Business News By Leo Odera Omolo in Kisumu City
HE had just won a sh2.2b contract to repair Kampala city roads. It would have been one of many such huge deals he had clinched in a rosy but sometimes controversial career spanning decades.
And that would have added to his sh20b fortune. But it was never to be.
Seasoned entrepreneur Andrew Kasagga a.k.a. Zzimwe collapsed on his bed yesterday and died before reaching the hospital.
Early yesterday, the 63-year-old tycoon collapsed on his bed. Zzimwe had battled the cancer of the pancreas for many years.
He was pronounced dead on arrival at Kampala International Hospital at about 8:00am, where his family rushed him, his son Paul Kasagga, told dejected mourners.
By press time, a tentative budget of sh50m had been drawn for the burial.
Kasagga was the founder of Zzimwe Enterprises Hardware and Construction company, one of the first in Kampala, and which he named after his humble village of Zzimwe in Masaka district. So influential was his company that he became known by its name, Zzimwe.
His death is a great blow to the village in which the dark-skinned, soft-spoken business business mogul was adored.
Narrating how he passed on, his grieving son Paul said: “He felt weak after showering, so he lay on the bed. Shortly afterwards, mum called us when she realised he was unconscious. We took him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.”
Paul has been running the family business for years as his father fought ill-health.
Zzimwe last visited the company offices in Kabalagala, a city suburb, in October last year.
Although the astute businessman, who rose from humble beginnings, had fought the cancer for a while, his state was not worrying, Paul told journalists and mourners at their home in Muyenga, another city suburb.
“Dad was okay. My brothers and I met him and briefed him about the company after which he watched a football match. He was fine.”
“He was on a strict vegetarian diet but he requested for some fish. He later watched another football match before retiring.”
The ailment was detected in South Africa last year, Paul, the director of Zzimwe, adding that his father was recently treated at the Tata Cancer Institute in India.
Mourners, among them several Kampala’s affluent belonging to the Kwagalana Members’ Group, an exclusive club, flocked Zzimwe’s posh residence.
Kwagalana boss Godfrey Kirumira described Zzimwe as a humble, God-fearing man.
“We are all saddened. He was a senior adviser in the Kwagalana Group and did many things to uplift people’s lives. He would apologise immediately if he annoyed someone,” he said.
Kwagalana Group, he announced, would take charge of the burial.
Deputy Kampala mayor Rose Namayanja and city engineer Steven Kinyera were among the mourners. Namayanja said Zzimwe’s death was a big blow to the city and country.
A vigil will be held at Kisugu today before a funeral service at Rubaga Cathedral tomorrow. Thereafter, the remains will be taken to Seeta in Mukono for burial on Thursday. Zzimwe is survived by four wives and 19 children.
Who is he?
Zzimwe’s farming village owes a lot to him. By naming his businesses after his village, he promoted it.
For instance, his associates employed many young people from his village. “He generously gives to residents of Zzimwe. Many rich people forget their villages, but Kassaga has not forgotten us,” said Simon Kizito, a resident. If he was unable to attend a function in the village, he would send a representative to deliver a “big message”, the resident added.
Zzimwe, like his father Peter Kalema, became a businessman at an early age.
He did not go far in school. At 14, he was already dealing in coffee and cotton, which he sold to Indian businessmen. Four years later, he bought a motorcycle and joined his father’s cattle business.
In a rare press interview, he said in 1962 he won sh4,000 in a lottery organised by Kimaanya Seminary, which he invested in timber business based in Buyaga forests. He sold the timber to a Kampala friend.
Ever looking for better returns, Zzimwe moved to Kampala and rented a small room in Katwe, a Kampala suburb, where he sold fish.
From the profits, he bought a pick-up truck, which he used to transport scarce merchandise from Kenya during the chaotic years of Idi Amin.
In the 1980s, he joined the hardware business trading under Zzimwe Hardware based in Nakasero Market.
Later, he bought second-hand road construction equipment and began applying for contracts to seal pot-holes on roads before winning bigger tenders in the 1990s.
He was the first to establish a locally-owned quarry in Mukono valued at $4m, which put him at par with international construction companies like Spencon and ROKO. Now his assets—construction equipment, land and buildings—are estimated at beyond sh20b.
Zzimwe was a party animal, but he also loved sports. He donated generously to sports activities, and was a leading financier of SC Villa since the early 1980s. Zzimwe also had a penchant for expensive clothing. Gold was his choice of jewelry.
He also be remembered as a loving father who ensured a comfortable life for children, who enjoyed posh cars, nice houses in Muyenga and education in top Western universities.
Major construction projects
Zzimwe’s big projects included renovating Nakasero State Lodge, repairing the National Independence Grounds in Kololo and constructing security roads at the Uganda-Sudan border on top of various tenders with the Kampala City Council.
In January 2000, Zzimwe won a sh3b tender to seal pot-holes on 26 roads in Kampala city. His company also constructed Kampala Parents School and FUFA House in Mengo.
Woes
In 2003, Zzimwe’s company featured prominently in the IGG’s report over shoddy work.
The in 2005, the Kenyan government also investigated him over $1m fraud, but he was later absolved. Some projects undertaken by his company tended to delay, sparking off protests.
Ends