How 76-year-old developed trading centre on his own

A 76-year-old man has for two decades developed a trading centre on his own, without soliciting any financial contribution from the community.

Mr Joseph Byakatonda was born on May 25, 1947 in Natonko Village, Goma Division, Mukono Municipality, Mukono District, where he has lived for his entire life, making him among the oldest residents in the area.

The resident, who currently runs a boutique among other businesses, is largely credited for setting up a taxi stage in Nabusugwe Trading Centre that sees 20 taxis ply the Nabusugwe-Kampala route on a daily basis. Prior, travellers from Nabusugwe had to walk to Namugongo from where they boarded a taxi  to Kampala.

“I am a businessman who always went to Kampala twice a day, but it was challenging for me. So, I spoke to [the] Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (Utoda) and worked out plans to have taxis connect to Nabusugwe,” Mr Byakatonda said in an interview.

This narrative was corroborated by Mr Kato Kiyaga, the chairperson of Nabusugwe taxi stage.

“Mr Byakatonda wanted to grow his boutique business, but faced transport challenges, especially travelling from Nabusugwe to Kampala about twice on a daily basis,” Mr Kato said, adding, “He then approached the late Ssalongo Mutebi Kavi, who was the chairman of the taxi stage in Namugongo, and asked that a similar stage be extended to Nabusugwe and his request was granted in 2007.”

According to Mr Kato, Mr Byakatonda was a signatory to the memorandum with Utoda.

“Initially, transport by taxi from Nabusugwe to Kampala was Shs750, but it is currently Shs4,000,” Mr Inani Buga, a taxi tout at Nabusugwe Trading Centre, said.

Mr Byakatonda attributed the development of Nabusugwe to his humble upbringing by his grandmother who bequeathed him more than three acres of land. Despite giving half of the land   to his children, he remains the biggest landowner in the area, according to  Mr Anatoli Kalyango, a land broker.

Mr Kalyango estimated Mr Byakatonda’s land to currently cost between Shs450m and Shs500m. The septuagenarian, however, said no decimal of it is up for sale at any price.

Mr Kalyango said Mr Byakatonda is a man of many firsts, including being the first man to operate a shop which “sold panadol and chloroquine that helped people in the absence of a health centre at Goma Division.”

Mr Byakatonda, however, said his decision to sell drugs often put him in trouble with authorities because of his lack of requisite qualifications.

“I stopped in Primary Seven after which I enrolled for a ‘salesman course’ in Wabigalo, Mityana District in 1968,” he said.

Mr Byakatonda is also credited for being the first person to use electricity in Natonko Village in 1962.

“My grandmother told me that compensation was going to only be given to residents in whose coffee gardens the power lines passed. I grew coffee but unfortunately, the power lines didn’t pass in my garden. Nevertheless, I was the first to use electricity in the area,” he said.

He said his current shop was set up in 1974 using proceeds got from selling sorghum and 30 pigs.

“I went to Mukono, fully-stocked my shop and received customers from Namugongo and Kireka; however, it was robbed at least three times by Idi Amin soldiers, Obote I, Binaisa and Obote II soldiers,” he recalls.

On his vast chunk of land, most of which until the mid-2000s was undeveloped, are nearly 100 business and residential units.

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