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Have you ever heard of Nyar Ugenya bus in Western Kenya ? Written by Dan Okwiri
Penning🖊my Journal memoirs, on Tuesday my nephew arrived from Bondo. He had traveled with his dad, a distance of 260 km to Migori. They travelled on a bus called Nyar Ugenya, leaving Bondo,at 2am & arriving Migori at 11am. The journey takes an arduous 9 hours in Nyar Ugenya. “Nyar” in the Luo dialect means daughter so the founder of the bus service must have named the bus after his mother or hopefully his wife, or one of his wives, one of them must be originating from Ugenya.
Luos are rarely entrepreneurs, though a lot is changing with the younger generation, but one of the greatest Luo entrepreneurs I would have loved to meet would have been the founder of Nyar Ugenya. From hearsay, I hear he started out as a teacher before he plunged into business world and later into real estate in Kisumu. He is the only Luo I know who seriously operates a bus service, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga tried the bus business but didn’t. thrive. Nyar Ugenya is outstanding as it is a regional service.
His idea was amazing, he started out small and founded a bus service that connected every little town in the lakeside from Imbo, Usenge in Bondo, the most north lakeside tip of Luo Nyanza bordering Uganda to Mihuru in Southern Nyanza the south most tip bordering Tanzania. Nyar Ugenya business logistic model is amazing. The buses are all a standard branded bright yellow, they actually standout loud & you spot them from a distance. Nyar Ugenya actually plies on a timed schedule, the late founder a mwalimu (teacher) must have been fastidious on time, a rare trait with people today.
Mwalimu in his younger days must have observed how the steamers ships that the British operated on Lake Victoria plied the small lake towns. The steamers called on Mihuru, Sori, Mbita, Kendu, Kisumu, Asembo, Luanda Kotieno, Port Victoria (Sio Port); in the process become the artery of connecting the Nyanza region and was the artery of business amongst the Luo people. It forged linkages between families & migrant clans across the divide. Many of Central Nyanza clans had migrated to the empty expansive lands of Southern Nyanza. The steamers provided this connection of. Southern Nyanza and Central Nyanza which are separated by the Kavirondo Gulf of lake Victoria or better still as Nam Sango as it was known before the lake was renamed to commemorate. “Queen” Victoria.
The Luo people of Southern Nyanza refer to Central Nyanza people as “Jaloka” meaning the one from the yonder, and the Central Nyanza refer to the South Nyanza luos too as “Jaloka”. I always found this contrarian & intriguing.
Now this Mwalimu adopted the same routes the British operated but this time on land, isn’t this brilliant! Nyar Ugenya flourished over the years, but has declined with the death of the founder. All the fish mongers used it to transport their fish & produce, the people of Southern & Central Nyanza connected easily. Nyar Ugenya has been there for decades and was ran meticulously.
No wonder my nephew and his dad decided to use Nyar Ugenya to come to Migori, it is time and tested. They had never been to “Loka” (over the yonder) before and were totally enthralled. They wondered how their relative “Dan Okwiri” on his own could travel so far away from home to be in Migori.
The people of Central Nyanza are a lot different from Migori in Southern Nyanza. My nephew is of pure Nilotic stock, dark and tall. Migori is ethnically very intermingled, the Luo here have intermarried with the Suba, Kuria, Kisii, Maragoli and even the Masai.
Most of the Luo people here due to intermarriage with the Bantu are much shorter than what you would see in Central Nyanza. The intermarriage has ignited a more cosmopolitan life, entrepreneurship, bustle and faster development in Migori. They were in awe of what they saw when they landed.
My young nephew almost 6 foot had been admitted in Form 1 in Taraganya High School in Kuria, which is the premier school in the area. It was founded many years ago by the British efforts. I need not ask but I can tell even today the British influence by the vegetation, wherever they went the British always planted Jacaranda trees. The giant Jacarandas in Taraganya secondary school are a living testimony. Wherever I strode I plant Acacia trees, they are the trees indigenous to Africa and the birds love to perch on them too, that’s why I wake every morning with weavers in song. Are you jealous? Plant some you won’t. regret, your stress will come down.
The school admission process was rigorous., it took a whole day. The parents are given set of things to buy for the students to use, one of them is a huge metallic suitcase, this suitcases fascinate me, they are so archaic and in some cases larger than the students carrying them. Every student has to come with his own mattress.
Boarding schools in Kenya still operate like a military regiment. The school administration checked through everything, the scrutiny was even more detailed than the security procedures for passengers at JKIA airport. After a 7 hour scrutiny I was elated my nephew was finally admitted. Had spent 7 hours taking a siesta under a giant Jacaranda tree awaiting completion of his admission, I thank for the Englishman who planted the tree, talk of using bridges that we did not build, this is an epitome.
Leaving Taraganya I had ignored the yellow warning light on dashboard, it had ignited even before I had driven from Migori to make this 37 km journey, the next thing, my old faithful broke down. Thank the Gods it happened in Kehancha near a friend”s hotel, I hadn’t seen him in a while and the Gods had planned me to meet him that evening, that’s why my car gave in outside his hotel. Life is not what you plan, but am thankful I have many friends in Kuria County, the proprietor of Sunrise hotel.
If you ever in the Kehancha environs please visit the place, it is well ran, clean and the proprietor Mr Chacha does a great job to ensure his customers always have a great time and all the conveniences, water is a problem in Kehancha but Sunrise always has it, the owner is a sage and will walk you through the Abakuria culture. I love the AbaKuria neck shake boogie.
