‘Sigalame’ legend is still alive close to 30 years on

By Stephen Makabila and Robert Wanyonyi

Music lovers still remember with nostalgia the 1980s’ hit Sigalame by Issa Juma and Les Wanyika.

The song reminds many of Bungoma town even for those who may never have set foot there. The song is about a man from Bungoma who ran away from his coastal wife and hid in the western Kenya town.

Some of those who heard the song, and later visited Bungoma, jokingly asked: "Umemwona Sigalame?" (Where is Sigalame?)

The Standard team visited the town and asked residents if they knew where the legendary Sigalame lives or used to live.

They laughed at the inquiry, saying ‘Sigalame’ is the name of a place, not a person.

Sigalame is near Bungoma on the way to Malaba. A primary and secondary schools bear the name.

There may be no implication in Issa Juma’s lyrics, but Bungoma town, which started in the early 20th century as a trading centre, is of key importance to Kenya and Uganda — it the last major stop by road or railway to the common border.

The Bungoma Municipal Council has for years been the headquarters of Bungoma until it was recently split into five smaller districts.

Fertile land

It is also an agricultural and trade centre, supported by the Kenya-Uganda railway, which passes through it to the Malaba, only 30km away.

Bungoma is surrounded by fertile farmlands. Residents grow sugarcane, maize, beans and tobacco.

The town lies on the fertile shadow of Mt Elgon, towering majestically on the western horizon.

The mountain has had a big influence on Bungoma in many ways.

Farmlands on the slopes have for ages provided a variety of farm produce, creating a thriving business in Bungoma and other towns.

However, there are no major industries in the municipality. But industrial centres near the town such as Nzoia Sugar Factory and the now closed Pan-Paper Mills in Webuye have economic importance to the town.

Other major farming institutions in the town are National Cereals and Produce Board stores and a New KCC depot.

Apart from the Nairobi-Kampala highway, which passes through the town, linking it to Webuye and Malaba, tarmac roads link Bungoma to Kitale through Chwele, and Busia through Mumias town.

Poor infrastructure

But the town centre and its environs have dilapidated roads, which turn into flooded galleys during the rainy season.

The road linking the town to Mumias is in a pathetic state and residents want it repaired.

Bungoma Mayor Majimbo Okumu says the Ministry of Roads has set aside Sh27 million for the repair of the road under the provincial engineer.

A fast-growing population has stretched demand for services to the limit and the poor infrastructure in the town does not help matters.

According to the 1999 Census, the town had a population of 60,650. This is estimated to have increased to about 100,000.

Due to population increase, there is a lot of pressure on housing, leading to mushrooming of slums in parts of the town. They include Mandizini, Mjini, Borani and Teremuko. Crime is high in these parts of the town.

Urban planning

Mr Okumu says there is no slum upgrading project on the cards, but the town will benefit from urban re-planning alongside four others to be funded by the Ministry of Local Government.

"We have no project under the Ministry of Housing, but we are in the formative stages of initiating an upgrading project under the Local Government ministry’s Urban Development Plan," says Okumu.

He says the upgrading programme is necessary to improve the livelihood of slum residents.

Bungoma say the town’s commercial activities and proximity to the Malaba border point raise the demand for housing.

Major educational institutions in the town and its environs include Sang’alo Institute of Science and Technology, which local leaders want transformed into a university college.

The recently opened Kibabii Teachers College, expected to offer a diploma course in secondary school teacher training, is another centre of learning in the town.

Mr Peter Musungu, a resident of the town, says: "The construction of Kibabii Teachers College and the expected elevation of Sang’alo Agricultural Institute to a constituent of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology may make the housing situation worse."

Improved bus stage

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government Musalia Mudavadi early this year promised that Bungoma’s main bus stage would be improved.

Maybe when infrastructure is upgraded, more people, thrilled by the Sigalame legend, may visit to look for the elusive man.