By Mulengera Reporters
On the strong recommendation of Zimbabwean evangelist, Locardia Karimatsenga Tembo (47), President Museveni directed GoU officials to favor Nigerian firm Taleology Holdings GIB Ltd as an investor to take
over Uganda Telecom Ltd. A former wife to Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangarai, Karimatsenga first came into contact with Museveni for a discussion that was totally unrelated to telecom business. Taleology offered Shs268bn ($70m) to acquire 67% shareholding in UTL. The GoU would remain a minority shareholder (with 33%). Besides being a lobbyist and power broker of sorts, Karimatsenga Tembo is an Apostle running Nation of Glory Church Ministries in South Africa. She was first introduced to Museveni as a philanthropist working on a major HIV research project with a group of Israeli scientists. “The President was very excited and told her delegation members they couldn’t have found a better place to do this from than Uganda. It was agreed they could conduct trials on some members of the armed forces and the medicine was successfully tried out. The results were very good indicating the medicine combinations by the Israel researchers obliterated the virus from the human body. The President was of course very happy to see Uganda participating in such a major breakthrough research undertaking. What for long remained pending confirmation was whether the same medicine combination totally eliminated the virus even from the human cells,” recalls an influential assistant to the President. State House sources add that this is something Museveni became very excited about because the project success would raise the profile of Uganda as a big player in the anti-HIV movement.
KNOWING M7 BETTER
As leader of the research team, Karimatsenga was permitted to have the President’s hotline which enabled her to call him anytime to consult or update him on the progress of the research outcomes. “The project was highly confidential but very intensive. She had to have audience with the H/E at least once a month for the Israel teams to have one on one meetings to brief him on the progress of the research because he is the Commander-in-Chief responsible for the armed forces members on whom lab trials were being conducted to establish the efficacy of the medicines,” says a reliable source close to Museveni. Having built sufficient rapport and confidence, Karimatsenga started discussing matters of UTL for which GoU had been seeking an investor. Nigerians are fellows Karimatsenga could easily do business with having grown up fellowshipping with the Harare branch of Synagogue Church of All Nations founded by Ps TB Joshua, an influential Nigerian figure. In Harare this church is for the A-listers just like Robert Kayanja’s Rubaga Miracle Center is in Kampala. It’s here that younger Karimatsenga became very close friends with Vimbai Tsvangarai whose father Morgan would later become Zimbabwe Prime Minister. Vimbai is one of Morgan’s oldest children and Locardia was to later become his wife following the tragic death of Suzan (his wife for 30 years) in a June 2009 car accident outside Harare. Until Karimatsenga came into the picture, many in the Museveni cabinet considered it a done deal Mauritius Telecom was destined to take the UTL deal. “She told the President about Taleology Holdings’ potential saying prolific telecom figures were behind it. She told him they are heavily connected with a lot of history and understanding of the telecom sector in Africa, Asia and Middle East. She repeatedly told him money wasn’t a problem for those guys. Some ministers initially objected saying the Shs268bn Teleology had quoted was too much for a company that was just starting without much past experience to its name but Karimatsenga cunningly told the President money wasn’t a problem because renowned telecom names like Adrian Wood [of the UK] were behind the deal,” says a source. Adrian Wood trained and nurtured the excellent CEOs now running MTN in Africa and Middle East. Karimatsenga assured Museveni Teleology simply needed to be given the offer and the rest would fall into place because they have the know-how and raising funding can’t be a problem given who they know in the world’s finance system.
COWING RUGUNDA
Museveni subsequently referred the matter to Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda to finalize and ensure Karimatsenga-backed Taleology got the deal. This was at the start of September 2018 and the PM had just one week to back to cabinet. He convened a meeting for which Ministers Moses Ali, Frank Tumwebaze, David Bahati and AG William Byaruhanga converged at the PM’s board room to wait for Karimatsenga. Speaking with intimidating authority, Karimatsenga (who arrived late and never apologized) got irritated when Ministers raised a few clarificational questions. She got out her phone and casually rang SA President Cyril Ramaphosa who instantly picked and she spoke to him in a manner clearly calculated to cow Rugunda and the assembled Ministers. She repeatedly referred to the President saying as the country’s CEO he was already convinced about Taleology’s technical and financial soundness which has since been demystified with passage of time.
THINGS FALL APART
Today so many months later, Taleology is still struggling to raise just the initial 10% ($700,000) they were asked to deposit to show their commitment. In fact the original team members Karimatsenga introduced to the President calling it the winning Nigerian team has since disintegrated with members going to war with each other as they continue apportioning blame for failing to meet Museveni’s expectations. Officials at Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), whose vetting report exposed loopholes in Taleology’s business proposal, must be having the last laugh. Taleology had patiently been given up to 26th January 2019 to pay the initial 10% (basically $700,000) which they have failed up to this day. Some of the Shs268bn ($70m) Taleology was to pay for the 69% shareholding would go into network upgrade to 4G to intensify access in towns like Kampala, Entebbe, Gulu, Mbarara, Mbale, Tororo, Busia, Fort Portal, Arua and others. The remainder would go towards paying creditors whose claim against UTL stands at over Shs536bn. The President hopes a revived UTL can shield national security interests against treacherous conduct by managers at telecos like MTN Uganda currently being battled by the state for alleged espionage.
ANITE SPEAKS OUT
UTL line Minister Evelyn Anite says since there is no time for lamenting, painful lessons that have been learnt will richly inform subsequent decision-making on the UTL future. She must silently be feeling vindicated having been part of the few courageous cabinet voices that had the guts to express reservations about Taleology’s financial capacity to raise the money. The FIA report last year had rated Mauritius Telecom (offering Shs167bn or $45m) as the best suited company to buy into UTL but that was overruled in favor of Karimatsenga-backed Taleology that has since been found to be incapable. The FIA report had rated Mauritius Telecom financially and technically the best suitable. Anite says a proper investor will eventually be found because the rich incentives package (including ring-fencing 100% all govt telecom deals) cabinet voted for UTL makes it such an attractive business entity for any serious investor. Besides Mauritius Telecom, the other more credible entities that had expressed interest in UTL include Safaricom, Afrinet Communications, Baylis Consortium and Neubacher Montage Ltd. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
