Who is Gordon Wavamunno? Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, wife, family, tribe, achievements, and relationship with Ssalongo Yovani Wavamunno, Nnalongo Maliza Wavamunno, Morine Wavamunno, Gloria Wavamuno, Elvis Sekyanzi, the early life and education of the Chairman and CEO of Spear Motors Uganda, Uganda’s sole Mercedes-Benz distributor
Gordon Wavamunno, also known as Wavah is a Ugandan businessman, philanthropist, and entrepreneur.
Wavamunno is the Chairman and CEO of Spear Motors Uganda, Uganda’s sole Mercedes-Benz distributor.
He also owns GM Tumpeco, which manufactures Ugandan car registration plates, Wavah Water Limited, and Wavah Books Limited, among other companies.
Early Life and Education
Gordon Babala Kasibante Wavamunno was born on December 16, 1943, in Rugaaga, Uganda’s current Isingiro District in the Western Region.
Ssalongo Yovani Wavamunno and Nnalongo Maliza Wavamunno, his parents, are originally from Kyotera, Kkooki. Thus, he is a Muganda by tribe.
Gordon Wavamuno married Morine Wavamunno in 1974, and they have two children: Gloria Wavamuno, a fashion designer, and Elvis Sekyanzi, a businessman.
Wavamunno attended early public schools in his home area before moving to Mbarara as a teenager where he dropped out of formal education before he enrolled at Mbarara high school.
He eventually relocated to Kampala, Uganda’s capital and largest city, to get a head start in business.
He helped his parents operate their retail store as a child. As a teenager, Wavamunno worked as a shop assistant in Mbarara at a produce store owned by an Asian family.
He later began purchasing farm goods from neighbouring villages. He would subsequently sell the product to Asian businesses and Mbarara families.
Career and Professional Work Experience
When he got his first automobile, he began a particular hire taxi service in Mbarara town. He later expanded his business to include a driving school. Wavamunno then expanded the firm to Kampala a couple of years later.
From there, he formed Uganda Peoples Transport and Taxi Service Limited with two partners and later departed to start his own company “Spear Group” and gain a Daimler Mercedes dealership to market its products.
Wavamunno’s efforts were almost completely wrecked during the stormy years of General Idi Amin’s reign and the early 1980s under President Milton Obote.
He was imprisoned twice, and his firm was vandalised and plundered beyond repair. He survived, began again, and restored his fortunes.
He persuaded Daimler Mercedes to keep him as the sole dealer in Uganda. In 1973, he founded and expanded the Spear Group of enterprises, which presently comprises Spear Motors Limited, which delivers Mercedes-Benz vehicles and other brands.
The dealership is also the sole authorised dealer for Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler vehicles and parts. Spear Motors also serves as the sole distributor of Deutz Fahr tractors and farm equipment in Uganda.
He has expanded into various enterprises over the years, including WAVA textiles and clothing, cutting-edge WAVA Fancy furniture, WAVA Ostrich and Horse farms, WAVA bottled water, and more.
Spear Group now includes textile, media, agribusiness, real estate, construction, manufacturing, and vehicle distribution businesses, among others.
Wavamunno also entered the broadcasting sector through Wavamunno Broadcasting Services or WBS Television, an affiliate of Voice of America’s to TV-Africa. The station was the country’s first private television channel.
Godfrey Wavamunno is also the honorary consul of Hungary in Uganda.
Sir Gordon Wavamunno has served as Chairman and Non-Executive Director of UAP Insurance Uganda Limited since 1988. Since 2009, he has also served as a Non-Executive Director of UAP Holdings Limited.
He is also a professor of business and entrepreneurship at Makerere University and Nkumba University, as well as the Nkumba University’s chancellor, succeeding Dr Magie Kigozi.
Achievements and Awards
Gordon Wavamunno, a self-made businessman, has seven times been named Ugandan Businessman of the Year.
Makerere University bestowed an honorary doctorate on Wavamunno in 2006, while Nkumba University bestowed one in 2007.
Wavamunno was bestowed upon the British royal order of chivalry as a Knight in the Order of Saint John in 2012 by the late Queen Elizabeth.
The honour was bestowed upon him in recognition of his charity efforts with the St. John Association of Uganda, which he has been a member of since 1983. He is now the chairman of the association.
Among other humanitarian activities, he has donated two ambulances to the group, rebuilt their Kampala offices, and provided orphans with bursaries.
Spear Motors Limited, led by Wavamunno, has grown to become one of the leading vehicle dealerships in Uganda and East Africa, having branches in various countries.
Wavamunno’s accomplishments in the automobile business have garnered him various honours, including the Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to the African automobile business.
Wavamunno is also well-known for his charitable works. He has contributed to a number of philanthropic organisations in Uganda, including those dedicated to education and healthcare.
Wavamunno’s generosity extends beyond Uganda, as he has donated to a variety of worldwide causes, including the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria in Africa. To support these initiatives, he has collaborated with organisations such as the United Nations and the Global Fund.
Spear Motors Limited, his company, has provided beds to Katalemwa, a home for disabled children. He additionally supplied additional school materials.
Wavamunno was the first Ugandan to own a pub in Mbarara and hired the first Congolese musician to perform there. He currently owns businesses all over the world, including Europe, and has visited over 70 countries.
He was given the title of Canon because of his contributions to the Church of Uganda, including the construction of religious buildings such as the St James Ruharo Church of Uganda in Mbarara. He is also a church commissioner, a position he believes is more powerful than the Archbishop.
Wavamunno was also the first African to establish a dry cleaning business, Whitener Dry Cleaner Limited, and the first African to establish a driving school, Western Driving School, both of which were by then based in Mbarara.
He was also the first Ugandan to establish a bus service in Uganda, Rugaaga Bus Services. He first rented two buses from Eriabu Mukasa before purchasing a 72-seater Leyland bus from Gailey and Roberts in Kenya in 1969. He later purchased another 64-seat Austin bus from the same manufacturer in 1970.
Wavamunno was the first Ugandan to construct a hotel, the Lake View Hotel in Mbarara, with the help of Germans and Italians. In addition, he was the first Ugandan to cultivate flowers for export.
Gordon Wavamunno’s businesses
Besides Spear Motors, some of Wavamunno’s businesses include the following:
Wavah Water Limited is a Ugandan manufacturer and distributor of drinking mineral water.
Star Times Digital Satellite Television Service – A digital satellite television signal distributor in Uganda.
Wavah FM is a privately owned radio station.
Spear House is a business on Jinja Road in Kampala’s central business district.
Wavah Books Limited is a school textbook and other literary publisher.
GM Tumpeco Limited – A steel product manufacturer and fabricator that produces number plates, traffic road signs, and billboards. Furniture, spring mattresses, uniports, wheelbarrows, and truck and bus bodies are all available.
Fancy Furniture Limited is a high-end office and domestic furniture importer and distributor.
Nakweero Mixed Farm – In Nakweero, Kira Municipality, Wakiso District, there is a dairy, beef, and crop farm.
Controversies
Wavamunno temporarily lost control of his television station in 2016 due to a significant tax deficit. According to Abdul-Salam Waiswa, the URA’s debt collection manager, WBS TV’s tax arrears were formed over a 10-year period.
The revenue authority took over the station temporarily until the bills were paid.
President Yoweri Museveni requested from Wavamunno a presidential van. Instead of placing the order with reputed overseas suppliers, the Spear Motors CEO allegedly arranged for an inferior South African replica of the presidential vehicle.
Wavamunno allegedly delivered the van to Uganda after making a few minor changes. The van was purportedly found to be substandard after a thorough inspection.
The court eventually ordered Wavamunno to pay more than UGX100 million to the government, not including interest and damages, as well as the cost of pursuing the return through the legal system.
Wavamunno has faced harsh criticism in Uganda, with some claiming that his success has come at the expense of smaller enterprises that lack his wealth and political ties.
While Wavamunno was in and out of hospitals due to his illness, social media was flooded with fake rumours of his death in March 2023. Capt Mike Mukula, a friend of the Wavamunno’s, however, came out to clarify that the businessman was transported to Germany for excellent treatment but was still alive.
Editor’s Note: Please contact flashugnews@gmail.com if you find any of the content to be inaccurate or outdated.
