Did You Know Who Gave Birth to Kampala North?
Thirty-eight years ago, 22 members received the Charter of the Rotary Club of Kampala North.
But our story did not begin with those 22 members alone.
Behind the scenes was another Rotary club — guiding the process, chairing our first provisional meeting and eventually sponsoring Kampala North into the Rotary family.
Do you know which club it was?
This Charter Night, we go back to 1988 and rediscover a fascinating Rotary family connection that many of us may never have known — or may simply have forgotten.
Did You Know Who Gave Birth to Kampala North?
As we celebrate Charter Night, we rediscover a Rotary family connection that may have faded from our collective memory.
Ask a Kampala North Rotarian when our club was chartered and someone in the room will probably know the answer.
6 August 1988.
Ask where we were chartered and perhaps someone will remember Fairway Hotel, Kampala.
But try another question:
Rotary Club of Kampala North?
How many of us would immediately know the answer?
It is a small detail buried in our history. Yet once rediscovered, it changes how we look at our beginnings.
We did not begin alone
The Kampala North story began in late 1987, when professionals and community leaders around Makerere University were invited to discuss establishing a new Rotary club in Kampala North.
But there was already a Rotarian helping that idea become reality: Rotarian Avitus Tibarimbasa of the Rotary Club of Kampala, who provided guidance during the months in which the new club was being formed.
Then came 22 February 1988.
The provisional Rotary Club of Kampala North held its first meeting at the Uganda Teachers Association Bat Valley building.
And who chaired that meeting?
Rotarian Robert Rutaagi — then President of the Rotary Club of Kampala.
Our historical record goes even further. It explicitly identifies the Rotary Club of Kampala as the club which sponsored the new club.
That makes RC Kampala more than simply another Rotary club with which Kampala North has shared fellowship over the years. It is part of our origin story.
Then Kampala North began finding its own feet
During the formation period, the provisional club elected its first leadership:
| President | Dr. Chris Kayonga |
| Vice President | Dr. Daudi Muduuli |
| Secretary | Stanley Sabiti |
Other members took responsibility for Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service, International Service and finance.
Service came before the Charter
Something remarkable happened even before Kampala North formally became a Rotary club.
It started thinking about service.
The provisional club had already identified projects including bus shelters along Kampala and Bombo Roads, support to PolioPlus vaccination centres in Makerere Kivulu and Bwaise, protection of community water springs and improving road safety for schoolchildren.
6 August 1988: The child joins the Rotary family
After months of preparation, the big day arrived.
On 6 August 1988, at Fairway Hotel in Kampala, the Rotary Club of Kampala North was formally chartered.
District Governor Abdul A. Lakha officiated. The Guest of Honour was Hon. Prof. George Kanyeihamba, representing Hon. Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda.
And 22 Charter Members formally received the club's Charter.
| Chartered | 6 August 1988 |
| Venue | Fairway Hotel, Kampala |
| Charter Members | 22 |
| First President | Dr. Chris Kayonga |
| District Governor | Abdul A. Lakha |
| Sponsoring Club | Rotary Club of Kampala |
And then the child grew up
Kampala North did not remain the fledgling club that RC Kampala helped establish.
From its original 22 Charter Members, the club grew to more than 90 members. Its service portfolio expanded dramatically.
Among its landmark initiatives was support to the Dental School at Mulago through a Global Grant worth nearly US$1 million, involving rehabilitation, equipment and capacity building.
Another was the Nkondwe Adopt-a-Community project, addressing education, healthcare, agriculture, economic empowerment and water supply.
Members of Kampala North also went on to serve Rotary beyond the club as District Governors, committee leaders and representatives at international Rotary forums.
And Kampala North helped others grow
Here the family story takes another interesting turn.
Our history records that Kampala North itself went on to play a role in nurturing Interact, Rotaract and Rotary clubs across Uganda.
We grew.
And we, in turn, helped others grow.
Does the family still remember?
Nearly four decades have passed since RC Kampala helped Kampala North take its first steps.
How many of today's Kampala North members know that story?
And how many members of RC Kampala today know that their club helped bring Kampala North into existence?
Perhaps those questions matter more than their answers.
Because institutions, like families, can remember dates while gradually losing the stories that give those dates meaning.
Charter Night gives us an opportunity to recover them.
Our story did not begin with us
Tonight, as we celebrate Kampala North, we honour the 22 Charter Members who received our Charter in 1988.
We remember Dr. Chris Kayonga and that first leadership team.
We celebrate the generations of Kampala North Rotarians who took what they inherited and built upon it.
But perhaps this Charter Night we should also look beyond ourselves and acknowledge another club:
They were there when the idea was taking shape.
They were there at our first provisional meeting.
And they sponsored us into the Rotary family.
Thirty-eight years later, Kampala North has a story and legacy of its own.
Source: History of the Rotary Club of Kampala North, RCKN Installation Magazine 2026.