Three days later, he arrived in Kampala the following day; a tired and disappointed boy. He had walked all the way from Mubende when he failed to get a lift from the motorists who ignored his pleas for help.
Instead, they simply looked contemptuously at his worn-out sandals, his dusty feet, and went racing towards the city popularly known as " the pearl of Africa."
He had to take rest along the way as he tried to gather strength to continue. His resting place would be a shade under the trees, which stood erect like soldiers on parade by the roadside.
It was dusk when he resumed the long walk to the city. The bright neonlights of the city shone in the distance as he was approaching. Save for a few couples who walked side by side as they held each other's arms, most of the streets, in his view, appeared deserted.
Tired as he was, Jacob determined to go past the city. In the outskirts of the city, he stopped to rest. A rest was quite necessary, he thought, and he would only harm himself if he continued walking.
He riched a dimly lit side street and decided to look for a place to rest and sleep. Hunger bit at his belly, but he had no money to buy food and knew no one in the city. He just stood there in the darkness, wondering what to do.
Then he saw it. In the darkness, standing by the sidestreet and carefully parked was a cart.
When Jacob saw it, he realised it could be his shelter for the night. Somebody, presumably a trader, had abandoned the cart by the roadside.
He did not hesitate but jumped immediately into the cart where he lay hidden in the darkness.
Covering himself with the sacks he found in the cart by the corners, Jacob drifted into slumber. But he had been asleep for only a few hours when he felt a cold and steel like hand touching his neck.
Coming to his senses, it suddenly occurred to him the hand was reaching for the gold necklace and Marian silver medal. His dying mother's words came to his mind: "Jealous people and thieves will want to take it away from you..."
Quickly, Jacob grabbed the cold steel like hand. In the darkness, he saw a face and swung his clenched fist, which landed on the thief's nose.
There was a loud yell as the thief cried out in pain and tried to free himself from Jacob's strong hold.
"Let go! I won't do it again," cried the thief when he realised Jacob had grabbed his neck and had no intention of letting him go.
At that moment, Jacob saw the thief was only a young boy almost his age. In the darkness, the two combatants went on struggling as Jacob kept on raining heavy blows on the thief's head.
Then they grew tired, but Jacob still clung onto the boy who had tried to steal his most valuable possession; the gold necklace.
"You must tell me who you are or else I raise the alarm, and you end up at the police station and jail," he threatened.
"Please don't! I don't want to end up in jail. I only came here, found you sleeping, and decided to join you," the boy who was panting and scared to death said.
They were now lying side by side in the cart. In a flash, Jacob thought the boy was only looking for shelter.
"Okay; now get lost before I call the police."
"But this is my cart!" The boy said in fear, "You can't come out of the blues here and seek to throw me out of my own shelter, my home, my place. Where shall I go? This has been my only home ever since I came to this city. You'd better look for your own place because even the traders around here know this cart is mine."
For a while, Jacob thought he was listening to a businessman. Then it came to him instantly as it became clear the boy was one of those homeless kids in the city. In major cities of Africa, they were known as parking boys or car minders.
Jacob immediately began to pity the boy when he realised they were actually sailing in the same boat. Then it crossed his mind that if there was anyone capable of helping him in the big city, it was certainly this young boy who, a moment back, had tried to steal his gold necklace.
He decided to become friendly when he became aware he needed the boy's help and instantly asked, "Just, who are you? And what are you doing in this big city?"
"I'm a nobody, but somehow I survive," the boy answered when he saw Jacob's tone sounded friendly.
"You didn't answer me. What's your name?" Jacob asked as he released him.
"I'm Sonny Kutesa."
"And what do you do around here?"
"I sell things."
"Ah, that looks wonderful. So you have a shop or anything like that?"
Sonny seemed surprised by Jacob's naivety and lack of knowledge. "No, I sell goods to my contacts who, in turn, sell to the fat cats. My contacts know them."
Jacob could not make head or tails of what Sonny was saying and asked, "I don't get it. Who are the fat cats?"
"The big guys. But you haven't even told me your name, have you?"
"No. Call me Jacob. You will now be my friend. I'm new around here; I arrived only a few hours ago."
"Where have you come from?"
"Mubende; it is many kilometres from here. I heard some people saying it is about 150 kilometres, but I am not sure," Jacob, who had taken days to walk all the way from Mubende, told his new companion.
"I know. Are you staying long in the city?"
"I don't know, may be I will or not."
"Why is that so? Aren't you happy to be in the city?"
"I am heading for Kenya. But perhaps I should first look for money."