How Kampala got its name

Before the arrival of the British, the Buganda King, the Kabaka had chosen the area that was to become Kampala as one of his favourite hunting grounds. The area was made up of numerous rolling hills and lush wetlands. It was an ideal breeding ground for various antelopes - particularly the Impala. When the British arrived they called the area the Hills of the Impala.

The word Impala is used to describe a particular species of antelope (Aepyceros melampus) common across Africa - the word's origin is likely to have been from the Zulu language in South Africa. It was then adopted into the English language by the British. The language of the Buganda, Luganda, adopted many 'English' words from Buganda's interaction with the British.

In this case, the word 'impala' was adopted and the Baganda translated the "...hill of the Impala" as Kasozi ka Empala - Kasozi means 'hill' in Luganda, ka means 'of' and empala means 'impala'. When spoken in Luganda the 'ka' and 'empala' are pronounced together, as one word - Kaampala, and soon whenever the Kabaka went hunting the Baganda would say Kabaka agenze e "ka Empala" - "The Kabaka has gone to Ka'mpala". The name Kampala soon stuck.

Taken from the Wikipedia.