‘We Must Have African Solutions For African Problems’! Hamis Kiggundu Preaches Pan-Africanism As He Hosts Ghanaian Famous YouTuber Wode Maya

By Uganda Online Media

Young city tycoon and businessman Hamis Kiggundu aka Ham hosted Berthold Kobby Winkler Ackon, popularly known as Wode Maya a Ghanaian YouTube personality, vlogger, digital media influencer and aeronautical engineer at his Ham Residence in Kawuku along Entebbe Road.

Wode Maya is a popular Ghanaian YouTube content creator who joined the social media creative industry to reap its unique benefits. His content is curated to explore Africa’s development, and excellency and share the experiences of successful Africans on the continent and those living abroad.

While touring the Ham residence, Wode Maya was shocked by the great success Ham has achieved at his age he is an inspiration to young Africans who look up to him(Ham).

While Ham doesn’t take pride in interviews with cameras exploring his wealth and personal life, Wode Maya had the chance to speak to the young billionaire one on one as he toured Ham’s multibillion residence, Nakivubo Stadium, the agro-processing industries among other ongoing projects.

While speaking to the Wode Maya, Ham went deep into what one would call Pan-Africanism noting that Africa is full of opportunities, mineral resources, and raw materials which are exploited by the west who instead keep Africa poor with donations that come as a result of our own resources.

”What’s the difference between the west and Africa despite the fact that Africa owns 80% of the world’s resources yet exploitation takes place in the West and they claim they donate to Africa simply because we haven’t figured out how to utilize the prevailing resources we have at hand naturally to exploit them towards our own prosperity” Ham said during an interview with Wode Maya.

Ham further added that Africans have still stuck with poor reasoning thus the need for mindset change if Africa is to develop.

”If we want to develop and elevate Africa, I think we should attack the minds of Africans if we can get Africans to reason, I think we shall have solved all the problems of Africa, if Africa owns the majority of the world’s resources yet we are still donated to up to date, we take resources in raw materials, Minerals and they are brought back in form of peanuts in donations. What stops us from the utilization of the available resources and their exploitation towards our own prosperity? Ham wondered.

According to Ham, there is a need for unity if Africa is to develop as a continent.

”It takes reason for Africa to unify but we cannot unify physically if we haven’t unified in the mind, we talk about borders but these borders are not physical, the real borders of Africa are in our minds. If we agreed mentally that we take out the borders, I think they would be out but we fail to reason even on the simplest things. Africa would have one unified flag, Africa Would have a free trading zone, and Africa would be travelling on one passport. Why do I need to cross from here to South Africa through a visa? The limiting factor of our ability to grow despite the resources we hold as a continent is reason” Ham added.

Ham also revealed that Africa’s education system which is ‘imported and imposed’ has done more harm than good to young Africans which has seen the majority leaving Africa to go abroad.

”An education system is supposed to provide corresponding solutions or build the society and the young generation with the capacity to solve problems within the prevailing circumstances but these imported and imposed education systems don’t address our problems as Africans the way they are on the ground” Ham noted

More About Hamis Kiggundu

Ham is a well-known businessman who not only trades in Uganda as Ham Enterprises Ltd but also as Ham International UK Ltd in the UK, Ham International Ltd in the US and Skylight Investments in South Africa.

The young billionaire who directly employs more than 2,500 people, had his primary, secondary, and university education in Uganda and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Makerere University.

The youthful businessman came to the limelight as the man behind dazzling commercial buildings around Kampala; he is the owner of a very popular real estate multi-billion company in the city known as Ham Enterprises which includes commercial buildings such as Ham Shopping Centre next to St. Balikudembe Market commonly known as Owino which is reportedly said to be partly undertaken as a public-private partnership with Nakivubo Stadium Board of Trustees.

He also owns Ham Towers which is located next to Makerere University’s main gate and he is also behind the redevelopment of Nakivubo Stadium.

In 2015, he received a green light from President Yoweri Museveni to redevelop the land where the stadium sits. The stadium is slowly being transformed into an ultra-modern facility.

“I’m putting up a world stadium at Nakivubo, it has taken me eight years to work on this project, whatever money I have used on Nakivubo, I have made through my youthful years, if we wait for foreign investors to come and develop our country, we shall never develop,” Ham said as he kicked off redevelopment of Nakivubo Stadium.

When completed, Nakivubo will be a World class sporting stadium.

Source of wealth

In 2017, Ham revealed the source of his wealth. He attributed his wealth to bank loans, which he says have helped him grow his businesses.

The entrepreneur has ruled out ever receiving any financial assistance from President Yoweri Museveni, whom he said many people have linked his business establishments such as the Ham shopping malls in Kampala.

Ham owns several homes but there’s a palatial one located on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kawuku, Bunga, that has sent tongues wagging. Ham’s house is definitely one of the most luxurious and expensive residential homes in Uganda.

It was designed by American architects and property experts value it at Shs12.3 billion. It has 25 bedrooms including a 27ft61 master suite with bathtubs.

Despite being by the lakeside, Ham has a private swimming pool, the home also has a private gaming room with a pool table, football and table tennis table and he has also built a multi-billion replica of the White House.

Advice to aspiring entrepreneurs

Ham has written a book and he is known for giving advice to youth on how to make money. One of his 5 cents is telling youth to stop looking at people who have got a lot of money through deals as role models and instead focus on hard work because there is a big difference between money and wealth.

“People have been asking me, Ham you are a young man, how have you been able to accumulate this wealth over a short period of time? The only advice I have for Ugandans is that they should start looking at things from a realistic perspective. They should not operate on presumptions. You should be able to think and assess matters before you from a realistic perspective.”

“Most Ugandans disregard the little money they have, they are looking for Shs100 million, Shs200 million, that’s why they are on streets as idlers, but I would advise Ugandans, please start respecting that little amount of money you have and look at it as capital. Any money can be used as capital provided you have proper reasoning and the right mindset.”

More About Wode Maya

Born in Ahekofi, Ghana on 3rd March 1990, Wode’s parents named him Berthold Winkler. He later adopted Wode Maya as his pseudo-name for public appearances. He spent his formative and late childhood years in Ghana before moving to China when he was eighteen years old in pursuit of further studies. 

Education Background

Berthold Winkler schooled in Ghana attending kindergarten, primary and secondary schools in the country. Upon completion, he got a scholarship offer to the United Kingdom which he, unfortunately, could not take up as he lacked a statutory visa. Opting from China, he enrolled at Shenyang Aerospace University to study Aeronautical Engineering.

Wode Maya’s Career Journey

While undertaking his course in China, Wode Maya used the opportunity to build a vlogging culture by posting his content on YouTube. He joined the platform in 2013 growing this platform to currently having more than 550,000 subscribers and millions of views. Wode Maya’s content is focused on an expatriate’s experience in the country. He initially posted his work to Chinese platforms though he stopped due to the criticism he received. YouTube has opened up doors for him to collaborate with other African content creators and make some decent earnings from the channel he named Mr Ghana Baby.

Aside from vlogging, Wode graduated from the university and is now an aeronautical engineer. His level of active practice in engineering is yet to be clearly established.