A simple idea has catapulted Gamisha to world fame

When he started the Twakowa page on Facebook, Julius Gamisha could not have fathomed that it would grow so popular and garner such a large following. When the Facebook management contacted him, he was so awed, writes Anne M. Mpaulo

Julius Caesar Gamisha was born on July 7, 1985 at Mulago Hospital. He grew up in three different places. “In my childhood I was in Kireka, in my teen years in Naguru and the latter part of my life has been in Najeera. I have three sisters and three brothers,” he says.

He went to Nkumba Primary School in Entebbe for seven years. There was a lot of caning there; “We were just children but were flogged like cows and if this still goes on in schools, something should be done about it. That is no way to treat children,” he says sourly.

In S.1, Gamisha joined Namilyango College till S.6, after which he joined Makerere University and majored in Information Technology. “I have always been fascinated with technology. When I was a child, I was heavily influenced by science fiction movies like Star Wars and cartoons like Dexter’s Lab. These played a role in pointing me to computer science,” he intimates.

Gamisha is a certified computer programmer and works as a freelance web application developer and says although he works as an individual, he is also part of a team that builds advanced web applications and “software as a service” platforms.

“Sometimes people think that when you are into computers, you never had time to play as a child, but I played a lot; I actually played so much that I would lose track of time and my elder sisters had to come looking for me. I enjoyed playing kwiso bado (hide and seek) and “mummy and daddy”, he says mischievously.

Even though he was independent, he was close to his mother: “She used to carry me to bed whenever I fell asleep on the couch and sometimes I would feign sleep just to be carried; that ‘ride’ was the highlight of my day.” Gamisha has three major interests - computing and Internet, music and football and insists he is the best armchair footballer ever. Currently, he doesn’t know the state of his love relationship and says for Facebook, he would select the “it’s complicated” option.

“I knew about Facebook almost as soon as it was launched in 2004 when I joined Makerere University. The computer labs at the IT faculty ensured we were aware of any new developments on the tech scene, but I joined Facebook in mid 2006. I have 300 friends on the site.”

Twakowa is Luganda for “we got tired”. Gamisha toyed with the Twakowa idea at a time when there was a lot going on, especially the Kampala bombings and their aftermath, but his real inspiration came recently, a month ago, as he sat in the back seat in a taxi. There were two people next to him but they both squeezed aside so he could sit by the extreme window.

“Having gone through this particular situation a number of times, I decided to rant about it to the people that might be doing it. And Facebook provided the perfect platform. Twakowa is a page where Ugandans rant about irritating and annoying things in our daily lives. The page currently has 8,700 fans and about 300 join daily,” he says with pride.

One of the challenges he faces is monitoring the page. In the beginning, it was easy because he knew practically everyone who had joined. As more people got to know about the page, it grew rapidly. In just 15 days, the page had 5,000 fans and it was overwhelming even for him. He logs in a couple of times during the day to interact with the fans and administer the page.

“I didn’t think Twakowa would be such a big hit. It has been so huge that the Facebook management contacted me, expressing surprise at how fast the page had grown, given that it was from a third world country like Uganda, which has a low level of Internet penetration. I really feel honoured that I have done something so recognised,” he says with awe.

“As for my fans, I would like to thank them for their love and as soon as the page clocks 10,000 fans, I am going to throw a bash for them. I just hope the page keeps growing and stays relevant in giving people an outlet to rant. I know I will continue to play my part,” he adds.