The last link to Masaka’s good old days

Nov 25, 2004

During the 1960s coffee boom Masaka flourished and farmers bought luxurious cars and motor bikes. <b>Joshua Kato</b> discovered that the bikes still exist and could be worth a fortune with antique traders.

The BSA got him a wife. The BSA got him a new name ‘Omuggaga Omuto’ (young millionaire). Mzee Eri Sserunkuma of Masaka still holds memories of the good old days when what he calls real entertainment reigned. “The moment I bought my Bise (read BSA) motor bike in 1959, my entertainment world turned on its head. I immediately became a celebrity. I became one of the most famous young men in Masaka,” he says.
But this has long changed. His BSA has long become an antique. Yet through Mzee Sserunkuma, Masaka’s story of the 1960s is immortalised: huge and small bikes, stylish cars like Angalia and the Beetle, good entertainment at Patel Shamji and world class cinemas at Nita.
One person who is trying to keep this old fire burning is Joseph Mulindwa of Nyendo, Masaka. For several years, he has strived to pick, repair and sell the old motorbikes in and around Masaka.
Under a make-shift shade are several bikes. Mulindwa has a BSA manufactured in 1955. This one is a jam pot twin with an engine capacity of 600cc. The BSA was one of the most popular bikes in the world during the 50s and 60s. “It was a definition of class. It was an obvious ticket to celebrity status,” Mzee Sserunkuma says.
In the 60s the BSA was immortalised in songs. The late Byron Kawadwa, in one of his songs, promised his imaginary lover a BSA to improve their social status.
“Did you know what BSA meant before you bought it,” I ask Sserunkuma. “No, I did not,” he replies. Even the much younger Mulindwa doesn’t know.

The name of the bike was coined out of Birmingham Small Arms Company of Britain. Production of the bike commenced as way back as 1903. However, its significance was realised at the peak of the Second World War.
More than 126,000 bikes were made for British soldiers in the war. After the war, many of these bikes were modified and sold to individuals around the world including people in Uganda.
It was through such sales that the bikes found their way to the rich in Masaka, the likes of Sserunkuma and George Wamala, Mulindwa’s father. “He really loved his bike like it was one of his children,” Mulindwa says of his father.
A huge Ariel, registration number URA 964, is also part of Mulindwa’s collection. These were number plates used in the late 50s and early 60s. “This one was manufactured in 1957,” Mulindwa tells me.
The Ariel was made in Britain. Val Page, one of the greatest motorcycle designers, designed the black bike.
Its 600cc engine blasts into life with just one kick at the start pedal. Du..du..du..du..du... it goes. Blue smoke bellows out of its rusty exhaust pipes. The ground shakes courtesy of its power.
“It has got a top speed of 70 mph,” says Mulindwa, pointing at its well kept speedometer. According to the ‘memorable motorcycles’ site, the bike was almost a science fiction movie when it first came on the scene. Mulindwa says, at top speed, it is comparable to a current a 250cc sports bike.
When I ask where he got it, his response is instinctive. “From Kalungu. There was an old man who had abandoned it in his compound. I went and bought it from him, worked on it, before it coughed into life again,” he explains.
According to its old but well kept log book, Peter Kavuma of Kalungu, a banana and maize farming area west of Masaka town, owned it.
Next to the Ariel is an AJS. This was one of the best bikes of the 60s. It was black and beastly. “This was manufactured in 1954,” Mulindwa says.
The AJS has a 550cc capacity and a top speed of 75kph. “It is also a jam pot twin,” Mulindwa says with the air of an expert. According to its log book, Eriya Mukwaya, also of Masaka, owned the bike before Mulindwa bought it.
Ignore the fading colour, the bike coughs into life the moment Mulindwa steps on the start pedal. The ground shakes as the power from its giant engines spreads over. Its two exhaust pipes emit smoke. None of its original parts has been changed.
Back then, bikes had become bikes in Masaka. Those who did not have much money bought the smaller bikes. Those with loads of money bought the bigger bikes like the BSA.
“Most of the people who owned them bought them during the coffee boom of the 50s and 60s,” Mulindwa says.
Actually, the term ‘Mwanyi Zabala’ (We had a coffee boom) in reference to motorbikes originated from Masaka.
It is not only about bikes but also cars. In Masaka, it is very common to find a 1960s Peugeot, Vauxhaul or Beetle being driven a long the streets.
In the late 60s, the coffee prices dropped drastically. Business was no longer viable. “People started selling off the bikes at very cheap prices. This is when my father decided to buy them,” Mulindwa says.
For more than 16 years, Wamala bought and resold the bikes. Mulindwa picked up from where his father left. “I have been in this business for quiet a long time,” Mulindwa says. “All the bikes are still fitted with their original parts,” Mulindwa explains. “You know, they were made with the right metal materials. Where it was supposed to be steel, steel was used. Everything was made to last for ever,” he adds.
You would expect Mulindwa to face problems looking for spare parts. However, this is not the case. “Finding spare parts for my bikes is not as taxing as some people think. It is a matter of contacting my sources around the district for the spares,” he says.
Mulindwa sells off his monster bikes at as low as sh800,000 after repairs. Most of the people who buy them are not the richest in society. They are average farmers from the villages. They are attracted to the bikes largely because of their cargo carrying abilities.
“They are fitted with huge carriers on which a farmer can carry sacks of maize from the village to the town,” Mulindwa explains. It is clear that he is not aware of the treasure on which he is sitting.
These are very rare antiques, for which wealthy people would give a leg. In Britain, for example, there are clubs of old bike collectors and riders. An Ariel manufactured in 1950 and in good condition costs at least £5000 (sh13m).
Ends

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