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Where are they? : Andrew Rugasira, Justine Bagyenda, Patrick Kasulu…

By: Moses Kaketo

Andrew Rugasira: Possibly Uganda’s best entrepreneur

No doubt, Andrew Rugasira Magezi is one of the top local entrepreneurs, if not the finest, Uganda has ever produced. Launched in 2003, Rugasira beat all odds to become the first Ugandan to retail Ugandan processed coffee in European supermarkets.

In addition to being available in more than 700 U.K supermarkets and 500 stores in Africa, Good African Coffee was also available online in the United States.

An accomplished economist, Mr. Rugasira built a network of over 14,000 coffee farmers. What is more, he organized them into 280 groups. He devised a business model, encouraging local coffee farms to sell their beans to him at a reasonable price. His company would roast, package, and brand the final product. Whilst the profits would be split 50/50. For the few years he operated; the lives of farmers he was dealing with transformed significantly.

The Ugandan government that had been advocating for value addition did not commit itself to offering his company, Good African Coffee, with the essential funding to ensure that this project takes off.

As Rugasira battled to put Ugandan Coffee on the shelves in Europe, the taxman, the Uganda Revenue Authority was hardhearted in demand for taxes at a time, Good African Coffee would have profited from the kind of consideration that government affords to foreign investors including tax waivers etc.

The taxman sooner or later shut down Good African Coffee outlets in Kampala and its factory too. The doors also shut down for all the Ugandans who were earning a living from the company, the farmers he was supporting. Plus, the hundreds of Ugandans who were benefiting indirectly. Not forgetting the visibility Uganda was in Europe and across Africa.

Rugasira, the man with big ideas / vision-whose efforts would transmute Ugandan coffee farmers and the economy at large—ended just like that. That is how we missed the golden opportunity to transform our economy.

Around that time, Rugasira’s family also broke down. Mr. Rugasira and his wife walked different footpaths. One can say, he was down but undoubtedly not out!

With Good African Coffee gone, in 2016, Rugasira bid for the post of Executive Director, Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and industry  (UNCCI). The UNCCI  is the National-Wide umbrella organization for the private sector in Uganda. The main objective of the Chamber is to offer and protect the interests of the business community. He was challenging Olive Kigongo, [who is said to be close to the corridors of power], who has headed the Chamber for over 20 years.

The then, Trade Minister, Hon. Amelia Kyambadde, in November 2016, deferred the elections indefinitely.

Ten years later, Olive is still the president of the chamber. You guessed right, nothing has changed at the Chamber.

Currently, Rugasira is the founder and managing Director of Citadel Energy Service and Etranzact Platform.

Mr. Rugasira, who boasts of over 25 years in corporate statutory, marketing, communication, and leadership coaching, sits on a number of corporate boards.

The big question: was the Good African Coffee downfall politically inspired or it is Rugasira who mishandled his business? Well, a story for another day.

@Justine Bagyenda The once powerful BoU officer who sold banks via a phone call

On December 11th, 2018, local dailies published stories indicating that Justine Bagyenda the (then) Head of Supervision and Promoter of Financial Sector Stability at Bank of Uganda, had sold 08 commercial banks via a phone call-yes you read that correct, via a phone call.

In December 2018, Bank of Uganda officials told a Parliamentary Probe Committee that was investigating the alleged misdeeds by Bank of Uganda in the closure of commercial banks that Ms. Bagyenda had cleared the closure of eight banks(including ICB, Cooperative Bank, Greenland Bank) short of valuation reports detailing their financial status.

Evidence, presented before the COSASE, indicated that Bagyenda was the pivot of all operations and irregularities at the central bank. Well, nothing was done.

As they say, the rest is history. Ugandans moved on and the reports , recommendations by COSASE were ignored just like that. What a waste of time and resources

Just as Ugandans were trying to forget Bagyenda’s name and all that she did at the bank of all banks in Uganda, in July 2018, Finance Minister Hon. Matia Kasaijja appointed her on the board of the Financial Intelligence Authority, causing an uproar from the public. Kasaijja backtracked and dropped her.

On her LinkedIn, Bagyenda says she is currently a contributing expert for Prudential Banking supervision cohort 2023 in the Cambridge super Tech lab. She is also a financial sector lead consultant/executive associate at GN Associates Ltd.

Time flies.

#PatrickKasulu- The father & mother of fly by night real estate

The father and mother of fly by night, run a real estate company-Property Masters, which become a household name in the early 2000.

For over five years, he was living large, with an office at Nile Hotel- now Serena Conference Centre. He attracted hundreds of clients with a promise of sure sale and cheap land/plots.

Born in Butaleja district, in 2001, the graduate of Political Science and Public administration from Makerere University quit his job as senior assistant academic registrar of social sciences to join private business

Like countless businesses in Uganda, Property Masters, crumbled under the weight of fraud and law suits. As a face of real estate business in Uganda, Mr. Kasulu made so much and threw as much to friends and beneficiaries- many, if not all vanished in thin air when he became bankrupt.

In 2009, he was sent to prison over deceitful transactions.  After jail, Kasulu tried to start another real estate company- Agulirawo, but Ugandans had heard enough of him. No one wanted anything to do with him. Moreover, other players remarkably Jomayi Property Consultants had taken over the space of the flourishing industry left no room for the old, tired competition. Well, as they say, real estate business is a tough one. Jomayi Property consultants did not also survive for long.

All in all, there are lessons for todays and future entrepreneurs, businesspeople to pick from Mr. Kasulu and Jomayi Property Masters.

About the Writer: Moses Kaketo is a Marketing and Distribution expert and Content Creator. Feedback and comments: WhatsApp +256782507579