KAMPALA NIGHTLIFE BEATS NAIROBI

Why Kampala nightlife is better

By Paul Amoru

Stand anywhere in the heart of Nairobi, and throw a stone to any direction, even with your eyes closed. Chances are that it will land on a pub.

Nairobi nightlife however lacks the lustre of Kampala in spite of its casinos, countless nightclubs and fast-food outlets at the city centre.

A huge nude picture of an African woman slums you in the face right at the entrance of club Sound, just in the heart of Nairobi.

Loud music and giggles of women faintly heard at the background.

And the huge leather sofas strategically place in dark corners – are the obvious features any new comer will notice.

But sex workers in the city centre are not having it easy.
A Nairobi sex worker confessed to this writer in an interview that sometimes she needs as many as 10 customers a day in order to survive.
Ruth who preferred not to use her real name claimed the police demand free sex in exchange for “dropping charges” - and she plans to relocate to West lands and Kilimani areas.
All the same, Nairobi ladies have little sense of fashion. You must have noticed how they dress - branded Polo T-shirts, except a few clad in tight tops, jeans and Wellington boots.

But come over to Kampala and class will smack you right in the face. You will see babes dallying about with juicy boobs wrapped in little threads to reveal the cleavage.

Kampala ladies want to appear educated. Even the one who has barely gone beyond primary seven will try her best to pose as a university student.

As men dig deeper into their wallets in frantic effort to demonstrate capacity, the ladies on the other end will go any length to display elegance.

Ladies, who choose to stay naïve to these realities, end up isolated and conveniently shunned by men.

At one of the city pubs, a slim and gorgeous looking Brenda who was on a company t-shirt scoffed at me when I braved her.

“Hey, give me a break. Why should it matter what I choose to wear? None of your business,” she thundered back.

She quickly turns to her glass and takes an extravagant sip before beginning to puff away as her man friend watched in silence.

Next on my right was another couple kissing freely but I noticed the lady was utterly intoxicated.

The interior of most Nairobi clubs are crammed with tables and cautioned metallic seats.

Its like folks just get there to buzz and drink, every table accommodating four to five people.

Women have such sharp and untameable appetite for the brown bottles.

But in Kampala heavy drinking and smoking is still synonymous with sex workers.

Guzzling too much alcohol may be pardoned but not the sight of a young woman puffing away in public.

“Over my dead body, I cannot tolerate a smoking woman. Not once, it is a taboo where I come from,” explained Joseph who hails from the Luo community in northern Uganda.

World Health Organisation Global Status Report on Alcohol last year rated Kenya and Uganda among the countries with highest unrecorded alcohol consumption.

Away from the heart of Nairobi you won’t escape the loud downtown bars.

Sanitation is appalling as stench from sewage will follow you up in the balconies.

Towards River road, you won’t miss the sight of drunk adolescence paired with sex workers and faintly bothered about who else is passing by.

The women offer what they call “catching a quick one” as men part with about Sh20 just to touch and feel the women.

Curious but unable to engage them in anyway, I just ogled at the scene and moved on.

Bar verandas downtown also serve as places of convenience where people answer to nature’s call at will.

One guy nearly peed on my legs, I was still feeding my eyes and he emerged from the middle of nowhere already holding his gadget.

He brushed against my shoulder and unleashed the load in his bladder, I scorned at him and he got mad; “what’s wrong with you? Don’t you pee?” he roared.

Surprisingly, sex workers use the same facility to offer the much-needed services in total defiance of the oozing stench of human waste.

Most of these people are poor and so have chosen the life they can afford which has now driven them into drug addiction.

Kampala may not boast of bars strewn all over, but it is not shy of its organised and vibrant nightclubs.

Jokers Sports Bar on Buganda road is a nice place on Friday evenings with young people full of energy and life. You can challenge others to a game of pool or dance to the latest tunes on the dance floor. You can also catch champions’ league and premier league action on giant screens.

Unlike Kampala, Nairobi has struggled with a long history of insecurity, which crippled its nightlife. Even today, you can’t swagger alone on certain streets and get away safe.

Nightlife in Kampala been segmented to serve specific niche interests.

For example, at Viper Room club, every Wednesday is ladies night.

“It’s thrilling, I sleep and dream Wednesday night,” Judith from a private university in Kampala exclaimed.

“I love the whole idea of free entrance, and cheap of even free beer from men,” she explained.

Judith said every Thursday is campus night at the same club, and “you only need to produce a university identity card”.

On Friday is variety night at Club Silk. This night is for general happiness. The crowd and the dimly flickering disco lights would make it impossible to trace a chic trying to avoid you.

Then Saturdays are for oldies night. The old folks get to re jog their memories of the sweet old days.
Byaruhanga who appeared to be in his late 50s said; “It is like a trip back to the halcyon days when the deejay unleash my classical lyrics”.

On Sundays is soul night groove at Ange Noir Disco Club but Club Obligato goes for African night.

But Okecho who runs a phone shop says “Nairobi only gets to the climax on weekends”.

I visited Verandah, a night club in Nairobi at around 1am and it was all packed with revellers. Large decent dance floor - and long stools arranged at the corners.


Like in many clubs in Nairobi, the deejay kept mixing songs from every community; Kikuyu, then Akamba tunes and before you know it, you are already dancing the Luo beats.

But Moses from the University of Nairobi said the clubs lacked creativity.

“They don’t just offer what I want. It is all dull- the students may need to experience something different”, he expounded.

But Michael whom I met at hotel 6080 had a different opinion of Nairobi nightlife.

He said live performance gets exciting every Friday featuring artists like; Tony Nyandundo and Mike Rua.

“These guys inject in some flare. I like the wild crowd,” he added.

The other blend is the strip dancers in places like Liddo’s and Supper Mambo. The audience here is very mature.
Theme nights at Carnival which sometimes features Akamba night, Michael’s favourite.

“That’s all I expect from Nairobi nightlife, locals’ love- bongo flava music and RnB,” he chuckled while patting me on the back.


Michael who has also been to Kampala several times said mobility in Nairobi is not pocket friendly.

Holding my arms firmly he said; “Sometimes I spend Sh600 connecting from one club to another, I hate it man,”

But in Kampala “Bodaboda” cyclists are allowed to operate at the city centre until midnight.
It costs you like 20 bob to connect from one pub to another.

Nairobi also boasts of Karaoke nights common at joints like Harry's Bar, Grand Regency, Jockey Pub and Safari Bar.

Budding local artists showcase the rising star in them amidst wild shouts from the ecstatic female audience.

Most of these places offer a choice of cuisines, busy bar, and reggae with live music and theme nights.
Cover charge ranges from Sh280 to 1000, depending on the attraction for the night.

Wednesday night is Rock night. Saturday night is Bombay night and Sunday is 'Soul night' with beats from the 80's.

Nightlife could be good food for the soul - emotionally and even physically. Never mind even if you're not partaking of the delightful fruits of sin -boozing, dancing.

Alfred, a reporter in Nairobi said nightlife is not all about drinking and dancing.

To the contrary, he added; “it is in the bars that you get to network with people who matter”.

He said most of his friends prefer to discuss business plans in the bars.

Nightlife is also offering income to so many people who other words would be starving.

James, a security guard in Nairobi said he once lived in a family financially supported by a dancing girl.

"I know many of them, and they all have the same story to tell: taking up the dancing job to support the family because there is no male member to earn a livelihood for them," he says.

Bar dancers are despised in Nairobi and even Kampala.

But there are thousands of dancers, barmaids, waiters and bouncers including other staff attached to bars across most towns in Uganda and Kenya.

Nightlife could be foreign in east Africa but it is now a potential hub for employment and tax revenue.