NAMED! Uganda’s top stingy men & women revealed (part 1)

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CHARLIE LUBEGA

He is one of the most loaded entrepreneurs in the Music Industry. As an Economics and Political Science student at Makerere University in 1987, Lubega started Soul Disco which was later metamorphosed into Ange Noir discotheque in the Industrial Area, Kampala in 1988. He now owns Club Guvnor that transformed from popular Ange Noir in the 1990s.

He has been around for long and his name was popular in the ninety’s for his participation in motor sport. Charlie (nicknamed “Macarena” by his fans) took to competitive driving at the height of the revival of public interest in motor racing, for which he became best-known to Ugandans. He was crowned the national rallying champion in 1997.

By staying in London for many years, it goes without saying that he likes posh rides. However, he stops at looking at those of his clients parked at his Bar. Charlie is known in town for driving a Toyota Premio old model UAM series for ten years. He also drives an old Toyota Land Cruiser of UAB series. Although his sons are always mocking him for driving old type vehicles, he saved all his money and is investing in real estate.

OMAR MANDELA

Omar Ahmed owns Mandela Group. His City Tyres is one of the biggest and most successful tyre outlets in the country. He also has other business interests like City Retread, City Oil and Café Javas. Cafes Javas found at City Oil Wandegeya and Shoprite Mall, Nakawa have been lauded for their quality food. Meanwhile, when City Oil was starting out, detractors said it would fail. How could another gas station succeed where so many others already existed? However, with Mandela’s involvement in his own business and his insistence on quality customer care provided, City Oil thrived and is one of the most successful gas stations in Uganda. He is however, very stingy on his money because he knows how to keep it. He drives an old Toyota RAV4, has been with it for a very long time and seems to be comfortable. Although he has a lot of money he looks at spending on powerful SUVs as wasteful. Lately he invested in Wheat flour biz.

IGP MARTINS OCHOLA

He is a professional police officer and has served in the force for very many years. Unlike other top officers who stay in Kakunguru, Muyenga, Kololo, Buziga, he stays in Buto- Bweyogerere. He lives in a modest house that has a very small compound which cannot park three Land Cruisers. When he was appointed the IGP, automatically more than 12 escorts were deployed to take charge of his security. He has a convoy of five cars including his official car and four motorcycles with two policemen on each all armed to teeth. Whenever he is heading home all roads have to be sealed off starting from Namugongo-Kywaliwajala-Mbalwa road junction up to his home opposite Sena Junior School. He was very fast to calculate that it was not necessary for all these police officers to sleep at his home because it would come with an extra cost of feeding them as well as meeting other overheads like water and electricity consumption. Whenever he is delivered at his home at around 5pm, about three guards stay behind and the convoy trucks with police officers drive back to the headquarters. They however remain on standby for any night deployment when the need arises. By doing this, his boys cater for themselves and he saves the money that would be spent on them for better use.

JOSEPH KASUMBA

He is the owner of Jokas Hotel in Bweyogerere that has gardens, a bar as well as a restaurant and health club. He earns from both wings but he is all the time worried about money. Sources say he does not use the bank’s money to run his businesses but when you meet him you can think, the ‘wanyondo’ (court bailiffs) have just alerted him that they are coming to his hotel. He is one proprietor of the business that does not have an independent procurement department. He shops most of the requirements at his hotel. A story is told that he wakes up very early at around 4:30am and heads to Kireka Farmers Market to buy food for the restaurant. He counts each and everything. While doing stocktaking in the evening, he asks for the number of people that have eaten meat vis a vis the kilograms he has purchased. He is so stingy that he can hardly enjoy expensive drinks from his bar. Recently Kasumba hosted an introduction and giveaway of his daughter Immaculate Nabakooza at his Jokas Hotel.

Nabakooza and her hubby Micheal Nyonyintono Robinson, a supervisor at UK’s largest airport, Heathrow got married in the UK and wedded some years ago but skipped the traditional kwanjula which they did recently. Despite the pomp from the in-laws, Kasumba had wanted to throw a small bash after reportedly consulting cheap service providers. However, the family members rejected his idea and forced him to throw a lavish party in which millions were spent with no profits. Those who know his ways say he is still regretting up to now on why a lot of drinks and food were served to the guests free of charge at a hotel that belongs to him.

FRANK MURAMUZI

He is a boss at the National Association of professional Environmentalists (NAPE). He is very loaded but his money is his alone. He owns huge chunks of land around Entebbe, owns Modern Hotel in Bwebajja, several modern apartments along Lubereto Road in Entebbe. He hails from Biharwe, Mbarara District and he has changed the face of his township with his Emizaabibu Cottages. He is one person his village mates are proud of whenever he is in his area code but most of them keep praying that he loses money and they pick it. He has mastered all the characteristics of SMAU members by distancing himself from ladies. He is always in the company of loaded men who in most cases cater for themselves.

HARRIET NTABAZI

She is the State Minister for Trade. Some officials refer to her as a villager at the ministry. Whereas she has been able to stand to some officials there who feel are much experienced in statecraft, she is very stingy. Some technocrats at the ministry also resent her for being stingy whereas others see this as a sign of being incorruptible. Recently she has been caught up in the rice trade storm. Of recent she has been in rice import related storm. But sources say she is paying the price for rejecting a bribe from one of the top commissioners aka Emma at the ministry amounting between Shs60m to 80m. That this commissioner, who was representing some four big rice import players, wanted her to soften her stance towards realigning the rice trade which she objected to. There are also allegations that the haranguing she is getting from parliament is because of her stinginess—she did not understand a shs50m-10m language from some legislators’ to back off the matter.

FRANK TWINE

He is very elusive and difficult to get. Not even his relatives can get a chance to meet him since he suspects that they are looking for free money. Once you are well off and with no intentions of asking for money, then you can chill with him at Eliana Hotel in Ntinda. Twine is the tycoon behind Kinkizi Traders Limited. He sells Aluminum doors and windows that are used across the country, he owns Eliana Hotel in Ntinda, several apartment blocks in Konge, houses in Kevina – Nsambya. He is also behind the distribution of sleeping babe jerry across the country and beyond. He really knows that guarding your money makes one a very rich man.

GEN CHARLES ANGINA

He is now at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior he was the Deputy Chief of Defence forces, the second highest military position within the UPDF. He was also a boss at Operation Wealth Creation. He knows how to protect his wealth. He is very loaded but he hates the habits of removing his wallet to share money with anyone. When one goes through the articles of SMAU members, he tries to uphold several. He is very careful with his escorts, whenever he has a journey he warns them to park food like ripe bananas and mangoes that cannot go bad. He hates stop-overs that require unnecessary spending. Those who have ever worked with him will tell you that the staple food for his soldiers on a journey is mangoes and cassava.

JOHN KAKANDE

He is a former Editor of all seasons at New Vision where he served for a very long time. Very experienced and humble. However his humbleness manifested itself to stinginess. Once he is to buy something, he never minds about quality and classy things but quantity. He used to walk from his well air-conditioned office at New Vision to Lufula to eat cheap food. At 4k he would get served a bowl full of meat with rice, kalo, posho, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, pumpkins, greens. The pieces of meat are so huge that one can think they use an axe to cut them. Being an Editor who earned a lot, he was expected to buy lunch for his reporters who were permanent clients at Lufula. However, he only used to pay for his meal and rush back to the office to drink free cold water from the dispenser. He rarely flirted with ladies for fear that they could ask for transport. About six years ago, Kakande had refused to buy a vehicle. He commuted every morning and evening until his workmates started mocking him. At that time, they demarcated parking and provided slots for the editors and other managers. All the other managers would park their vehicles and rush to the office as Kakande jumped on and off the boda boda and wiped his face with a towel. When the cleaner realized that Kakande’s slot for parking was always free, he started parking his wheelbarrow there. This forced Kakande to buy a vehicle. He did not buy a saloon car or a SUV but a Toyota Hiace. It would drop him in the morning and proceed to transport passengers and make more money for him. He did this for quite some time and we today unveil him as a strong member of SMAU.

(TO BE CONTINUED…)

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