11 August 2002
Bernadette Nakaggwa talks about her 40 years of beauty since she won the Miss Independence beauty title
October 10, 1962 marked a turning point in her life.
The 22-year old Bernadette Nakaggwa , an immaculate beauty from Kabuwoko, Masaka had hardly spent a year working in Kampala, when she joined 26 other ladies who were contesting for the then highly publicised Miss Independence title, one of the activities held to mark Uganda's first Independence celebrations.
The venue was the White Nile, the then leading entertainment centre in the black township of Katwe.
Come the D-Day, Nakaggwa had become pessimistic of winning the title, let alone participate.
She was locked up in one of the backstage rooms by one of the organisers to deny her the chance to participate. Apparently, the organiser thought Nakaggwa would spoil the chances of his favourite participant.
"It was too much for me. I had lost all the hope. Inside my prison, I could hear all the 26 participants being introduced to the audience one-by-one amid clapping and cheering. What saved the situation was a great friend called Margaret Nakaggwa," She recalls.
When finally it was announced that the last participant was to be introduced, Nakaggwa's friend only identified as Nakandi, who was in audience and in company of a visiting dignitary from Botswana, immediately went up the stage, snatched the microphone from the MC.
She said there was a participant and a friend of hers whom she had not seen being introduced yet she had seen her a few minutes before.
Her protest raised serious concern. Some of the organisers and judges, who included two whites and three Africans, ordered for a search.
Nakagwa was found locked up in a room. She was and sobbing. The officials apologised and gave her only three minutes to get ready to be introduced.
"Later, I was ordered out and introduced to the audience as the then popular Club Italiano (name of song) played in the background. I was given the wildest applause of the evening. Afterwards, we were asked several questions and made to do cat walks," Nakaggwa recalls.
Then the long awaited moment struck. The time to announce the winner had come. All the five judges unanimously declared Nakaggwa the Miss Independence.
"I could not believe it. Me, a poor girl from the village to beat all the contestants, the majority of whom were city dwellers!" Nakaggwa exclaims.
Well, the daughter of Yoanna Kasamba and Felista Alibawulidde of Lugumba, Kabuwoko in Masaka had stolen the show and won the crown.
Kalule Ssettaala, the guest of honour, who was a government minister then, presented her with a Shs 1,000 cheque.
Nakaggwa also won 30 crates of Bell beer from Uganda Breweries, 20 crates of soda from the Pepsi Cola, two dozens of Primrose vaseline. The Imperial Hotel offered her free daily dining for five people and herself for six months.
Nakaggwa told Sunday Monitor that she later realised she was too 'cute' for life, no wonder she won despite having little preparation.
"My son, it is unfortunate you are seeing me now when I am worn out. I was a smashing beauty. I was the centre of attraction wherever I went. I had unique thighs, eyes and bums, I was so beautiful," says Nakaggwa.
Nakaggwa says during their days, beauty pageants conducted themselves in a good way.
"Morals today have gone down. We used to dress well and not go naked like beauty contestants do today. Why should one expose her bums as if she were the only one with them?" she queries.
Nakaggwa says she was encouraged to take part in the contest by a newspaper photographer called Matovu. Matovu would go around looking for beautiful ladies in town. He took their snaps and published them in Uganda Eyogera, a newspaper at the time.
Being a tailor, she made her own contest attire, which was dominantly yellow. She bought her shoes at Shs 119.90 at the Bata outlet on Kampala Road.
She wore an Oris watch. These adornments aggravated the natural beauty that her creator had rather generously apportioned her.
And how did the Miss Independence title change her?
Nakaggwa used the Shs 1,000 prize to buy a small piece of land near Pope Paul VI community centre near Lubaga.
She became popular and received lots of compliments from most of the people she met.
All this time someone was watching. With probably more interest than other watchers, he followed every step she made.
Leonard Basudde (RIP), a rich minister in the Kabaka government, before becoming Uganda's first ambassador to West Germany, was ogling. Well, a lot did happen and they became husband and wife.
"He was one of the big men who attended the contest. He saw me for the first time and fell in love. Later we became lovers. He left Mengo to work in the Central Government. He was then made Uganda's first ambassador to Germany," Nakaggwa says.
Nakaggawa, her husband and several other diplomats left for Bonn, Germany in 1964.They travelled by ship to Venice Italy and later by train to Bonn. The journey lasted about 14 days.
She relishes the beauty of Venice and says everyone should see this port city before dying.
"We are the ones who purchased the building which houses the Ugandan embassy. I heard it was being sold sometime back. This is very sad!" she says.
After sometime in Bonn, Nakagwa went to London and did a three-year diploma course in design. She emerged the best student at the end of the course and later helped to design a lot attire that won prizes at a number of fashion shows in UK.
In 1969 she returned to Uganda despite requests by many UK companies that she stay behind to work for them. Apparently, her husband died in 1968 in Germany before they had had any children and she never got any after his death.
Nakaggwa's hand brought smiles to many royals. She is the one who single-handedly designed and made the coronation attire for King Iguru of Bunyoro, King Oyo of Toro and for a number of Buganda royal officials.
She says she was amused when she read in the newspapers during the coronation of one the traditional rulers that his majesty's wonderful attire had been bought from the kingdom of Brunei in the Far East, yet she had made it at her home in Busega.
But not everything has gone on well with Nakaggwa. All her machines were looted from her Jinja Road outlet during the 1979 and in 1986 wars.
The shop she was renting at City House caught fire, destroying all her property including customers' attires.
She paid dearly for them and has since been working from her remote home in Busega.
Recently, one traditional king, having rejected all the attire bought for his wedding ceremony, told his subjects to look for 'that old lady who made the one he wore on his coronation day', says Nakaggwa.
"If you cant find her in town, make announcements over the radios. She must be the one to make my attire. I will not accept anything else unless she is dead," the king reportedly said.
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