The origin of Stage ya Bakyala in Kampala

It was a Monday morning, at about 7:30am I hopped into a taxi and my destination was Kazinga village, which is about two to three kilometers from Bweyogerere Trading Centre near Namanve.

Because I was not sure of the exact stage where to alight from, when the taxi reached Kireka, I requested the conductor, to drop me at Darling Factory.

The conductor communicated to the driver to drop me at ‘Stage ya Bakyala’ (literally meaning women’s stage), I quickly corrected him that I was going to Darling. He replied: “Yes Madam, that is the place”.

My neighbour, a woman, quickly offered to help and said she would show me the place because that is where she was to alight from, so I laid-back.

But the conductor and the driver started joking about it. So I ignored them since some Good Samaritan had offered to help.

Because I was told the place is just a few kilometres after Bweyogerere, when we passed the trading centre, my concentration became so high at least not to miss the Darling Factory signpost.

Just looking on both sides of the road, I noticed women walking in groups of three to five towards the direction we were going.

Alas! I did not see a sign-post but the number of women walking towards a certain factory increased, and then my neighbour alerted the driver that she was getting out at the next stage.

So I knew I had reached my destination and there was Darling Factory.

“Nyabo bakyala bano obalaba. Eno ye stage yamwe,” the conductor said, meaning you can see your fellow women, Madam. This is your stage. I smiled and thanked him.

Kazinga village
Kazinga village located between Bweyogerere and Namanve is one of those areas which used to be so secluded along the Jinja-Kampala highway.

To many, it would pass as part of Bweyogerere or Namanve; while to others, it never really mattered since there were no significant features about the place.

Mr Diriisa Nsubuga, the area local council chairman recalled: “Kazinga never used to be a busy area and it had few houses around.”

Save for a small road going to a herbalist called Livingstone Kiggo, which was later christened ‘Stage ya bakyala’ by the commuter taxi drivers and conductors because of the number of women who alighted from there.

“It’s alleged that Kiggo used to get portions for women and because of their effectiveness, it’s the reason many people flocked the place,” Nsubuga said.

He added: “Starting from 10am to 12 noon were the busiest hours, many used to alight from this stage going to Kiggo’s place. Everyday his home would be filled up by more than 50 women.”

Darling emerges
Unfortunately, in April 2011, Kiggo died. According to Nsubuga, Kiggo’s sudden death reduced the number of women who used to visit his shrine.

Some factories were established and these included Katibisma-plastic, which manufactures plastic products, Bakresa’s factory which produces Azam baking flour and Darling--female hair extensions, which is just next to the late Kiggo’s shrine.

Coincidentally, Darling Factory’s operations required services with a female touch--this explains the massive numbers employed at the factory.

A source from Darling, who preferred not to be named, said the company has created jobs for about 2,000 people, 80 per cent of whom are women.

This explains the big numbers of women who alight and trek every morning to this stage, going to work at Darling.

Thus this stage has continued to reserve its ‘Stage ya bakyala’ name. Mr John Lwere, a carpenter at African Furniture, said: “Every morning the commuter taxis still drop women at that same stage, while others foot from Seeta, Bweyogerere and other neighbouring villages to come and work at Darling.”

The area has attracted a lot of business activities. Apart from Darling, there are several factories both big and medium sized plus some other commercial retail businesses which have been established in this area.

Growth
“What used to be a bushy and dormant village is slowly getting industrialised with factories like Steel and Tube, Crest Tank and a couple of warehouses for mobile phone companies established,” Lwere said.

There are three petrol stations operating in the area; one (ENGEN) just next to Darling, another opposite (OiLibya) and another one, Lead Oil, is being established a few metres towards Namanve.

The place also has a big hardware shop, clinics and motor vehicle garage, among others.

The beehive of activities, plus others coming up in the area, gradually is linking Kazinga to Namanve and Bweyogerere Trading Centre.

“It’s such an overwhelming situation especially with security because of the growing population,” Nsubuga said.

Nsubuga added that because of these activities, the area, which was sparsely populated, now has over 50,000 households up from the last census the local council did in 2008 which stood at 8,000.

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