City businessman Francis Kakumba, 65, proprietor of Haks Investments Limited, Haks bond and several properties downtown Kampala, is dead.
His son, Mr Isaac Muyanja Kakumba, told Sunday Monitor at the family’s Buziga home yesterday morning that the tycoon lost the fight to cancer of the throat late on Friday afternoon at Nakasero Hospital where he had been in intensive care for more than a week.
“He had undergone treatment abroad for some time, but made a decision to return home because the condition had not changed much,” he said.
Who is Kakumba?
Francis Kakumba was born on November 4, 1955 to Michael and Catharine Nantare Gumiriza.
He went to Ssanda Primary School before joining Kilembe Secondary School in Kasese where he completed his lower secondary school education.
In 1979, at 24 years, Kakumba at the nudging of his brother in-law, Mr John Reich, with most of the industries down or simply limping after the years of mismanagement that followed President Amin’s decision to send the British and other British protected person packing followed by the nationalisation of their companies, the best opportunity was in the importation of manufactured good. Advertisement
“He started by importing from the DR Congo and later begun taking Congolese-made kitenge clothes to Kenya. That is how the business started and grew,” Mr Isaac Muyanja Kakumba said.
Property
The movement into real estate commenced in 1995 following the acquisition of a small piece of land in Ntinda.
This was followed by the acquisition of land in Busunju where a farm and coffee processing mill were established before Haks Car bond was opened in 2004.
The Bible in 1 Timothy 6:10 says: “For the love of money is the root of all evil…” Kakumba loved the money and worked so hard to get it, but it did not make him forget his faith or his God.
“He
was a member of St Luke’s Church in Ntinda. He contributed towards its
construction and that is where he always went to pray,” Isaac Muyanja
Kakumba says of his father.
Squabbles
The member of the Kwagalana Group where he was part of the nine-member executive committee, was however only human to once in a while get embroiled in running battles with others.
He has since December 2014 been embroiled in a court battle with Kawempe South MP, Mr Mubarak Munyagwa, who he accused of having taken from him more than Shs173m.
The money was allegedly meant to facilitate Mr Munyagwa to influence Kawempe Division Urban Council where Munyagwa was the chairperson then, to nominate Kakumba’s son, Isaac Muyanja, to represent Kawempe Division on the Kampala City Land Board.
Again in Mr Kakumba faced off with the Executive Director of Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) then, Ms Jennifer Musisi, after she directed that one of Mr Kakumba’s companies, Prime Rose, vacate KCCA land along Lugogo Bypass following a dispute over rent.
Despite those fights, one of his longtime friends and associate, Mr Mansoor Matovu, alias “Young”, says Mr Kakumba was a very level-headed person who went a long way in always arbitrating disputes among property owners and business persons down town Kampala.
“I had a lot of respect for him. He was the one who introduced me to real estate business and as you know, we once in a while get involved in disputes here and there, but he has always been there to cool tempers and help us in resolving our problems” Mr Matovu said.
There was a funeral service for Kakumba at St Luke’s Church Ntinda yesterday afternoon followed by a vigil at his Buziga home. He is to be laid to rest today at Sissa village on Entebbe Road.
