Kololo Hill
Uganda United Kingdom

Kololo Hill

by Neema Shah

Summary

In 1972, Ugandan Asians are given just ninety days to leave the country under President Idi Amin’s expulsion order. For Asha and Pran, newly married and working to secure their future, the decree means abandoning the family business and the life they have built. Pran’s mother, Jaya, must also leave the home she has known for decades. As violence escalates in Kampala and people begin disappearing, the family faces an uncertain journey to Britain, where refuge does not necessarily mean belonging.

Arriving in a country that feels unfamiliar, they must rebuild their lives while carrying the emotional weight of everything they have lost. But their struggle is complicated by a devastating secret surrounding their expulsion—one that threatens to fracture the family just when they need one another most.

Moving between the green hills of Kampala and the terraced streets of London, Kololo Hill explores displacement, family loyalty, and the meaning of home. Inspired by the history of Uganda’s Asian community and the author’s own family heritage, this moving novel reveals how political upheaval can reshape lives across generations.

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Neema Shah
Neema Shah

Neema Shah is a British novelist and marketing professional who lives in London. Her parents and grandparents left India to build new lives in East Africa before her family eventually settled in the United Kingdom. Their experiences of migration and belonging helped inspire her interest in stories about cultural identity, displacement, and family history. Kololo Hill, published in 2021, is her debut novel. Drawing on her grandmother’s stories and the history of Uganda’s Asian community, Shah explores the 1972 expulsion and its lasting impact on families forced to start again elsewhere. The novel was shortlisted for the Bath Novel Award and the DGA First Novel Prize. Shah also works as a writing mentor, helping other writers develop their work and understand the publishing industry.

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Published
2021
Author
Neema Shah