User:Richsenoga/Bendegere

Bendegere is a beautiful humble village in Nkumba Parish, Busiro Country, Katabi Sub-county within Entebbe Municipality in Wakiso District.

Bendegere is located along the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda, a lake earlier known by the name Nnalubaale, long before the coming of the European explorers.

Bendegere is fairly green during the rainy seasons and its terrain is characterised by general flatness and undulating hills in some parts. The legendary hill, Olusozi Bendegere is home to one of the traditional clan heads, Omutaka Kasiga, of the Mmamba clan - Omukulu w'Essiga. The hill is an excellent spot for local brew. This explains the slogan, Omwenge tunagunywa mitala Bendegere - meaning, 'come evening, let's enjoy the brew uphill on Bendegere.

Bendegere has got a lot of investment potential in a number of ways. Although, a number of schools have come up of recent, there's still a lot of unmet ninche to feed the secondary and tertiary institutions as well as the new Nkumba University.

The people of Bendegere are very unique, lovely in their reception, humble, lovely and welcoming. The village Chairman, Mr. Samuel Mpanga is a great man too, and security is guaranteed in this part of the country.

Bendegere Hill, the home of Omutaka Kasiga is a cultural site you must not miss when you visit Bendegere. The Royal Leopard Nagaddya mu Nkumba is a friendly, trouble-free animal which will escort you back home, and protect you from dogs and any possible nocturnal threats in case you drink till late!

Fishing and swimming is fun in Bendegere. The commonest swimming spots include virgin - unexplored beaches and landing sites like Kasenyi, Mukungu, Lwaka, the cliffs at Buwanga, the rocky beach of Kilindi, the sand beach of Kavundira and the open expanse at Lwanjaba, which recently got occupied by the Kasenyi Millitary Base in Lwanjaba.

The commonest fish species include tilapia fish - engege, the giant nileperch - empuuta, mud fish or Mmamba, lung fish or Ssemutundu, Mukene, Nkolongo, Kisinja, Emmale and much much more. From the victoria are other aquatic species such as crabs and scorpions, locally called Enjaba which never form part of the delicacies of the area.

Animal life in Bendegere is interesting. Apart from the Leopard Nagaddya, there are lots of foxes - Ebibe, stray dogs (embwa), goats (embuzi), cows (ente), sheep (endiga), donkeys (endogoyi), pigs (embizzi), cats (kkapa or puusi), antelopes (engabi), African Civets (Amafumbe), Edible Rats (Emisu), monitor lizzards (enswaswa), geckos (amakonkome), hippos (envubu), crocodiles (ggoonya) and others.

There are several snake species that find homes in the bushes, shrubs, woods and waters of Bendegere. Commonest species include the non-poisonous African Python (ttimba), African Cobra (enswera), Puff Adders (amasalambwa), and the green tree snake (nnawandagala), and many more.

The plant species here varry from short grasses to very tall trees. The commonest grasses include bamboo (amabanda), bananas (amatooke) elephant grass used in the brewing of banana juice (omubisi omusogolelewo)and local brew (mwenge bigele). We also have a savanna grass called obukuli which is used for roofing as well as beautification of bars and night clubs. Other species include passparum (paasikalamu), etteete, mukonzikonzi, olumbugu, kalandalugu, and others.

The tree species include eucalyptus (kalittunsi), and trees like emisizi, emivule, guavas (amapeera), mangoes (emiyembe), jackfuit trees (ffene), coffee (emmwanyi), obukwansokwanso, amalemu, jjambula, enzilu and oragnes - all with a variety of species. Climbing plants include passion fruits (obutunda ne wujju), pumpkins (ensujju), ebisuusuuti, yams (endaggu, kyetutumula) and more.

The soils of Bendegere are diverse. They varry from place to place in colour, rock composition as well as water retention. The soils at Sserukele, Lwanjaba and Kavundira are black in colour and their profiles and catenas change considerably as you approach the lake areas. Towards Kilindi Rock Beach, the soils are predominantly rock while at Kavundira Sand Beach; the soils have a relatively mature profile, becoming sandy as you dig deeper. At Lwanjaba, they get rocky toward some sections of the beach and this is similar in nature to Kasenyi Beach and Landing site areas. At Lwaka, the soils are predominantly black in colour and rich in humus.

The growth of the Flower Industry in Uganda attracted investors in the area. These include Wagagai Limited. Wagagai's entry in Bendegere impacted well on the social and economic development of Bendegere. The firm has employed semi-skilled people who would otherwise be idle. Wagagai Limited also opened up a health center and improved Baita-Kasenyi Road.