In Part III of this series, Jerome Kule Bitswande talks to WASSWA BIRIGGWA, a former musician, banker and entrepreneur who served Uganda in Ethiopia and Japan before returning home to be- come a top opposition figure.
My name is Wasswa Biriggwa. I am Uganda’s former ambassador to Ethiopia and Japan. I was chief executive and founder of Celtel Uganda.
Right now, I am setting up a small resort in Busabala next to One Love beach and I also do coffee farming. I spend a lot of time reading and I also watch television a lot, although it is not a good thing.
I am more interested in international affairs because I want to know what is happening in the world. I am a four-hour sleeper; I think sleeping a lot is a waste of time although some people think we need it. I take a nap every day for about thirty minutes. I have not been taking good care of my body; I need to do more exercise.
EDUCATION
I started school at Budo Club kindergarten, which was located in Kisenyi where Mengo social centre is. From there, I went to Nnabagereka primary school and I sat my PLE at Nakivubo Settlement primary school before I joined City high school near Lugogo bypass for my O-level education.
Thereafter, I went to the United States and joined New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where I studied music. I then joined Emerson college in Boston where I got a degree in Mass Communication before I pursued my master’s degree in Public Relations & Marketing at Boston University.
Later on, I studied a master’s degree in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. That is where I got knowledge about diplomacy. So, when I was appointed ambassador and people here were saying I am not qualified, I would just laugh it off because it was nonsensical.
YOUNG MAN’S ASPIRATIONS
As a young man, I wanted to become a great musician. I did music both here and in the US. Here, I belonged to the Cranes band. There would not have been Afrigo band without Cranes band. When Cranes band disintegrated, some of our members joined Afrigo.
I recorded many good songs such as Joy Tonyiiga which became very famous. It was the biggest song of the time; Radio Sapientia still plays some of my music, especially on Sundays. I really loved music. Locally, I admired Fred Kanyike, Geoffrey Nsereko, Fridah Ssonko (Olupapula Simupiira), and Elly Wamala who took me to television for the first time.
Most of these were way older than me, although I worked with them because I really loved music from childhood. I had been a choir leader at Nnabagereka primary school and I also won several talent shows. In my days, I was the Jose Chameleone of today. So, I did music while in school; that is why I discourage instances where people drop out of school and just jump into music.
Internationally, I liked the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley, among others.
MOVING TO AMERICA
I had always desired to go to the US because I had seen that things were not good in this country. I was right because two years after I had left, hell broke loose when Idi Amin ascended to power.
So, whenever I went out to sing with Cranes band, I would make savings from my earnings for a ticket to the [US]. Some people we sang with in Cranes band are still alive such as Tonny Senkebejje, although many others have passed on. In 1969, I flew out of the country. By that time, I had finished my junior secondary.
CELTEL FORMATION
I had just returned to Uganda and I wanted a phone connection, but they told me I had to wait for four months. I could not believe it; there are certain things that had become part of me when I was in the US and I could not see how and why
I had to wait that long to access a phone. I then approached Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, who was then the minister for transport and communication, and told him of an idea to establish a mobile phone company. He said: “What? You mean we can have a phone without wires and people holding mobile phones?” I said “yes”.
Rugunda and the then minister for justice and attorney general, Mayanja Nkangi, were pivotal in helping us establish Celtel. In order to have a telecommunication company, there was need to change the law since only UP&TC [Uganda Posts and Telecommunications Corporation] had the monopoly in the communications sector and it [UP&TC] did not want it broken.
Most of the people there were naive and backward although there were a few who were supportive. They did not know much about telecommunication but they believed in us and gave us the necessary support.
We were also futuristic, because at that time there was analogue technology which was cheaper but I refused and insisted that we use GSM [Global System for Mobile Communication] which was the latest technology in communication.
SOURCE OF MONEY
First of all, I made sure we secured a license from the government; thereafter, we approached people that had money. To be particular, we approached Mo Ibrahim in Britain and he agreed to invest. Mo Ibrahim already had contacts in the sector such as Vodafone and International Finance Corporation (IFC), all of which became supportive.
Mo Ibrahim’s MSI [Mobile Systems International] had software that regulates and monitors phone calls. You see, we were not engineers,
we were just innovators.
So, we brought those actors together and that is how we established Celtel. The good news, though, is that I had previously worked as a banker in the US; so, it was a bit easier for me to do the structuring that brought us finances.
A good project always attracts money, because when you approach somebody who has the money but does not have your idea, they give you the money, and that is what I want to tell young people; do not look at the money first!
So, eventually we brought on board four other players [companies]; the different companies appointed me as the founding chief executive. I am happy to say that as the first Celtel managing director, I registered profits within just nine months of establishment.
We were also the best company that took good care of our staff; all our sales executives had a brand new car in 1994 and a range of huge incentives. Within the first year, we had also built our headquarters at Jinja road. That shows you how we had focus of what we had wanted to be.
I want to challenge anybody who thinks they have contributed to the economy like a mobile phone; because according to a World Bank report then, every mobile phone was contributing 1,000 dollars into the economy; multiply that by the number of mobile phones there is in the country today and see how much money is being contributed into the economy using our idea.
That explains why I eventually sold like a hot cake around Africa to help some other countries set up their telecom companies such as ZambCell in Zambia, Malawi Celtel, and Cell C in South Africa, among others.
CHALLENGES AS MD CELTEL
Ignorance, especially of people within government and UP&TC; people argued that we were expensive, forgetting that we had borrowed a lot of money to start up Celtel.
We initially had 100,000 dollars yet we established a $16-billion dollar project. But, most importantly, government declined to offer us a tax waiver.
In addition, terminals like Samsung, Ericsson, etc, are different companies but because they closely worked with us, people thought we were the ones charging them highly yet we were basically dealing in airtime. In a nutshell, Celtel really made an immense contribution to the economy.
APPOINTMENT AS AMBASSADOR
When I was in the US, after my master’s degree in law and diplomacy, I had no country because Uganda was under turmoil; so, I could not come back to seek employment either as an ambassador or in the ministry of foreign affairs. So, I decided to go in international finance which was also part of my education. I got a job at Citi Bank which is now called Citicom.
I worked in the US, Greece, etc. So, when things changed in 1986, I returned to Uganda and got a job at Coffee Marketing Board and I was stationed in Mombasa, as manager. At that time, Uganda was broke and coffee was the major cash crop.
So, I was involved in restructuring the industry to boost coffee production in Uganda. I got tired of working in a foreign land and wanted to return home – this is when I was challenged by the lack of a mobile phone and I formed Celtel Uganda which earned me some good money.
Having gained some money, I decided to join politics as Kampala mayor, standing against Al Hajji Nasser Ntege Sebaggala and others, but I lost. Midterm, Sebaggala, who had won the election, was arrested in the US and the mayoral seat fell vacant. A by-election was organized; I stood again, this time against John Ssebaana Kizito, and I lost again; but I never give up.
Of course, worthy to note is the fact that all these people had structures considering that they belonged to the Democratic Party while I had no leaning. I continued to do my consultancy work in telecommunication companies.
With the exposure I got from engaging in politics, I met the then vice president, Prof Gilbert Bukenya. He asked me if there is anything I would do for the country considering my wealth of experience in international business and education. I told him that if an opportunity surfaced, I would love serving in diplomacy because I wanted to practice what I had studied.
A few weeks later, a meeting was set up with the president (Museveni) and he asked me what I was interested in. I told him I wanted to serve in diplomacy still; so, I was appointed ambassador to Ethiopia.
LIFE IN ADDIS ABABA
When I got to Addis Ababa, I was shocked at how the embassies were neglected. The offices and residencies were dilapidated. There were delayed payments to staff, both Ugandan and non-Ugandans. When you are in a foreign land, it is quite difficult; you can’t go to a shop and borrow; it was just despicable that government employees were neglected.
However, I also loved the experience because it helped me understand better how African governments operate. I was fortunately well-off; so, I would sometimes use my own money to cater for our employees because, surely, I saw only two options – either to resign or serve my country as much as I could even if it meant using my own resources.
I represented Uganda not only to Ethiopia, but also to Djibouti, Somalia, African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. I am convinced that I did a good job. I remember at one time I was involved with the warlords in Somalia and they were shooting at us.
I also became the chairperson of African diplomats working with the European Union and also led the African Economic Commission of the United Nations. We worked on several peace missions and economic problems.
TRANSFER TO JAPAN
After three and a half years of service in Ethiopia, I was transferred to Japan. As an ambassador to Japan, you are also responsible for South Korea, Philippines, and Brunei. I stayed there for eight years, but I am happy to say that my stay there was very vital to Uganda because of the gains we got.
ACHIEVEMENTS
First, I initiated and negotiated [funding for] the Nile bridge which is now under construction. Soon we will have flyovers built with support from South Korea and Japan. There is also Rika rice, which my predecessor, James Baba, had initiated.
I made it bigger to the extent that we won the Centre of Excellence [award] after establishing a research centre at Namulonge. In fact, they had promised to name it after me although I am yet to hear from them.We got alot of scientific support from Japan for our road works; we received a lot of money to put traffic lights on our major rounda-bouts.
You see, sometimes I laugh when I reach these places. The Japanese government spent a lot of money to give us the best technology to control traffic on our roads. But here we are; you have people wasting time controlling vehicles, instead of fixing faulty lights to do the job.
In the 21st century, you cannot afford to have people managing traffic. However, those are some of the things we shall work on when we get into power. I also secured a partnership for Uganda Wildlife Education Centre with the University of Yokohama; it trained many of their staff.
I also helped many Ugandans in distress in these countries. I, or my staff, visited some of them; others were released while some are still serving.
Among them was Ugandan singer Iryn Namubiru. Whereas I was in Kampala when she was arrested, I met her brother and also made a few calls to ensure that justice was served, the good thing with those countries is that systems work and when you are innocent, like she was, you gain your freedom.
I was really duty-bound to check out some Ugandans in all those areas because there is quite a number of them that were arrested over drugs.
Needless to say that the embassy was still being poorly-facilitated, I was doing a lot of travel, yet, in most cases, I used my personal money to buy my ticket.
We were also renting our premises and offices, that just did not make sense to me that a country could rent offices and residences yet renting is more expensive than buying or building a house. Countries like Kenya and Tanzania had permanent structures. I think something is just wrong with Uganda.
CAREER DIPLOMATS VS POLITICAL APPOINTEES?
I hear people saying the president should not appoint politicians as ambassadors. They argue that only career diplomats should be appointed ambassadors. I disagree. You see, even in the US, most of their ambassadors are not career diplomats.
Failing to win an election does not make you a failure elsewhere. I know many people who are not career diplomats but turned out to be some of the best ambassadors.
The job of an ambassador is not to be technical because he should have technical staff that does the work for him/her. For people to be appointed ambassadors, they should be of good moral aptitude, well-educated, understand their country and its means, they should also be articulate and social because there are so many interactions involved.
The problem in Uganda and Africa as a whole is there is no formula to balance career diplomats and other appointees. So, you have many career diplomats who serve and wait long before they can be appointed ambassadors.
There is also a political element in it. When you are an ambassador, you are not only representing the country but also the president. So, the president should be given a leeway to appoint some of the people he trusts, because career ambassadors do not necessarily have close links with the president, although there is need to have a balance between political and career appointments.
FDC CHAIRMANSHIP
When I became ambassador, I was not NRM. I was an independent, although I had worked with government. I never crossed to FDC because I had not been anywhere. When I retired from diplomacy, I sat down and looked at my future and the future of the country. I realized that FDC was the people’s party and also, unlike the NRM, there was no queue in FDC.
I am an example, I had not been FDC, I joined the party, picked forms to contest as party chairman and I won. To me, that is what it means by democracy. This year, we are voting for party president; if anybody wants to lead the FDC, they can join the party, contest and if they convince the delegates, they will get elected.
Now I don’t know who is in the NRM queue since Amama Mbabazi left. The other day I heard their secretary general asking Gen Mugisha Muntu to go and rescue them; those people are liars.
FAMILY
Very few wives love their husbands to be involved in politics; it’s a rough job. You are undressed, arrested, tear-gassed and so forth. For me, politics is my calling. I don’t want to go to exile. I want to see Mr Museveni retire and take care of his cows.
I don’t want to see my colleagues in government and their families chased away. I don’t want anybody to accuse me of failing Uganda.
I want your generation to say: “Mzee, you did your best” and, surely, I am doing that. We are working hard and we are getting closer to government. We have determined leadership – Dr Kizza Besigye, a very phenomenal person, is leading us in the defiance campaign and Gen Muntu is working on building party structures.
ADVICE ON FOREIGN SERVICE
Three months before I was recalled, I had been elected chairman TICAD (Tokyo International Corporation for African Development). I was the highest-ranking ambassador in Japan, and I believe with me at the helm of TICAD, Uganda would have gained a lot.
The same thing happened to Ambassador [Francis] Butagira in Washington when he had an important project he was working on. So, I believe there is need to consult with the ambassadors on what they are working on and how beneficial it is to the country before you transfer or recall them.
FINAL WORD
Uganda has spread [itself thin]; we are biting more than we can chew, especially militarily. It is good to help our brothers and sisters in South Sudan, Somalia, etc, because I am a pan-Africanist.
But surely, not at the expense of our citizens. We ought to concentrate on international trade, agriculture, health and education and we will be a transformed country. We must acknowledge that expenditures on fighter jets will not help us in transforming this country.
jeromekulbits@gmail.com
Look out for another engaging interview in this series next Friday