Who is Ponsiano Lwakataka? Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, wife, family, tribe, achievements, and relationship with Paul Lukwago and Veronica Namuddu, director of Uganda Marines, Solomon Okiror, Siraje Tamale, and Isa Waiswa, Uganda Fish Suppliers, USPA accolade, and the early life and education of a Rally Car Driver in Uganda.
Ponsiano Lwakataka also known as Ponsiano Mutawunga Lwakataka is a Rally Car Driver and businessman in Uganda.
He is the director of Uganda Marines which supplies and processes fish in Uganda.
He is also the chairperson of Uganda Fish Suppliers.
Early Life and Education
Ponsiano Lwakataka was born in 1972 to Paul Lukwago and Veronica Namuddu in Kanabulamu, Uganda.
He wedded Rose Lwakataka on October 15, 2021, at Lubaga Cathedral after cohabiting for years. The couple first met in 1993 when Ponsiano Lwakataka was 18 years old and Rose, then Nassonko, was only 15.
The day before Kabaka Ronald Mutebi’s coronation in July 1993, Lwakataka, escorted by a few elderly men, went to the Muwangas’ home to be officially introduced (kwanjula) and Rose was handed to him customarily in marriage.
The couple has been blessed with six boys and one girl including; Ronald Kiggundu who is a civil engineer, David Mugema who is into agriculture, Brian Lukwago who is an accountant and the area councillor, and Paddy Kafeero who is a statistician.
Career and Professional Work Experience
In 1997, Ponsiano Lwakataka started his racing career with motorcycling and when he fractured his leg at a race at Nabugabo sand beach in 1999, his friends advised him to try motorsports.
He started driving in September 2000 in the Total Pearl of Africa Independence Rally where he finished seventh overall.
Lwakataka has also invested in sand mining and aims to open a hardware store, in addition to a driving and rally school to teach his abilities.
Achievements and Awards
Ponsiano Lwakataka won his first USPA accolade in 2007.
In 2011, he was voted Uganda Sports Personality of the month of July.
The Fortebet Real Stars monthly award for January 2022 was won by the Rally team of Ponsiano Lwakataka and Paul Musaazi.
This came after the team’s victory in the National Rally Championship (NRC) season opener in Mbarara, where they had driven a Subaru Impreza and won five of the eight competitive stages.
In April 2022, Lwakataka and Musaazi triumphed in the March Kaliro Rally after winning the season’s opening race at the Federation of Motorsport Uganda (FMU) in Mbarara.
Controversies
In 2014, Ponsiano Lwakataka was imprisoned and charged with murder. A man had been shot and killed from Lwakataka’s fish business making him the suspect of the murderer.
In 2015, the High Court at Masaka set him free.
Ponsiano Lwakataka made a withdrawal announcement from the Moil EMC Jinja Rally 2023 in July 2023.
He cited financial constraints as the main factor in his decision, disappointing fans and giving rivals a less daunting foe to face.
The Jinja Rally was slated to be the fourth round of the Uganda national rally championship and take place from July 7 to July 9.
Lwakataka made a noteworthy comeback by taking second position in the Kabalega Hoima Rally after an eight-month break from rallying.
In 2022, Ponsiano Lwakataka was sentenced to twenty-two months in jail for malicious property damage and criminal trespass. Mukono Grade I magistrate Patience Koburunga found him guilty.
In January 2019, Koburungo condemned Lwakataka to six months in prison for destroying George Kawooya’s home on two acres of land in Kiwanga village, Mukono Municipality, and destroying his fence.
Ponsiano Lwakataka was charged with criminal trespass under Section 302 (a) of the Penal Code Act alongside two others: Deo Kizito Lukyamuzi, a 43-year-old medical doctor, and businessman John Ssekitoleko.
It is alleged that the three (Lwakataka, Lukyamuzi, and Ssekitoleko), as well as others who remain unidentified, entered land comprised in Kyaggwe Block 111 (plot 1076) at Kiwanga – Luanda village in Mukono district, belonging to George William Kawooya, with the intent to commit an offence of malicious damage to Kawooya’s property.
For malicious property damage and criminal trespass on Joseline Natukunda’s property, whose land is adjacent to Kawooya’s, Lwakataka was also given a 16-month prison term.
Solomon Okiror, Siraje Tamale, and Isa Waiswa were arrested with Lwakataka on the same charges but escaped custody. Koburunga ordered police to find them and re-arrest them. Jonathan Muwaganya, the state’s attorney, had earlier asked the magistrate to sentence Lwakataka to five years in prison, claiming that his actions caused great agony to innocent locals.
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