NAMED! Uganda’s top stingy men & women revealed (part 3)
Computer generated 3D photo rendering.
In the book of Proverbs 20:21, an inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning will not be blessed in the end. Quick money is often thought of as a blessing – but often is more like a curse. This proverb is all about warning us of the dangers of quickly gaining money and wealth without having the character to deal with what we receive. This reading teaches people to get money and guard it safely and jealously, so being stingy on your money is not a crime at all. Stingy men in Kampala are very rich and they know how to protect their money/wealth.
Remember, the stingy shall inherit the earth. The generous shall die with regrets. Following this some men in Uganda formed an association and wrote a constitution to protect the rights of the stingy men. Members of the Stingy Men Association Uganda (SMAU) call themselves ‘Stingers’ for there is no pain than to deny other people the gains of our sweat. Not all the members written about hereunder are members of association but they behave in a similar manner. For a person to qualify as a Member of SMAU, he is not supposed to pledge at weddings extravagantly, dish out free money, give transport refunds anyhow and spend on luxurious things. In our part one, we bring you Ugandan men who are frugal with their money and they carry no blame at all.
MEDARD SSEGONA
He studied law at Makerere University and taught himself mathematics on how to spend money. He knows how to put money to good use. He drives a powerful Mercedes Benz – Cross Country but he defied the odds of taking it to renowned and specific mechanics for Benzes in Kampala because they charge a lot of money. He settles for his mechanics at Kisekka Market. Although the years have passed, he is still comfortable with his Benz of UAU series. He is not like these other flashy lawyers who buy vehicles every year. He saves for other things. Few people that keep around him can tell you the colour of his wallet since he rarely pulls it out.
COL. KAKA BAGYENDA
The former Director General of Internal Security Organisation (ISO) is so stingy that he is always preaching patriotism. He used to be very protective of the operational funds. Whenever he would be told to pay for a service done, he would say ‘be patriotic’. While at big hotels, Kaka cannot go for those expensive drinks that sour the bills within a short time. He drinks warm Bell Beer and sometimes with boiled eggs. His office was always stoked with boxes of Flash juice, hot water flasks to ensure he doesn’t spend on these elsewhere. He does this to limit his budget. Besides he is one person who knows how to save his money. He is based in Kalangala where he directly controls his trading activities to earn all the money.
CUBAN EMBASSY BOSSES
Almost all embassies in Uganda are very hospitable and they treat guests well. However, the situation at the Cuban Embassy in Uganda is compared to a war zone. Whenever deployments are made to the embassies, cops avoid being deployed there because of the possibility of starving to death. The in-charge at the Cuban embassy have taken stinginess to another level.
GEN MOSES ALI
Gen Ali is a Muslim with four wives as Sharia law commands. He has very many children and a story is told that he works on a budget. His boys buy sacks of posho, beans, turmeric and onions from Kisenyi whenever he is going to check on his family. Also he buys jerrycans of cooking oil from Kikuubo and distributes to his wives. He buys in bulk because wholesales sell cheaply. Because of his big family, Gen. Ali is among UPDF bosses who reportedly storm Mbuya and Bombo barracks to collect food ration of Posho and beans from the army like all other soldiers. Other Generals of his caliber had stopped picking Posho many years ago but not him. While in town Gen Moses Ali spends 15k on his lunch. He loves boiled food from Baguma Restaurant. He always parks opposite the restaurant and one of his escorts enters to buy only one share as he waits in the hind seat.
RAS MANYANGA
Vision group’s popular cartoonist Rastoon aka Charles Onen tops the list of the stingy men. He earns good money but he knows how to put it to proper use. He has driven a Toyota Carina for the last 12 years. He is a very smart man whose car is always clean. He rarely gives lifts because people can dirten it and it warrants him to spend 10k at a washing bay. In the New Vision office, the historicals know that Ras has been putting on one leather belt for the last 10 years. He always tells his friends that he works late in the night so as to drive on the jam free road and save on fuel. He holds one phone until it changes the factory made colour and settings. To crown it all, Ras delayed to marry not because he would not get sweethearts but he always insisted on paying pigs for bride wealth instead of cows. The reason for this was simple; pigs go for 500k yet each cow costs about 2m and they always ask for at least three cows and above. He wanted to use money for one cow to buy at least four pigs and save the rest. Ras has properly read the constitution of SMAU and tries to put in practice the contents of its articles.
BALAAM BARUGAHARA
While compiling this article, a section of journalists in the newsroom said don’t forget Balaam. Balaam is a big player in the real estate industry. Having invested in the media massively, he is one Ugandan who was not affected by COVID-19. He is bighearted and is known for heading fundraising occasions when tragedy befalls anyone in the Music industry. But Balaam spends on a tight budget. He is not luxurious as his dress code tells it all. Until recently Balaam’s best meal was yellow posho with beans. He has only changed the colour of posho but beans are still his staple. He does not take alcohol so he can’t buy it for anyone. He strains himself so much on worldly pleasures but likes sleeping in a very comfortable place. He controls expenditure to the dot. If a mechanic replaces a machine in his vehicle with a spare, he must keep the old one. He does most of his things directly to avoid young boys hitting him (enjawulo). He sends them to the fuel station and asks the pump attendant to fill the tank and take a screenshot of how much it has consumed. He does this on all service providers and suppliers of his building materials like Hardware World. He allows no room for diddling him. He is stingy but knows how to put money to good use and that is why he is rich.
APOLLO NYEGAMAHE ALIAS APONYE
Aponye hails from Muhanga in Rukiga District. He is the owner of Aponye Uganda limited, a company that deals in exporting, manufacturing, Real estate industry and transportation. He has a fleet of over 100 trailers. The Rukiga NRM boss knows how to put money to good use. Due to his humble background as a turn-boy at Ex-tycoon Kirussia’s vehicles, he learnt how to keep the money and put it to good use. Whenever he is in Kampala, his friends and former benefactors look for him to get some money for the weekend. They always queue at his office and he restricts them on cash depending on how they appear. Most of them are given 50k or even 20k. He is one tycoon who can hardly drop a coin and fails to pick it even if it is in the middle of the crowds’ downtown.
DR PROTAZIO BEGUMISA
He is the former commissioner of internal audit and compliance in the Uganda Revenue Authority who recently participated in elective politics for Ndorwa East MP seat but lost to Wilfred Nuwagaba. When he announced that he would contest for the seat, Nuwagaba and his supporters developed shivers since the word going round that time was that he had a lot of money and would splash it to make the voters forget Nuwagaba’s name. However, this did not come to pass. Whereas people expected money to flow like manna from heaven, the PHD holder whose mathematics is very thorough saved his money and lost. He could not trust any of his agents with money. The little that he spent sparingly, he did it himself. TO BE CONTINUED… (DO YOU KNOW ANY MEMBER OF SMAU OR THOSE BEHAVING LIKE SMAU MEMBERS INCLUDING WOMEN? CALL/TEXT/WHATSAPP 0777959024 OR EMAIL: REDPEPPERTIPS@GMAIL.COM)
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