Innocent Kakama on his graduation at Bishop Stuart University on October 25. PHOTO/RAJAB MUKOMBOZI
I nnocent Kakama, 33, a cook at Mbarara High School, last month graduated from Bishop Stuart University (BSU) in Mbarara with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Statistics. He was among the 2,035 students who graduated in different disciplines at the institution.
Kakama’s story shows resilience, determination, and hard work that gives hope to every Ugandan.
A resident of Rutaho Village, Kajuzya Parish in Nkungu Sub-county, Kazo District, Kakama dropped out of school in 2004 after failing to get fees. “I finished my primary education at Migina Primary School in 2004 and scored Aggregate 18. My father told me he did not have money to push me to the next level. He told me it would not make sense to take me to a secondary school and not finish,” he recalls.
Mr Kakama decided to go to Mbarara Town to train in a car garage and acquire mechanical skills but things did not go as planned.
“After two years of training in a garage, I knew at least I would have the skills to earn and start a better life but the garage owner started charging us money. We were not earning,” he says.
“My colleagues and I relocated to working on the streets but town authorities also chased us. I lacked money for rent and food,” he adds. In 2008, Mr Kakama’s brother-in-law called him to Kampala for a job.
“I found the job he had got for me involved looking after cattle in Kitara, Katabi Division in Entebbe Municipality. It was zero-grazing and they gave me a bicycle so I would use it to collect grass to feed the cows,” he says.
He was paid Shs30,000 per month but later he switched to working as a house help in the same area from 2011 to 2014, receiving Shs50,000 as monthly pay. In January 2015, Mr Kakama applied for a compound cleaning job at Mbarara High School but was instead employed as a cook starting on January 30, 2015. However, he remained unsettled because he at least wanted to have a Senior Four certificate.
“At times my friends would call me for opportunities because they knew I went to a garage and had a driving permit but most jobs required having a Senior Four certificate,” he explains. Mr Kakama’s dream of having a Senior Four leaver’s certificate started shaping up when he befriended students at Mbarara High School.
“I told the boys about my dream, and they were very supportive, I started sneaking into their discussions and they gave me their time. I would do my work as usual as a cook but would revise with them at night,” he shares. In 2018, Mr Kakama shared his dream with the school director of studies, Mr James Odongo, and asked if he could be allowed to sit promotional exams with Senior Three students.
Starting the journey “The director of studies told me he would discuss my request with the school head teacher, Mr Benon Twinomujuni. I was then allowed to sit for exams, I emerged 364th out of 366 students,” he explains.
Kakama, after receiving his results, took them to the director of studies. “I told him I wanted to go to an adult education school but he told me to write a letter that he would present to the school board of governors and see if it would accept me to study from Mbarara High School,” he says. Later, the director of studies informed him that his request had been approved. In 2018, Kakama officially started his secondary education on a full school bursary and managed to score Aggregate 47.
“I was very happy with the performance, many people advised me that I go to an institution because they doubted I would raise money but I was determined to go to the university,” he says.
Mr Kakama said in 2019, he again went back to the head teacher, asking to be given another opportunity to join Senior Five, which was granted. He was given a full scholarship and was given a subject combination of History, Entrepreneurship, and Divinity (HED). “I told them at least I wanted an element of Mathematics in my combination, they refused and the director of studies said they would give me Sub Maths in my combination and I ended up with History, Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Sub Maths,” he says.
He said he worked very hard because he did not want to disappoint the school administration.
“I got 8 points during Senior Five promotional exams and was able to score 11 points at the end of Senior Six,” he shares. Mr Kakama’s next hurdle was how he would join the university, unsure of where he would get tuition. He went to Bishop Stuart University and applied for a government loan scheme under the Higher Education Student Financing Board (HESFB) to do a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Statistics.
“The university had allowed us to start studies before the list of those admitted under this scheme was released. When it was released I found my name was not there. I was disappointed. Where was I going to get Shs1.3 million per semester to complete my course? ” he wondered. He says an old boy and teacher at Mbarara High School, Mr Julius Tukunde, made fliers, explaining his plight, which attracted some Good Samaritans to contribute to his education “The old boys of Mbarara High School paid for me the whole first semester and then Palle Moeller Foundation came in with a full scholarship for three years, and that is how I managed to complete my studies,’’ Mr Kakama says.
During that time, he would walk more than six kilometres from Mbarara High School to the university until the school bought him a sports bicycle. Mr Kakama’s dream is now to get a better-paying job and also go for further studies.
“My prayer now is that I get a good paying job and go for a PhD. At Mbarara High School, I am now supervising the library but I still earn the salary of a cook [he prefers not to mention the amount] because I am not qualified for that job [librarian],” he says. Mr Kakama was born in 1991 in Rutaho Village, Kazuzya in Nkungu Sub-county, Kazo District. His parents are Mr John Baryamwisaki and Ms Keyadi Veleria.
WHAT THEY SAY
Mr Benon Twinomujuni, the former Mbara High School head teacher, one of those who supported Mr Kakama to go back to school, said he is happy because someone he supported is finally making it in life. “At first when students beat him in exams he was like giving up but I encouraged him. Even his colleagues were jealous of him because he was earning as a cook and at some time studying but I went and talked to them and even if any of them also wanted to go back to study we could allow him,” he says.
At his graduation, the University Chancellor, Ankole Diocese Bishop Sheldon Mwesigwa said: “We have many graduands that have performed excellently well but today one of the outstanding students to recognise is Mr Kakama. It is a statement that trust in God, hard work, and patience can help achieve that something you hope for in the future can happen.”
