By Our Reporters
This week Bagisu cultural leader (the Umukukah) was in Kampala where he had many engagements including participating in peripheral discussions to chat a way forward for his Prime Minister Francis Mashate who is sinking into unprecedented indebtedness. Amiable Mashate, who until recently served as the Deputy ED UBOS, has been the Bamasaba cultural institution’s Prime Minister for about three years now. Mashate after ending his tour of duty at UBOS wished to remain around longer and visible in public life including scooping a ministerial position in President Museveni’s government. In fact he pondered running for a Parliamentary seat in 2016 but for unknown reasons he didn’t. Instead he took to consultancy leveraging on the vast contacts he had built while lucratively working at UBOS.
SOURCE OF INDEBTEDNESS;
On learning of his high appetite for ministerial appointment, a mystery Mbale tycoon approached him and offered to help. The tycoon, renowned for his sometimes exaggerated State House connections, claimed to be very close to President Museveni’s assistants and asked for some money (over Shs150m) as facilitation to intensify lobbying for Mashate’s ministerial position in the post 2016 elections reshuffle. It wasn’t readily clear if this tycoon’s extortionist tendencies succeeded against Mashate. The other trap came in the form of the ambitious commercial undertakings Mashate was duped into taking targeting lucrative deals in Dubai and Singapore. Some guys, who turned out to be Bafere, approached him and put very tempting offers on table. They told him this import trade was lucrative except that for them lacked money to go into it. They advised him to invest in it while retaining them as consultants that would orient him into how it works. Mashate, who was desperate to show his haters and work place adversaries that it was possible to live happily in retirement, generously responded to the proposal. He, however, didn’t readily have sufficient money to invest into the Dubai and Singaporian ventures. He had some money but needed some more to properly seal off the commercial ventures the Baferes duped him into. It was then that he approached Gregory Mafabi (brother to ex-Budadiri MP Cosmas Busima; the two brothers aren’t very good friends though) and asked him for a soft loan of the amount we couldn’t readily establish. Gregory Mafabi didn’t have any problem since Mashate had some prime properties to offer him as security. The security were two commercial prime properties Mashate owns in Natete and in the Kampala Central Business District. As fate was to have it, the ventures in which Mashate innocently invested didn’t turn out as profitable as the Baferes had made him think. “He lost all the money and as we talk Gregory Mafabi is on his case. He wants back his money having failed to get buyers for the properties that were mortgaged to him as security. Mashate is so distraught he even doesn’t take Gregory Mafabi’s telephone calls anymore,” a knowledgeable Bugisu elder told this news website. “The Umukukah is even in a harder situation because these two are his subjects and he now doesn’t know who to side with yet the money Mashate is required to repay is in colossal sums.” There are fears if Bagisu elders’ efforts to meet the President and secure some bailout don’t succeed, Mashate might succumb to stress these Gregory Mafabi debts have occasioned unto him. “He is increasingly becoming withdrawn because he has clearly lost hope of ever getting the money to pay these debts that keep accumulating every passing day because of the interest,” said a concerned Mashate acquaintance. “It’s really very embarrassing because as Bamasaba we aren’t comfortable having a prime minister who is distressed.” Gregory Mafabi, whose property acquisition profile in the Eastern region remains unrivalled, is already a property mogul in his own right. He is renowned for owning Kageyi Hotel in Mbale among other commercial properties and he is also the Nile Breweries super distribution agent for the Central region. For comments, call/text orwhatsapp us on 0703164755.
