What went down at the pork festival

Without a shadow of doubt Ugandans are the largest consumers of pork in Africa averaging 3.5kg per person. There are several reasons why pork is seemingly Uganda’s preferred meat vis-à-vis goat, beef, lamb etc. For starters, pigs are easy to rear and in many village homesteads, informal pig rearing is common and practical thus ensuring that pigs are available in abundance. Pigs have the added advantage of every part being edible ranging from the snout, to the ears, the trotters, the tail not to mention the much cherished and loved in the American south namely the chitterlings!
Pigs are prolific breeders and pregnancy barely lasts four months and a sow will give birth (farrow) to anywhere between five piglets in a liter while at the same time averaging 10 to 12. According to Dr Lukuyu, an animal nutrionist, Uganda is second to China globally on a per capita basis.
The Kabagarame pork fest takes place every Saturday, almost 350 kilometres west of Kampala in Kayojo cell, Ruharo ward, Central division, Bushenyi-Ishaka municipality, Bushenyi District. I am told it attracts more than 2,000 people every weekend and there are many Chinese from within the area who also make it a point to attend.
Kabagarame comes to the city
Recently there was much kerfuffle over the sale of the Kabagarame market when the Mbarara high court ordered that the land on which the market stood be auctioned as a means of recovering a moderate sum of money (less than shs 200m) that the local government owed to a one Muhumuza. Fortunately, the matter was resolved and the order was rescinded. September 21, instant saw the first ever Kabagarame pork festival held in Kampala. Despite the somewhat inclement weather, the turn out proved to be most encouraging and some of us who had heard so much about this much touted local way of frying or roasting pork were far from disappointed.

Menu
We sampled the fried version, which was done to perfection in terms of tenderness, mixed with shredded cabbage, peas, onions and tomatoes; it is all together a hearty combination. The pricing of Shs 25,000, including matooke and karo was spot on and in fact the portion was enough to serve a couple. Mercifully, the meat was lean and bereft of any fatty rind which was a great blessing.
Considering that all of us were reduced to eating with our fingers, the absence of portable hand washing facilities was notably missing and in any future events must be addressed.
Nevertheless, the chosen venue for the event being the Naguru Hill Top hotel was a godsend since they have impeccable toiled facilities albeit surely not adequate for the multitude of revelers who showed up in droves. While I noticed the availability of the local brew from the area, this was not popular with most people opting to slake their first with cold Tusker Lite.
Wisely, they also served chicken and goat for non-pork eaters though they seemed to be a distinct minority. The idea of the Kabagarame pork Festival is wonderful and hopefully this shall not be the last with the next one being more successful.