Speaker protests plot to turn Uganda Golf Club into kids park

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has revealed that he recently proposed suggestions to convert Uganda’s premier golf course into a children’s park.

The deputy speaker described the idea as short-sighted and damaging to the city’s urban landscape. 

Speaking yesterday, at the launch of this year’s Rwenzori Marathon preparations on Tuesday, Tayebwa recounted that certain people had floated the proposal to transform the golf club into recreational space for children. 

“Recently I saw some people proposing that we should give it away and they turn it into a children’s park. These are people who do not know what it means to hold 150 acres of green space in the middle of the city,” he said.

“Very few cities in the world have what we have here. We need to take advantage of that and invest heavily in sports”

The Uganda Golf Club, first laid out in Wandegeya Valley around 1907 before being relocated to Kitante, is widely regarded as one of Uganda’s oldest and most iconic golf venues. 

The 18-hole par-72 course stretches across roughly 150 acres, offering a lush green escape from Kampala’s bustling urban environment and serving as a rare, expansive open space within the city centre.

Over more than a century of existence, the golf club has hosted the prestigious Uganda Open and has been celebrated for its role in conservation efforts. 

It remains a cherished site for golfers and nature lovers alike, with its undulating fairways, tree canopies and the Kitante stream weaving through the valley.

Tayebwa, however, expressed disappointment at how the gold club has been abandoned.

He noted for instance that many Ugandan golfers have avoided the place because of dirty floods that run right through it.

“Some of us are not even playing there. And I am a member. Why? Instead of beautifying that course, we are channeling flood water into the course,” he said.

“Dirty water and sewage runs right through the middle of the course. And yet this is the only green space we have in the city.”

Tayebwa stressed the importance of sports tourism in the national economic growth strategy, which aims to expand the economy to $550 billion by 2040 by focusing on Agriculture, Tourism, Minerals and Science and Technology (ATMS).