By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA:
Reknown city entrepreneur, tycoon Hajji Bulaimu Muwanga Kibirige a.k.a BMK has passed on.
BMK, a celebrated real eastate entrepreneur and book author passed on Thursday night at Nairobi hospital in Kenya.
He has been a known kidney failure patient. However, no official communication about the cause of his death has been released by his family.
Details of his death and funeral arrangements shall be published in our subsequent reports.
BMK Profile: (adapted from Kampala Sqoop)
Born on 2nd October, 1953, Hajj Bulaimu Muwanga Kibirige, commonly known as BMK, is a Ugandan businessman, entrepreneur and hotel owner. He is one of the wealthiest people in Uganda.
In 1986, BMK Group started a general trade and manufacturing company. Ten years later in 1997 Hotel Africana was born with only 40-rooms they have now expanded to 233 rooms and 30 serviced apartments on Kololo Hill, a prestigious location within Kampala’s central business district.
During the next ten years, the hotel grew into a four star establishment, with several amenities, a swimming pool, manicured gardens and a conference center, the Africana Conference Center, with a seating capacity of 3,500 delegates.
In addition to the hotel, BMK has invested in real estate, construction equipment, motorcycle distributorships and foreign exchange bureaus across East and Central Africa.
He was also the founder of the Boda Boda rides in Uganda, a term he says was first used at the border of Uganda and Kenya when people used to cross on bicycles he later introduced Motorcycles imported from Japan and the culture of Boda Bodas was born.
Bulaimu Muwanga Kibirige is the Chairman and Managing Director of the BMK Group of companies, whose member businesses include: Hotel Africana, 2-4 Wampewo Avenue, Kololo Hill, Kampala, Uganda, Hotel Africana- Moroto, BMK Group (U) Limited, Nateete, Kampala, Uganda, BMK Group (K) Limited, Nairobi, Kenya ,BMK Group(T) Limited, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, BMK Group (R) Limited, Kigali, Rwanda and BMK Group (Z) Limited, Lusaka, Zambia.
Other businesses include, Hotel Africana Forex Bureau 1, 2-4 Wampewo Avenue, Kampala, Uganda, Hotel Africana Forex Bureau 2, 16-18 William Street, Kampala Uganda, BMK Construction Leasing Company, Kigali, Rwanda and BMK Oil Equipment Company, Kampala, Uganda.
In addition to his private business interests, Bulaimu Muwanga Kibirige serves in the following public positions: He is a former Chairman of the Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA).He is a former Board Member and Chairman Uganda chapter of the Ugandan North American Association (UNAA)
Currently he serves as the Chairman Executive Board of Uganda-Sickle Cell Rescue Foundation.
In 2014, BMK was awarded a doctorate of Philosophy in Humanities at the United Graduate College and Seminary. In the same year, he received a Diaspora Lifetime Award for entrepreneurship in the East and Central Africa region.
The businessman currently has over 1,000 employees.
