Mulimira has been a driving instructor for 60 years

The rigour one has to go through to obtain a driving permit today is not as much as James Mulimira endured. Back in the late 1950s, when he was learning how to drive, the colonial masters made sure that he was as good a driver as any produced in England or Europe, before he was given a permit.
This gave precedence to the strictness the Uganda Police Force initially observed when one was tested for proficiency in driving at the Motor Vehicle Testing Centre in Naguru before they could be given a permit. “I had to prove myself when I put in a request to start running a driving institute,” the 84-year-old Mulimira recounts, adding, “I can tell you that driving is an art and however much you are taught how to drive, you cannot be as good as someone who naturally has the art.”
For him, it was a matter of adding skill to the art and he impressed the white teachers. He was a quick learner and it did not matter how many times he had to be put to the test. In trying to check his skills more times, the teachers were observing his patience, never mind that there were not as many drivers on the road at the time as is the case today.

Becoming a skilled driver
His dream, on completing his Junior Three at Namukozi Secondary School in 1952, was to become self-employed. As a young person, he had been exposed to menial jobs. One of the jobs, which he confesses he did not like much, involved sand mining in Katambwa (about 12 miles on Entebbe Road).
“The job was tedious and called for many hours and for a youngster, this was way too demanding considering the pay that was being offered.”
His employer, Elisa Sserunkuuma, first taught him the basics in driving. “I learnt from Sserunkuuma that driving requires a lot of discipline. From the British, I learnt that one had to be dressed smartly before they entered and ignited a car. A driver had to pay attention to a formal process around starting a car; the hand brake first, then engage the first gear and lastly, ignite the engine. These days I see many drivers do things in reverse and I wonder how they get to drive smoothly. So much has changed.”
Whenever he boarded a car, he was always keen to observe the self-restraint the driver had. Many had been taught by the British too. Whereas he had also learnt how to drive, the observations fortified his skills. At the time, he worked at Kampala Technical School, a garage that did motor mechanics work.
There, he learnt how to fix cars. In addition, the more senior, and certainly older mechanics, would take him along whenever they went road testing the cars they had fixed.

Starting his own driving school
It was at the garage that he got the idea of starting a driving school. “I thought of a name that would suit my driving school, and I decided on Mityana Driving Institute to remind me of my home district.”
He enjoyed goodwill from his colleagues who had been in the trade for some time and had a network of many clients. They gladly recommended their customers to have their children trained by Mulimira’s institute. “The first contacts were crucial in getting my driving school on a smooth take-off in business. Unlike the average driving school, I chose to call mine an institute because beyond simply teaching driving, I imparted discipline.”
He has shared qualities of honesty, patience, and observation, among others, with all his students over the years, as a reminder that driving is a lot more than steering the wheel and engaging gears. “When you are disciplined, your skills are self-marketed. That is why nothing has given me more pleasure and satisfying memories than teaching responsible drivers. It makes me happy knowing that out there are drivers who have respect for other road users and can perhaps teach a thing or two to their children.”
Mulimira shares his shock at the impatience and lack of etiquette of today’s drivers. He cannot comprehend why they hoot immediately traffic lights signal them to move, which stresses the drivers in front of them. The veteran driver is irked by drivers who openly hurl insults at fellow motorists, even for minor offenses. In his opinion, older road users should have a cordial relationship and be exemplary to younger road users.

A life well lived
His house is an old but neatly kept, with a well-maintained compound. He shows me to his garage where he keeps one of his vehicles, an old white Corona. He has more or less retired and has since removed the signage for Mityana Driving Institute.
He expresses happiness that he and his wife, Mariam Nayiga, have grown grey together and are still in love. Their sitting room is dotted with some of their youthful photos, which they point out, joking about their youth when they when they were a beautiful couple.
“I have retired to training people privately, especially those who have been told about my unique driving skills and tutorship,” the smiley old hand says as he digs into his old documents, among which are his first driving permit, which he got on January 26, 1957. It is old and with many dog ears.

His good works

Mulimira’s students have ranged from the not-so-known to the well-known, such as, the Vice President, Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi and Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo. And his good deeds precede him. In Bukoto, where he lives, a zone – Mulimira zone – was named after him. Abbey Lutaaya, one of the area residents, says Mulimira has a heart of gold.
“He partly raised my brother, Philly Bongoley Lutaaya (deceased Uganda musician). He was a friend of my father and when Philly joined Kololo Senior Secondary School, he offered to look after him.”
The Lutaaya family is originally from Kasaka, in Gomba District, and they were grateful Mulimira took in Philly when he began his studies in the city. “He was such a quiet young man,” Mulimira says of Lutaaya, adding, “It surprised me when he ended up a musician. He always preferred to stay in his room, reading.”
He points to a colonial boys’ quarter with rusty iron sheets, in which Lutaya lived. “It is good to be good to people. The blessings will be come back to you. I was good to people and that is why they honoured this zone with my name.”