Mugoya Estate is a middle-class gated community in Nairobi's South C area.
James
Mugoya Isabirye, a billionaire from Uganda, is the name of the estate, which is
home to several maisonettes, each with its own compound. The multi-billionaire
is both an engineer and a businessman.
Little
is known about his parents, but he attended primary school before enrolling in
Kings College Budo for his secondary education. He was born in Eastern Uganda
in 1950.
Kings
College is an affluent institution in Uganda, as its name would imply. Only two
things could open the doors to the esteemed institution: cash and intelligence.
Mugoya
later enrolled at the University of Nairobi to study engineering. As a young
man in a foreign land at a time when Kenya and Uganda were not on the best of
terms, he had no idea that would be the defining feature of his purple patch.
Mugoya
made friends at UoN, one of whom was the son of then-Vice President and future
President Daniel Arap Moi. He kept the friendship, and with it came a bag of
goodies.
Following
his graduation, the Ugandan tycoon established Mugoya Construction and
Engineering Company Limited. Through his cordial relations with the first
family, he was able to secure contracts that many engineers could only dream
of.
Mugoya
Construction is behind some of Nairobi's most iconic
buildings, including Times Tower, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF)
building, and Hazina Estate. He built Moi High School, Kabarak, Kabarak
University, and the Kisumu Provincial Headquarters outside of the capital.
Mugoya
was awarded a contract by NSSF in 1995 to build 265 houses in Karen, as well as
an administration building, a club house, and a kindergarten. However, the
project did not begin due to pending Nairobi City Council approvals.
The
Ugandan Tycoon would, in 2012, receive Ksh342 million in an out-of-court
settlement for the very project. He initially claimed Ksh633 million.
In
2001, he filed a Ksh1.9 billion claim against the government for a contract
awarded to him in 1990 to build an annex to the Treasury Building.
Mugoya
and a member of the UAE Royal Family claimed prime plots worth Ksh20 billion in
2018, on which the Hilton Upper Hill Tower is being built. They allege that the
developer who owns the plot of land has encroached on and taken over at least
two other adjacent plots.
His
company, however, was liquidated in 2015 due to accrued debt, which included
Ksh324 million in compensation paid to NSSF.
Both
in Kenya and Uganda, the Ugandan billionaire has had run-ins with the law. He
was accused of selling construction equipment worth Ksh3.5 billion that had
been charged to a Kenyan bank.
His
case, however, was dismissed on August 21, 2021.
In
Uganda, a court ruled that he must answer questions about allegedly running an
illegal joint real estate venture worth Ksh149 million (Ush8 billion).
However,
he is still celebrated in his country. He rebuilt Bugabawe Primary School
in 1994 after a student was killed when the roof collapsed during heavy rains.
He demolished the school's dilapidated structures and rebuilt them from
scratch.
Comments