Thursday 13 December 2012

Nyakagyera Cave: Kabale’s historical site



The outside of Nyakagyera cave. The stony cave is the reason the district in which it lies was named Kabale.
Nyakagyera, the stone cave in Kabale, holds the history of the battles between Bakiga and the neighbouring tribes.

Nyakagyera cave and rock beneath Kabaraga (the highest point overlooking Kabale Town), is located at Omwibare in Nyakagyera Parish, Kyanamira Sub-county, Kabale District. The cave is located about 14 km north of Kabale Town.
One may either hire a taxi or take a boda boda to get to this forgotten yet significant historical site. The road to the cave is so poor that at some point you have to walk or drive through waterlogged areas. When you reach Kigezi College Butobere Secondary School, there will still be nine kilometres left to get to the rock.
Clay moulding, charcoal stove making, women digging and animals grazing are the common sites on the journey. At the bottom of Kabaraga Hill, the big cave stands, 10metres a way from the nearest homestead. The cave appears like a neglected mine field. It is as spacious as a three-bedroom house or bus garage. As you enter, bats and small birds fly out; It’s dull and threatening.
The threat of Marburg virus associated with bats, which claimed lives in Kabale recently may frighten one from entering the cave. It only takes a brave heart.
A hit on the floor produces a drum like sound. Shrubs have grown to cover its entrance and eucalyptus trees cover the hill it supports. Below it, lies a reclaimed wetland which hosts vegetables, Irish potatoes, fruits and root tubers gardens.
The village, where the cave lies, was named Omwibare (stone) after the stone cave. Very few people in Kabale know about the cave that has stood for generations.
Dinah Kajura, a resident of the area, says they don’t know much about its history and it is not of any big significance.
“What we know about the rock are stories that the early man used to stay there, every person who comes here, even Whites, ask us how it came to exist. For us, we do not know anything; we do not even need to know much,” she says.
She says very many people come to see the cave especially students, during their study times and some White tourists who are guided to the rock by local people.
According to Omugurusi Festo Karwemera, 87, the author of Kigezi Nabyamwo Kuruga omu gwa 1500 (the history of Kigezi from 1500) , it was inhabited by early man. Batwa people took over but were driven away to the forests by cattle keepers and finally the Bakiga took over.
Although the history of Kigezi before 1500 is not explicit because it was not written down, Karwemera says, there were several fights between emigrants for occupation of Kabale. The current day Kabale was first called Kangyenzi (land of lakes) and later Kigyezi (of a big lake). Because of the culture of fighting with stones, the place was later called Kabale. A Runyankole-Rukiga word for a place dominated by stones.
The earliest inhabitants of Kabale stayed in the current day Omukibare (of stone) in Muko Sub-county while others stayed near Lake Bunyonyi. From up the hills, they would throw stones at the animals in the lower places which they would kill and eat or gather fruits in the upper parts of the hill.
They would then move to Nyakagyera Cave where they would feast as they congratulated hunters. The cave later became a political centre for clan leaders and warriors resisting newcomers from Rwanda and other places.
“While we don’t have clear evidence on these facts, we believe that the stories our forefathers have told us that the first people here stayed in caves,” says Karwemera
“They were originally the Batwa (Pygimies) they were chased by Bahima (cattle keepers) who were later chased by the Bakiga that came with modern war technologies,” he adds.

Saturday 8 December 2012

Uganda attracts tourists but has it done enough marketing?



The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga and the Minister of Tourism Maria Mutagambwa at Ugandas stand at the World Tourism Market exhibition
Uganda is endowed with many natural attractions that could boost its capacity for tourism. But it takes more than just these attributes to cash in on the market.
All eyes were on Uganda’s stand at the World Tourism Market (WTM) exhibition that ran from November 5 to 8 at the Excel Docklands in London, UK.
Major players in the travel and tourism industry in the world were in London for the biggest international tourism exhibition and the issue of Uganda being the number one tourism destination for 2012 tickled some into looking to see what our claim to fame is.
The Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Ms Maria Mutagamba, travelled with a large team of Ugandan exhibitors to the annual event and she said the response from tourists was overwhelming.
“Our exhibitors were constantly busy,” she said. “This was our chance to show the world that our honour as the number one tourist destination wasn’t a mistake, more so we are not ready to relinquish that top spot. And I am sure we did just that.”
The expo brought together both the public and private sector including Uganda Wildlife Authority, Uganda Tourism Board, The Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Conservation Trust, Civil Aviation Authority, Hoteliers and 20 private tour operators.
Good performance
To add the icing on the cake, the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga also visited the Uganda stand. “The speaker was amazing and her visit was so timely,” said Amos Wekesa of Great Lakes Safaris company. “It was generally a sucessful event for Uganda.”
Mutagamba echoed Wekesa’s words saying that this was probably best exhibition Uganda has had at WTM in its 16-year experience at the event. “We are yet to come out with an official asessment of the general performance but it is clear that this was far better than the previous ones in terms of response from tourists,” she added. “I think the results will start to show sooner than later but again we need to do our part down here in Uganda.”
While all Ugandan participants have come back with a buzz from the event, the reality is that they will have to contend with the weight of expectations while at the same time ensuring that Uganda expands its share of the world tourism market in the near future. That will take more actions than words.
Now in its 30th year of existence, WTM attracts around 26,700 key industry professionals from over 189 countries across the globe. This platform allows participants to meet, network and conduct business with leading travel institutions and to keep abreast with the latest developments in the travel industry.
The Ugandan team met with a big number of the industry players but some still think our presence out there is not enough. “I agree we have done well in London but I think we haven’t used this number one tag to our best advantage,” noted Wekesa. “It is not too late though because even with just over a month to go on 2012 we can still grab some attention.”
He says he was at the Asia International Tourism Expo in Singapore last month and he was shocked not to see any other Ugandan exhibitor at the expo. “There were exhibitors from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, all over Asia and Africa but Uganda was a new subject to them,” he said. “Some were even asking if Uganda was in South Africa. This should serve as a wake-up call showing us that much as Lonely Planet named us the best destination, we still need to help ourselves by making ourselves heard. Everyone is fighting to become number one and no one will be there to talk about Uganda if Ugandans don’t show up. And no individual operator can make things happen without government support.”
Uganda has missed a couple of other big tourism exhibitions this year including the Indaba of South Africa besides the glaring mistake that saw the Uganda stall at the London Olympics go unused throughout the duration of the games.
The major reason has been government not dedicating adequate funds to the sector, which is now the number one foreign exchange earner for the country’s service sector.
While Uganda has skipped most of these tourism events citing lack of funds, our close competition especially neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania have been heavily represented at almost every opportunity availed. However, the minister promised things will change soon.
Perhaps they have started changing from the WTM where even the country’s space at the expo was increased due to increased keen interest shown by both the private and public tourism stakeholders.
The marketing manager of UTB, Edwin Muzahura is optimistic, the signs are pointing to better days for the tourism sector. “The government has prioritised tourism in its development plan within its four primary sectors to transform the economy. The tourism private sector has grown and the publicity for the country has grown worldwide.” Muzahura adds that “By the government creating an independent tourism ministry, it means now more funding is on the way and tourism is set to become the number one forex earner for the country after remittances.”
Natural endowment
In fact even some government institutions went ahead and broke some barriers. The acting Executive Director, Uganda Wildlife Authority, Andrew Seguya has been hailed for providing over Shs300m towards preparations for the expo.
  By Bruce Amp