriended Historical Jinja fan, Tim Sliedrecht, I started the Historical Jinja Facebook
Group. This page is about collaboratively sharing, exploring, learning from, celebrating, and preserving
the history of Jinja and its historical sites still standing today. Everyone is free to contribute their photos,
memories, stories, experiences, insights, and discoveries in relation to Jinja's rich past. I also developed
the Jinja Historical Bicycle & Walking Tour with Bikeventures Tours and Rentals, geared towards exposing
the stories behind some of the most iconic features of the city.
Take for instance Amber Court Club. From the early 50s to the late 70s it was the place to be. One of Idi
Amin's most popular hangouts in Jinja and it once hosted Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Jinja in
1954 to commission the Owen Falls Dam. Amber Court Club was also home to Jinja's first public
swimming pool. Nowadays the pool with diving board only fills up when it rains, the snooker tables are
left abandoned, but when you walk around the Club you can still feel the splendor it once had. Many

58