By Ivan Mwine
There are probably several wealthy individuals or families that we cannot know about because they not only keep a low profile, but also avoid anything that will associate themselves with wealth.
Kampala has witnessed many mysterious tycoons who come, shine and later fade into oblivion after ‘traumatizing’ locals by living flashy lifestyles.
However, a few weeks ago a new dude who doesn’t fear showing off his dime surfaced in Kampala social circles.
Sources say he is one of the loaded young guys based in South Africa. He has been hitting high class spots and moving with bodyguards in a convoy of vehicles with South Africa registered number plates customized as Abdul.
He was seen by Moles tipping waitresses in dollars at Serena Hotel; something that is unusual to Kampala folks.
His lavish lifestyle prompted us to try and find out who he is and what he does for a living plus his other sources of income, if any.
The new loaded ‘mystery tycoon’ has been only identified as Don Abdul.
Moles however reveal that although he is currently living large, Abdul’s life has been full of hurdles that would have stopped a less determined person from living the life he lives.
He was born Abdul Hassan, 25 years ago in Pakwach to Mr Hassan Maulana, a retired Civil Engineer and housewife Mrs Zaitun Hassan, deceased.
Abdul grew up with his siblings; two girls and five boys with their dad as single parent after their mother died in 1999 when he was only two years old.
After the death of his wife the retired engineer was forced to relocate the family from Pakwach in northern Uganda to Gaba, in Kampala.
In early the 2000s Abdul kicked off his education journey at Cornerstone Primary School in Gaba, then to Gaba Model Primary School and later to Kamuli C/U in Kireka, where he sat his Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) in 2011.
For secondary level Abdul started his ‘O’ -Level at Denis Sebugwawo Secondary School in Gaba, where he studied for two years and then joined Gaba Mixed Secondary School, where he sat for his ‘O’-Level finals.
However, after completing ‘O’-Level he quit school and started working in a family saloon in Gaba and later went to Kampala to join the vending of second hand clothes from Owino Market.
After a year trading in second hand clothes, Abdul changed to dealing in phone accessories at Mutasa Kafero Plaza along William Street in Kampala.
In 2017, Abdul found his way to South Africa with the help of a long time friend who was based there.
Abdul’s life in South Africa was full of hurdles in that he first faced serious trials as he braved cold nights on the streets of Johannesburg for some several months after failing to be received by the very person who had tipped him about the South Africa ‘Kyeyo’.
However, luckily, after some months on the streets some Ugandan only identified as Mukasa accepted to house him alongside another person called Benjamin, who had left Uganda and reached South Africa with by road.
He hustled for almost a year until lady luck came to him one day.
As luck would have it, Abdul fell in love with a South African babe who was into real estate business and introduced him to the trade, which saw him bid farewell to poverty and the rest is now history.
The couple is into buying and selling of real estate properties in Durban, where they are minting millions.
Abdul runs a real estate company called Abdul Investment, which is said to employ a number of Ugandans and several South African nationals.
It is reported that through this company he has been organising various projects to bring Ugandans in South Africa together. He also organises football tournaments with an aim of uniting Ugandans based in South Africa living in different provinces.
We have learnt that Abdul has so far bailed out his family in Uganda after buying his father a mansion in Munyonyo and has also invested in a string of houses for rentals in Buziga and other parts of Makindye.
The loaded dude fancies posh cars which he claims are some of the toys he always wished to have when he was battling with survival.
He comfortably has a fleet of 12 posh cars that include two Range Rover Vogues model 2017 and 2019, three BMWs of which two are X6 series model 2017, 2022 and BMW 3-Series 2019.
He owns four Mercedes Benzes in different classes that include two GLE 63s models 2019, CLA class 2022 and C class model 2018.
On top of that he also has an Audi and Toyota Fortuner all estimated to be worth close to Shs3.5Bn.
A art from his penchant for posh cars, he also has a passion for shopping and travelling and has been to various European countries, among them Germany, Dubai, Mauritius, Italyu, etc for holiday purposes
