The city was founded in 1901 by British settlers. It was planned under colonial rule in 1948 by
Ernst May, German architect and urban planner. May also designed the urban planning scheme for Kampala, creating what he called "neighbourhood units". Estates were built for the ruling elite in many parts outside the centre city. This led to the area's '
slum clearance' which displaced more than 1,000 residents in the 1950s. In 1954, the construction of the
Owen Falls Dam submerged the
Ripon Falls. Most of the "Flat Rocks" that gave the area its name disappeared under water as well. Both the
Baganda on the western side and the Busoga on the eastern side of the Nile called the area "the stones" which is "ejjinja" in both languages. The name "Jinja" derives from this. A description of what the area looked like can be found in the notes of
John Hanning Speke, the first European to lay eyes on the
source of the Nile: Though beautiful, the scene was not exactly what I expected, for the broad surface of the lake was shut out from view by a spur of hill, and the falls, about twelve feet deep and four to five hundred feet broad, were broken by rocks; still it was a sight that attracted one to it for hours. The roar of the waters, the thousands of passenger fish leaping at the falls with all their might, the fishermen coming out in boats, and taking post on all the rocks with rod and hook, hippopotami and crocodiles lying sleepily on the water, the ferry at work above the falls, and cattle driven down to drink at the margin of the lake, made in all, with the pretty nature of the country—small grassy-topped hills, with trees in the intervening valleys and on the lower slopes—as interesting a picture as one could wish to see." Jinja was one of the Ugandan cities affected by the
Uganda–Tanzania War of 1978–1979. After the
Fall of Kampala to the coalition of the
Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) and the
Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), Ugandan President
Idi Amin initially fled to Jinja, where he attempted to regroup the remnants of the
Uganda Army (UA). According to journalist Nelson Bwire Kapo, Amin even proclaimed Jinja the new capital of Uganda, though he soon retreated to
Arua, and from there went into exile. Elements of the local Uganda Army garrison, notably the Eagle Colonel Gaddafi Battalion, remained in the city, reportedly engaging in drunken behavior, harassment, and killings of civilians. However, most soldiers eventually deserted and left Jinja. On 22 April 1979, the TPDF and their UNLA allies
assaulted Jinja, occupying the city after encountering little resistance. The remaining UA troops mostly fled, and Jinja's civilian residents greeted the TPDF-UNLA force with cheers. The operation was accompanied by some looting in the city. Following the end of hostilities, Tanzanian officers reportedly used Jinja as a hub to transport stolen goods from Uganda to
Mwanza, including cars, tons of coffee, large amounts of gasoline, and war materiel.
Population during the 2000s The national census of 2002 estimated Jinja's population to be 71,213 of which 36,325 were males and 34,888 were females. In 2010, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) estimated the population at 82,800. In 2011, UBOS estimated the population at 89,700. In 2014, the national population census put the population at 72,931 However, the Municipality Authority contested the recent census of 2014, saying it under-counted Jinja's population. According to the 2014 national population census data, Jinja is the largest metropolitan area in the Jinja District and the 14th-largest metropolis in the country. ==Economy==