TRIBUTE: Musa’s Works Shall Endure
THE cruel hand of death has robbed the country of a man believed to be the brain-child of Uganda’s vibrant small-scale industrial sector.
By Arthur Baguma
THE cruel hand of death has robbed the country of a man believed to be the brain-child of Uganda’s vibrant small-scale industrial sector. Out of bits and pieces, the late Wakibi developed Katwe’s hitherto unknown small-scale economic potential into today’s vibrant small-scale industrial village.
Musa Wakibi — dubbed ‘Musa Body,’ a name he acquired in the 1980’s because of his skill in fashioning wooden car body parts — passed away silently on the night of March 18 at his home in Katwe, a suburb of Kampala, after a long battle with diabetes and heart related complications.
Born in 1919 in Kakinzi, Luweero District to the late Ayubu Ssebunza and Zalimpa Nabunya, Wakibi died at the age of 84.
The man who harboured an ambitious dream of setting up a car manufacturing industry died grumbling over government’s failure to give him financial assistance, despite his abundant expertise and knowledge in manufacturing. He shocked President Museveni when he requested him for permission to start manufacturing guns and bullets: “At one time he threatened to sell his kidneys in exchange for money to fulfil his dream,†says a close relative: “I will get rid of my kidneys and take them to India, where I am told there is market,†Wakiibi said on Radio Simba last year.
Business in Katwe came to a stand-still on Saturday of March 19 as hundreds of grief stricken residents and workers flocked the deceased’s ancestral home in Luweero to bid farewell to the man many believe is the father of small-scale technology in Uganda. Abdu Ssemakula, the son of the deceased, described his father as someone who reached out to help society at no cost.
“Several people have been trained at my father’s workshop at no cost and they have become successful entrepreneurs,†Ssemakula added.
Soon I was to confirm Ssemakula’s words. As I was talking to him, a middle-aged man — who I later learnt was Paul Kasumba, chairman of Katwe youth project — chipped in: “All the people you see here (pointing to a group of young men welding) owe their lives to Musa Body. They came from the village to wander on the streets with no hope in life, but he trained them and they acquired skills in metal work at no cost. Today they have jobs and are leading a happy life.â€
John Mayanja, a welder in Kalitunsi, Kampala, says he came to Kampala in 1984 and spent two years on the street doing casual work, but in December 1993 his life changed.
A friend introduced him to Wakibi and after some time he was trained to do some welding. He eventually acquired skills in the manufacturing of steel products. Today, he owns his own metal workshop in Bwaise and employs eight people.
These men are not the only beneficiaries of Musa’s generosity. Several small scale industrialists around Uganda and others in Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya got their training from the famous ‘Musa Body University of Technology.’
Musa Wakibi was a very ambitious man. Despite his low level in education he wanted to show the world that even those who didn’t go far with formal schooling had something to offer to the world.
Musa’s long journey started in Kakinzi, where he went to a local primary school, before joining Boroboro High School in Lira in 1930.
He later enrolled at the then Wandegeya Technical School and later at Kisubi Technical School, where he graduated with a certificate in carpentry in 1938.
His earliest employment opportunity came in 1940, when Indians employed him in a furniture mart as a carpenter. In 1956 he started his own furniture company, Musa Furniture Mart. This is where most of the small-scale Industrialists in Katwe got their knowledge. In 1985 he changed it to Musa Body Construction Company and started manufacturing car body parts. After 10 years he registered his company as Musa Body University of Technology, which trained the youth in welding.
A visit to the man’s workshop reveals nothing unique: an apartment in a congested area.
A big billboard reading ‘Musa Body University of Science and Technology’ welcomes you to the Workshop located in Katwe. However, as I come closer, there is no sign of anything that would qualify it to be a university, but as we move around, Ssemakula, son of the deceased, shows me several machines and products which his father dealt in.
“These are unique items manufactured here, and are only found in this workshop,†says Ssemakula.
Among the products on display are milling machines, hullers for rice and maize, dough mixers, grinding machines for groundnuts in all sizes, milk coolers, welding and charging transformers, saw mills and popcorn machines.
“Most of these products are only manufactured upon request by the customers, because they require a lot of funds, which demands that we first get market assurance,†Abdu remarked.
They also make steel windows, gates, doors and other metal crafts. By all standards you would not call the work shop a university. Wakiibi was not a professor nor are any of his children. The only academic document one gets there is a certificate.
But Ssemakula defends the name, saying they did it to show the world that what is done in universities can be done just as well in their workshop.
Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, local government minister could not hide his grief when he received the news of the death of his friend. In a sombre mood as he spoke over phone, he described the death of Musa Body as a big blow to the country’s small-scale industrial sector, which the deceased had helped to nurture.
At his burial, speaker after speaker praised Wakibi for being a skillful and brave man even at the ripe age of 84. Sheikh Warakira of Katwe mosque, where Musa Wakibi used to attend prayers, said he was a down-to-earth and simple man who loved Allah.
He is survived by two widows and 12 children, the eldest being Rehema Najjuma, 48, while Haruna Mayanja, the youngest, is two years old. He was proud of his childish face and always referred to himself as mutini.
THE cruel hand of death has robbed the country of a man believed to be the brain-child of Uganda’s vibrant small-scale industrial sector. Out of bits and pieces, the late Wakibi developed Katwe’s hitherto unknown small-scale economic potential into today’s vibrant small-scale industrial village.
Musa Wakibi — dubbed ‘Musa Body,’ a name he acquired in the 1980’s because of his skill in fashioning wooden car body parts — passed away silently on the night of March 18 at his home in Katwe, a suburb of Kampala, after a long battle with diabetes and heart related complications.
Born in 1919 in Kakinzi, Luweero District to the late Ayubu Ssebunza and Zalimpa Nabunya, Wakibi died at the age of 84.
The man who harboured an ambitious dream of setting up a car manufacturing industry died grumbling over government’s failure to give him financial assistance, despite his abundant expertise and knowledge in manufacturing. He shocked President Museveni when he requested him for permission to start manufacturing guns and bullets: “At one time he threatened to sell his kidneys in exchange for money to fulfil his dream,†says a close relative: “I will get rid of my kidneys and take them to India, where I am told there is market,†Wakiibi said on Radio Simba last year.
Business in Katwe came to a stand-still on Saturday of March 19 as hundreds of grief stricken residents and workers flocked the deceased’s ancestral home in Luweero to bid farewell to the man many believe is the father of small-scale technology in Uganda. Abdu Ssemakula, the son of the deceased, described his father as someone who reached out to help society at no cost.
“Several people have been trained at my father’s workshop at no cost and they have become successful entrepreneurs,†Ssemakula added.
Soon I was to confirm Ssemakula’s words. As I was talking to him, a middle-aged man — who I later learnt was Paul Kasumba, chairman of Katwe youth project — chipped in: “All the people you see here (pointing to a group of young men welding) owe their lives to Musa Body. They came from the village to wander on the streets with no hope in life, but he trained them and they acquired skills in metal work at no cost. Today they have jobs and are leading a happy life.â€
John Mayanja, a welder in Kalitunsi, Kampala, says he came to Kampala in 1984 and spent two years on the street doing casual work, but in December 1993 his life changed.
A friend introduced him to Wakibi and after some time he was trained to do some welding. He eventually acquired skills in the manufacturing of steel products. Today, he owns his own metal workshop in Bwaise and employs eight people.
These men are not the only beneficiaries of Musa’s generosity. Several small scale industrialists around Uganda and others in Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya got their training from the famous ‘Musa Body University of Technology.’
Musa Wakibi was a very ambitious man. Despite his low level in education he wanted to show the world that even those who didn’t go far with formal schooling had something to offer to the world.
Musa’s long journey started in Kakinzi, where he went to a local primary school, before joining Boroboro High School in Lira in 1930.
He later enrolled at the then Wandegeya Technical School and later at Kisubi Technical School, where he graduated with a certificate in carpentry in 1938.
His earliest employment opportunity came in 1940, when Indians employed him in a furniture mart as a carpenter. In 1956 he started his own furniture company, Musa Furniture Mart. This is where most of the small-scale Industrialists in Katwe got their knowledge. In 1985 he changed it to Musa Body Construction Company and started manufacturing car body parts. After 10 years he registered his company as Musa Body University of Technology, which trained the youth in welding.
A visit to the man’s workshop reveals nothing unique: an apartment in a congested area.
A big billboard reading ‘Musa Body University of Science and Technology’ welcomes you to the Workshop located in Katwe. However, as I come closer, there is no sign of anything that would qualify it to be a university, but as we move around, Ssemakula, son of the deceased, shows me several machines and products which his father dealt in.
“These are unique items manufactured here, and are only found in this workshop,†says Ssemakula.
Among the products on display are milling machines, hullers for rice and maize, dough mixers, grinding machines for groundnuts in all sizes, milk coolers, welding and charging transformers, saw mills and popcorn machines.
“Most of these products are only manufactured upon request by the customers, because they require a lot of funds, which demands that we first get market assurance,†Abdu remarked.
They also make steel windows, gates, doors and other metal crafts. By all standards you would not call the work shop a university. Wakiibi was not a professor nor are any of his children. The only academic document one gets there is a certificate.
But Ssemakula defends the name, saying they did it to show the world that what is done in universities can be done just as well in their workshop.
Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, local government minister could not hide his grief when he received the news of the death of his friend. In a sombre mood as he spoke over phone, he described the death of Musa Body as a big blow to the country’s small-scale industrial sector, which the deceased had helped to nurture.
At his burial, speaker after speaker praised Wakibi for being a skillful and brave man even at the ripe age of 84. Sheikh Warakira of Katwe mosque, where Musa Wakibi used to attend prayers, said he was a down-to-earth and simple man who loved Allah.
He is survived by two widows and 12 children, the eldest being Rehema Najjuma, 48, while Haruna Mayanja, the youngest, is two years old. He was proud of his childish face and always referred to himself as mutini.