By Aggrey Baba
Senior Presidential Advisor on Defence and Security Issues Lt. Gen. Proscovia Nalweyiso has pushed back against questions surrounding businessman Hajji Hassan Bulwadda’s wealth, arguing that the businessman did not suddenly emerge with money when he sought to redevelop Kampala’s City Square.
In a recent interview with Salam TV’s Twaha Mukiibi, Nalweyiso said Bulwadda had already built a substantial business portfolio, including several estates, before submitting his proposal for the prime Kampala property.
“We have seen these people grow financially. We have heard of Bulwadda Estates, and we have seen Ham become who he is. Bulwadda has a number of estates; he is not just coming up now. By the time he decided to ask for City Square, his other estates were already making money,” Nalweyiso said.
Her intervention comes as Bulwadda’s City Square proposal faces public opposition, with critics questioning the redevelopment of the open space and warning against losing its greenery and other public functions.
Bulwadda has proposed developing the site into a modern mixed-use project, with plans that have been presented as an investment and urban redevelopment initiative. President Yoweri Museveni has directed the relevant authorities to study the proposal and report back before any final decision is made.
But for Nalweyiso, the debate should not be reduced to suspicion about where Bulwadda obtained his money.
She argued that security agencies would have legitimate questions where an individual appeared from nowhere with unexplained wealth and immediately sought control of a major public asset. She, however, said Bulwadda’s record was different because his businesses had already been operating and generating money.
Nalweyiso also cited businessman Hamis Kiggundu, recalling that he was once invited to Kyankwanzi to share his business journey, which she said involved starting from zero.
The remarks come at a time when the City Square proposal has attracted resistance from some Kampala leaders and politicians, who have raised concerns about the preservation of public green space and the wider implications of the redevelopment.
The debate has therefore shifted beyond the proposed building itself to questions about the developer, his business record and whether his investment proposal should be assessed on its merits.
Nalweyiso’s position is that Bulwadda’s established business interests provide important context to the controversy and that his City Square proposal should not be treated as the sudden ambition of a businessman whose financial background is unknown. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
