By Our Reporter
Hamis Kiggundu is arguably the wealthiest young person under 40 in Uganda, and it is therefore not surprising that he owns one of the best houses in the country.
Dubbed the White House, it is located along Entebbe road and has the glamorous look picked from a fashionable real estate magazine. It is all white, and has exquisite interior comparable with what you’d find in a five star hotel. It features several luxury amenities, including a helicopter pad, swimming pool, basketball court, indoor cinema, and twenty-five bedrooms.
Ham says he picked inspiration from America’s White House, which is the official residence for the Presidents of the great nation.
“I have always admired the white house as a young man but based on reason, why go to America as a tourist to visit the white house when I have the means to build a look-alike here back home,” he says.
On the surface, this extravagant display of opulence appears purely like a vanity project. In contrast, there is a lot more depth to the property tycoon’s motivations.
He says he built the house out of love for his country as illustration to all Ugandans and Africans to invest here. According to Hamis, Ugandans and Africans as a whole don’t invest in their own countries.
He further claims that we’ve been brainwashed by our western-imposed educational systems and western social media platforms into thinking that the West is somehow superior to us.
“From the time Africans go to school, we start dreaming of going to America
or Europe for the chance of a better life. We study so hard, and then work equally as hard for an opportunity to get out of Africa. We leave our homeland and head for the West, then work towards the development of these western countries, leaving Africa our motherland in poverty,” he says.
“Why leave and go to the US when we can bring the US here to us? We have to be willing to change our mindset. We have to be willing to reason,” he adds.
The businessman says his White House serves as the headquarters for all his companies as well as a tourist attraction. It has been visited by several people in Uganda and international stars, including Akon who was given land in Uganda to build a Akon City by the government of Uganda.
The house was constructed by his own real estate company, Ham Group of Companies. It is the same company that has built a stadium, malls, Agro-Processing industries, Silos and manufacturing and processing plants, among others.
