Dr. Christine Rebecca Kisamba Mugerwa is the wife to the late Dr. Kisamba Mugerwa. The couple started the farm operations in the 1980s as the war in Luwero was being fought. That farm then evolved to have a commercial arm, Kikonda Enterprises. Today, Kikonda Enterprises is a shareholder in Oripler Foods. Ian Ortega, caught with up with Rebecca to hear her side of the story.
Ortega: Mama, what is the story of Kikonda? What is the history?
Mugerwa: It begun with my late husband, he wanted to be a member of Parliament. To be a member of Parliament, it’s usually from where you were born. He was born in this place. He decided that we should have a home. At his late parent’s home, his elder brother was living there. He needed to get a home of his own. Thus in 1980, we bought land here. There was no house. Just the land, and the farm started with us growing some coffee, bananas, sweet potatoes, and beans. All this was on a small-scale. At that time, it was also difficult to live here. It was during the war, so you couldn’t live here.
Ortega: You would only come to do the farming and leave?
Mugerwa: Yes, those were difficult years. Let me note, during that period, he was the only one coming. During that time, we had soldiers of all kinds, there were the Obote soldiers and then the Museveni soldiers. As a woman, it would be risky for me to move. Those days there was no reasoning. If a woman moved, the risk of getting raped was high. So, there was no reason for me to put myself in such a situation.
Ortega: And after the war, do you start showing up at the farm? When did you build the first house?
Mugerwa: First, originally the land was a Kibanja. We had to negotiate with the landlord to start owning the land, you know, get the actual title to be allowed to put on something permanent. So, we started buying the land in pieces. But it was still cumbersome because some of the land also would have squatters. You would buy the land, and then still must compensate the squatters.
Ortega: Have you dealt with the squatters now?
Mugerwa: You know the development in this country has been in such a way that originally you had these big landowners. Most people were bibanja holders. With modernity, that’s when people have transitioned to owning the land (buying from the landlords). And on some of the land where we have the title, we still have many squatters on. The only way we resolve this is when there’s a willing squatter, we compensate them, and we can take full charge of that land. It is getting difficult though, the squatters these days ask for a lot of money. It’s not sustainable.
Ortega: Tell me more…
Mugerwa: The good or bad thing is people these days no longer want to work. They have left bushes. But they will hold onto that land. They say, ‘it’s my land, I am not doing anything on it. But don’t touch it.
Ortega: Did you always have a passion for agriculture?
Mugerwa: Personally, I did. You can grow your own food. I love eating fresh things. In the context of Uganda, also when you get sick, it’s a risk. It’s best to really eat well and eat fresh food.
Ortega: When did Kikonda choose to go commercial?
Mugerwa: We had some education. We had seen what others had done in other countries. Think of people such as Ford to America. Those companies that start off with one person working hard and then handing over to another generation. We started the company to ensure that the products on the farm could be sold to Kikonda enterprises. In the early 90s, we incorporated. It should have been 1994.
Ortega: How has that journey been?
Mugerwa: The journey is rough. In Uganda, the situation is such that things are not straight-forward. There are always corners which you must go through. Mere registration of the company took time. With the demise of my husband, it means I have had to work much harder and try to sell this vision to the next generation. My vision is to now start a Foundation that will be entrusted with this whole work that we’ve dedicated our lives to. The Foundation will thus be going forward lease to Kikonda enterprises.