Kampala, Uganda: Hassan Basajjabalaba, a Ugandan businessman, investor, and philanthropist, is the new Chairperson of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) Entrepreneurs League. His rise to this influential position comes on the back of decades of dominance in business, education, and party politics.
Born on June 4, 1967, Basajjabalaba hails from a wealthy Banyankole Muslim family in Bushenyi District. His father, the late Idd Basajjabalaba, was a prominent hides and skins exporter, farmer, cattle keeper, educationist, and one of the largest landowners in western Uganda.
Basajjabalaba’s academic journey was cut short when he dropped out of secondary school in Bushenyi just before completing his final year. He opted instead to manage and expand the family business after his father’s death in the early 1980s, a period coinciding with the political turbulence that toppled Milton Obote and ushered in Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) government in 1986.
The HABA Group Legacy
In 1986, Basajjabalaba founded the HABA Group of Companies, transforming it into one of the largest conglomerates in East Africa with an estimated value of $520 million. The group’s portfolio stretches across multiple sectors, including:
- Education: Founder and proprietor of Kampala International University (KIU), now one of Africa’s largest private universities, with campuses in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda.
- Agro-industry: Sugar refineries, tea plantations, and factories in Butare and Buhweju.
- Healthcare & Pharma: Pharmaceutical factories, hospitals, and related investments.
- Real Estate & Hospitality: Multiple estates, malls, and properties across the country.
Political Influence
Al Hajj Basajjabalaba has long been a fixture in NRM power circles. On August 30, 2025, President Museveni endorsed him unopposed for the post, calling it “a consensus to strengthen party unity and wealth creation.”
The endorsement followed the withdrawal of other aspirants, including Hon. Sanjay Tanna, Philip Kakuru and King Ceasor Mulenga, after mediation led by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa.
Basajjabalaba’s latest position as Entrepreneurs League Chairperson now secures him a seat on the NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC), the party’s topmost decision-making organ.
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