In the heart of Kampala, Uganda’s capital, whispers of intrigue, greed, witchcraft, ill will, lack of patriotism, assassinations, clandestine maneuvers, dirty deals, and defiance of Presidential directives for selfish gain—these define the corridors of power.
The above description has witnessed countless projects fail at the expense of taxpayers’ money, dragging the nation backward. The small clique behind this has a policy: “if I cannot have it, then no one can.”
This best describes the fresh fight at Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL), a once-revered telecommunications company now mired in financial turmoil.
The fate of UTL has become a battleground, with competing interests vying for control and influence within the highest echelons of Ugandan governance.
It all began with President Yoweri Museveni’s directive to revitalize UTL, a strategic asset deemed critical to Uganda’s telecommunications infrastructure.
Tasked with spearheading the company’s revival, the President endorsed Rowad Capital Commercial (RCC), a Dubai-based firm, as the preferred investor for UTL.
The stage was set for RCC to lead UTL into a new era of growth and prosperity—or so it seemed.
However, beneath the layer of Museveni’s endorsement lay a web of conflicting interests and hidden agendas.
Junior Minister Hon. Evelyn Anite had other plans. Armed with her own vision for UTL’s future, Anite quietly courted Axian Group, a telecommunications company headquartered in Madagascar, as an alternative investor.
The minister’s covert maneuvering set the stage for a collision course with the President’s directives.
As tensions simmered within the Ugandan government, a new player entered the fray: Viettel Group, Vietnam’s telecommunications powerhouse.
With a global reputation for innovation and scale, Viettel emerged as a formidable contender to lead UTL’s revival. Yet, its entry into the UTL saga was far from conventional.
This website has since gathered that top government officials, teaming with their cohorts in private businesses, whom we will name in our subsequent edition, formed a delegation embarking on a covert mission to Vietnam, intent on courting Viettel Group behind closed doors.
As if that were not enough, they squandered taxpayers’ money on travel expenses with President Museveni’s letter in their hands, contradicting it by endorsing the Dubai firm led by Chaher Al Taki.
“The Ministry of Finance, Planning & Economic Development should make a formal offer to ROWAD CAPITAL COMMERCIAL (RCC) to jointly invest in the New National Telecommunications Company with 60% of the ownership going to RCC and 40% shareholding for Government. In addition to Government’s equity contribution that should be ascertained, RCC is expected to commit to avail a minimum of US$ 25 Million within 90 days as working capital from the offer date and a minimum of US$ 200 Million for network revamp in the New National Telecommunications Company during the first 3 (three) years,” Museveni instructed.
Who were these officials, and what drove them to defy President Museveni’s directives?
TrumpetNews understands that these officials made the move to source a third investor following their fight with Junior Minister of Investment Evelyn Anite, who, despite receiving Presidential orders to collaborate with RCC and see its through revamping UTL, turned behind and invited Xian Group.
On May 4, 2022, Minister Anite, ignoring the President’s instructions, wrote to Axian Group CEO Hiridjee, inviting him to conduct due diligence on UTL facilities since he was granted access after expressing interest in partnering with the government.
The letter reads in part: “Expression of interest in the redevelopment of Uganda Telecommunications Corporation Ltd (UTCL). Reference is made to your letter dated 5th April 2022 wherein you expressed interest in partnering with the government in the investment and redevelopment of UTCL.”
Anite further informed Axian Group CEO that she had informed the board of directors of UTL about the planned visit to carry out due diligence and had granted access to UTL facilities.
This website understands that all the investors had to pay a certain amount as a commission to win the deal.
“But because government officials didn’t agree on sharing the commission from Xian, that is why some hurriedly went to Vietnam to look for a new investor Viettel who reportedly wet their beaks,” said a source.
Back in Kampala, the power struggle over UTL intensified. Proponents of Viettel Group hailed its potential to breathe new life into UTL, citing its track record of success in telecommunications markets around the world. Yet, critics decried the clandestine nature of the government’s actions, accusing the officials involved of undermining the President’s authority and flouting due process.
“These officials with global connections knew that inviting Viettel would accord them a huge opportunity for a fat commission because of the financial muscle of the firm.
Viettel Group is currently the largest telecommunications group in Vietnam with 76 million customers.
The group consists of more than 20 subsidiary companies running different types of businesses, including telecom, investment, real estate, foreign trade, and technical services.
Axian Group, partly dealing in telecommunications, is owned by Hassanein Hiridjee, a French-Malagasy entrepreneur and CEO of the panafrican group Axian.
But Museveni, who had interacted with the CEO of RCC and having done due diligence, was convinced that RCC was the right company to revamp UTL.
BACKGROUND
Documents obtained by this website indicate that on March 29, 2021, President Museveni wrote to two ministers, Hon. Matia Kasaija and Evelyn Anite, directing them on the “formation and investment in the new national telecommunications company.”
The new company was to replace the debt-ridden Uganda Telecom Limited, which would later be disbanded.
Efforts to find an investor to recapitalize the once-revered government parastatal had fallen flat following ugly fights between Minister Anite and former Registrar General of URSB Twebaze Bemanya, who was the administrator of the firm in 2019.
The two fought fiercely to see their preferred investor take over the business but in vain. Whereas Bemanya favored Manhattan Telecom, Anite had stealthily sourced Mauritius Telecom to take over UTL.
The junior minister struggled to clean her image following a whistleblower who alleged that she had been offered a $7 million bribe to seal the deal.
However, the Inspectorate of Government later cleared her of the allegations, and the Mauritius government through its secretary to Cabinet G. Banymandhub clarified that no meetings had been held between representatives of MT and any member of the Ugandan government, including Evelyn Anite.
According to Museveni’s letter, after relaying how the new UTL should run, he directed the two ministers Kasaija and Anite to make a formal offer to RCC (Rowad Capital Commercial).
“The Ministry of Finance, Planning & Economic Development should make a formal offer to ROWAD CAPITAL COMMERCIAL (RCC) to jointly invest in the New National Telecommunications Company with 60% of the ownership going to RCC and 40% shareholding for Government. In addition to Government’s equity contribution that should be ascertained, RCC is expected to commit to avail a minimum of US$ 25 Million within 90 days as working capital from the offer date and a minimum of US$ 200 Million for network revamp in the New National Telecommunications Company during the first 3 (three) years,” Museveni instructed.
Surprisingly, on May 4, 2022, Minister Anite, ignoring the President’s instructions, wrote to Axian Group CEO Hiridjee inviting him to conduct due diligence on UTL facilities since he was granted access after expressing interest in partnering with the government.
The letter reads in part: “Expression of interest in the redevelopment of Uganda Telecommunications Corporation Ltd (UTCL). Reference is made to your letter dated 5th April 2022 wherein you expressed interest in partnering with the government in the investment and redevelopment of UTCL.”
Anite further informed Axian Group CEO that she had informed the board of directors of UTL about the planned visit to carry out due diligence and had granted access to UTL facilities.
She further wrote to UTL board of directors on April 7 over the same.
Probe
As President Museveni anxiously awaited good news on the redevelopment of UTL by RCC, he was further dismayed by the presence of the new investor Axian Group.
According to sources in State House, the President received a financial intelligence report written by the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) suggesting that RCC was unable to manage the multibillion-dollar investment because it was bankrupt.
Most investors have been frustrated with this tactic if they are not choices of the authorities in government.
Against that backdrop, President Yoweri Museveni deployed Gen. Proscovia Nalweyiso to investigate the report by FIA, and on July 14, 2022, she issued a memo saying the President had granted an audience to Moses Kantu, the Chairman of RCC, to update him on the impediments and unfounded technicalities deterring the potential investor.
“His Excellency directed that [we] find out and brief him as to why this project has delayed and report back in two weeks.”
Efforts to reach Hon. Anite for comment were futile by press time as her known number was unavailable.
Uganda Telecom (UTL) last year in August transformed into UTel, a new branch of the Uganda Telecommunications Corporation Limited (UTCL) Ugandan Government.
During the launch Minister Anite revealed that government was searching for a potential investor to sink in shs 300 billion to revamp it.
TrumpetNews will publish names and faces of these top government officials behind the clandestine plot to handover UTL to Viettel.