After losing land fraudulently, actor Muwawu found a new estate that meets all his needs
Stage and screen actor Isaac Muwawu’s Nabigira Estate, named after his mother, lies on one and a half acres. PHOTOS/EDGAR R. BATTE
What you need to know:
The actor had initially built a house on land his father had acquired in Kikoni, Makerere. However, it did not have a land title and subsequently became contentious, leading to a court case and an injunction on the land and his house was destroyed.
Two houses stand side by side; one a relic from the colonial times and another a more modern home. The estate belongs to veteran stage and screen actor Isaac Muwawu. Muwawu explains that the old structure was his mother’s home and he purposefully bought the next plot and built his home there to be close to his mother.
“When my father went to study at Oxford University, we were toddlers, so our mother who was a health worker at Mityana Hospital used her meagre income to put up this house. Unfortunately, she died in 1974 following a dog bite because at that time there was no treatment for rabies. The house was abandoned because at that time I had joined Senior One and was living with my father who had since returned to Uganda and lived within Makerere University where he had started lecturing,” he recounts.
The big loss
The actor had initially built a house on land his father had acquired land in Kikoni, Makerere. However, it did not have a land title and subsequently became contentious, leading to a court case and an injunction on the land and his house was destroyed.
Coming to terms with this loss, he set his sight on Seeta because at this time, landowners started selling their land and many people kept expressing interest in acquiring the family plot. Instead of selling off the old homestead, Muwawu decided to buy more land and expand the estate his mother had started in Seeta Village in Busukuma on Gayaza Road.
Currently, he owns one and a half acres on which he built the family home named Nabigira Estate, after his mother. “The truth is, I wanted to build a three-bedroom house to cater for girls, boys and then one for us, as parents. I built the house at a time when I was fed up with renting because my income was not regular, yet I had a family to take care of and make sure they lived a comfortable life. I started building a home even if it was not my dream home. It was what I could afford at the time,” he narrates.
Future plans
The veteran thespian levelled the land, planted grass, trees, flowers and other plants. “Developing the land is still a work in progress because it is a big chunk. Every time I get an idea, I share with my wife and family ideas on how to implement it,” he says. We sit under one of the trees for the chat as we enjoy some juice and later the sweet jackfruit, which as I learn from my host, is in plenty and available all year round.
Adjacent to the compound, are gardens on either side, with matooke, jackfruit, avocado and sweet bananas. Somewhere on the side-lines of the old home, is an outdoor traditional kitchen from which a mixed aroma of local food wafts.
Muwawu has a pine tree project on the lower side of the land then coffee on part of the upper section. Those are the projects that keep him occupied these days. Although he loves acting Muwawu says it would take a good reason to get him to leave home. The actor is famous for being part of big films such as Queen of Katwe, dramas such as Centre 4 and a host of local theatre productions from as far back as the late 1970s.
A collector, many of the works are documented and kept on Video Home System (VHs) analogue tapes that are kept as part of memorabilia in his living room. He says it is part of his archives to show to the grandchildren and arts lovers that he did the arts with love, and duly contributed to the hey days of stage theatre before he made a transition to screen acting.
Empty nest
Just when Muwawu was growing to love the house, suddenly he was faced with a new stage in his life; his children leaving to start their own lives. One of his daughters lives in London, one has just returned from Lebanon while his son is married. The only upside of this development is that he now has grand children who visit and bring life to the normally quiet home.
When the grandchildren are not around Muwawu, his wife and house help only use part of the house, because at their age, they do not need much. “If I were to build another house, it would be rentals to earn us an income. But right now I love the way my home is. Because I love green, I planted enough trees and flowers in my spacious compound and I no longer need to go out to Sheraton Kampala Hotel gardens to relax like we used to,” he further explains.
In the compound, there are seats where he often sits with friends to unwind over a beer and reminisce about the past. Otherwise, he will sit in his house which has a mini bar with shelves full of an array of recognisable whiskies, brandies, gin, and beer.
