Who is Joseph Magandazi Yiga? Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, wife, family, tribe, achievements, and relationship with Charles Kasozi, Andrew Maviiri, Godfrey Kirumira the early life and education of the managing director and CEO of Jomayi Property Consultants Limited.
Joseph Magandazi Yiga, often known as Jomayi or Mzee, is a Ugandan entrepreneur and businessman.
Magandazi is the managing director and CEO of Jomayi Property Consultants Limited, a renowned real estate and development firm situated in Kampala, Uganda.
Early Life and Education
Joseph Magandazi Yiga was born in Uganda’s Central Region somewhere between the mid and late 1950s.
He is a father to Charles Kasozi.
Career and Professional Work Experience
Following a series of odd jobs, including that of a telephone booth operator, Yiga created JOMAYI in 1997 and named the company after the first two letters of his three names.
Initially based in downtown Kampala, the company expanded from a single-room office shared with well-wishers to renting space at Sisa arcade in Kampala’s core business centre.
JOMAYI relocated into its vast headquarters in Old Kampala in 2006, on a multi-story structure called Yiga Chambers on plot 20 Old Kampala Road, which the firm owned.
Beginning with plots in Namugongo, Jomayi purchased 2 acres of land in Najeera, Buwate, and another 3 acres in Namugongo two years later in 1999, as the company began to expand steadily.
Three years later, in 2002, Jomayi purchased another 15 acres in Seguku Katale as the firm began to break even.
By 2005, the company had established itself as a prominent player in Uganda’s real estate industry, acquiring approximately 500 acres of land put up for sale by the Uganda Investment Authority.
This was a watershed moment for Jomayi, and the company quickly established itself as the leading real estate mover in Uganda.
As of December 2013, Jomayi had constructed approximately 100 residential housing estates, where it acquires large tracts of land, provides facilities (electricity, water, and sewerage) to the site, subdivides the land into plots, and sells them to interested end-users.
Jomayi Group of Companies
As the property development function grew, Jomayi developed new businesses to supplement its operations, resulting in the formation of the Jomayi Group of Companies.
The following companies are part of the Group:
Jomayi Construction Company was founded in 2007 to build houses for people who were having difficulty finding honest, reliable contractors.
Jomayi Stones & Concrete Limited – Founded in 2008, it owns a 300-acre (0.47-square-mile) stone quarry in Mukono District.
Jomayi Water Company Limited was founded to extract subsurface water and supply it to the Mukono and Nalumunye estates.
Jomayi Hardware Centre Limited was established in 2011 to fulfil the objective of providing a complete home establishment service.
Jomayi Paints Limited is a supplier of both domestic and imported house paints having been established in 2012.
St. Josephat Secondary School – Located in Kabaga, Kitagobwa, Mpererwe, this school was established to provide subsidised education with significantly reduced rates.
Achievements and Awards
Joseph Magandazi Yiga, a well-known philanthropist, made a name for himself and received prizes for his generous sponsorship of motorsport.
He has supported and contributed land to the Buganda Kingdom’s Entanda Ya Buganda for many years, and until 2019, he donated land to Omuzira Mu Bazira, the winner of the Luganda language competition.
Magandazi is said to be one of Uganda’s wealthiest people, with net assets of around US$10 million as of January 2012.
Jomayi has also become a familiar brand for selling low-cost plots in the hundreds of estates that line every road coming into the city.
Jomayi pioneered the concept of estate development in Mbarara Town, Western Uganda, in 2012.
Controversies
In November 2010, unknown attackers drugged Joseph Yiga Magandazi and robbed him of all his belongings, including his vehicle.
Magandazi, who was allegedly kidnapped as he exited Nyondo Pub in Najjanankumbi on Entebbe Road late at night, was discovered abandoned in a marsh near Nansana, Hoima Road, and was taken to Kampala Hospital.
In November 2014, the court issued an arrest warrant for Joseph Magandazi Yiga, the proprietor of the land dealership Jomayi Property Consultants, over a sh87m debt owed to land broker Andrew Maviiri as accumulated commission.
The guarantee further stated that Yiga must pay for the services of bailiff Musa Luwambya, who worked under the name Madrilo Associates, Court Bailiffs and Auctioneers.
The problem arose from an unpaid fee that Yiga owed Maviiri after purchasing approximately 400 acres of land at Buloba Kisamula on Mityana Road in 2007.
Jomayi purchased 200 acres of land in Bujuuko from Gen Tumukunde in 2012 for Shs.3.5 billion, with the agreement that Jomayi would occupy the site immediately and subdivide it for selling.
Magandazi paid Shs.2.6 billion, but Tumukunde refused to give the land title, according to Jomayi in an interview in 2015.
Jomayi Property Consultant’s problems began in 2016 when Centenary Bank advertised its intention to dispose of Jomayi’s mortgaged assets unless an outstanding loan of Shs1.5 billion was settled.
He resisted the selling at the time.
NC Bank Limited announced the acquisition of all assets of Jomayi Property Consultants Limited in March 2020 after the company failed to repay a loan of Shs868M.
On Friday, May 19, 2023, multiple advertisements appeared in the Daily Monitor threatening Jomayi with the sale of six of his remaining assets if he did not pay up his bank obligations within 30 days.
The assets marketed belonged to Jomayi’s subsidiary company, Jomayi Stones, and were primarily located in Mukono, Kyaggwe.
This came after he fought valiantly but failed to secure his master card property, Yiga Chambers on Plot 20, Old Kampala Road, which he lost to the family of businessman Godfrey Kirumira in 2021.
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