Uganda’s rising star wins bid to buy 15 pc stake in RVR consortium

Charles Mbire, a leading Ugandan businessman, has won a hotly contested battle to buy 15 per cent of Rift Valley Railways.

This battle pitted two of Uganda’s rising young stars against East Africa’s emerging business and political power brokers.

The sale of the shares closes a long running saga that has shaken the establishment in the region in a very public corporate battle to control a multimillion dollar railway concession.

The battle involves a colourful cast of inept public officials and World Bank advisors, scheming businessmen and profiteers, political sharks, an ambitious and untouchable Kenyan investment house and a brash private equity operator from Egypt with lots of cash.

Sources close to the deal confirmed to The EastAfrican that Mr Mbire has already paid an undisclosed sum for his stake to complete the deal ready for the signing of the amended shareholder agreement on Monday.

This will pave the way for RVR to lock in loans that are required urgently needed to rehabilitate railway tracks and buy trains.

Already, four new lenders have made commitments.

Equity Bank is said to have signed a $20 million deal.

African Development Bank has committed $30 million.

The emerging Market Fund for Africa has committed $20 million.

This brings committed loans up to $120 million.

Mr Mbire, who also sits on the board of RVR, was competing against a bid put in by Ugandan businessman Patrick Bitature.

However, Mr Mbire emerged as winner after the IFC, the World Bank’s private sector lending arm and KfW, the German-backed development lender, endorsed his bid.

Sources revealed that these institutions backed Mr Mbire’s bid over Mr Bitature’s because of the latter’s connection to the ruling political elite in Uganda.

Our sources say it has something to do with suspicions that he has links with shadowy segments of the political elite.