Ruth Namuli, previously the Chief Executive Officer of Sanlam General Insurance, has emerged as the Chief Executive Officer of SanlamAllianz Uganda General Insurance, the newly merged entity of Sanlam General and Jubilee Allianz General, CEO East Africa Magazine has exclusively learnt.
Her appointment has already been announced to internal staff and key clients, according to our sources. The official public announcement, however, will only be made once the new name has been gazetted and approved by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).
The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) has already approved the rebrand to SanlamAllianz General Insurance Ltd and granted the company permission to begin trading.
Following the news of the merger, all breaths were abated to see which between her and Paul Kavuma, who has led Jubilee Allianz Uganda since April 2022, would take the top job of the now larger SanlamAllianz.
With the merger, SanlamAllianz Uganda consolidates Sanlam’s 11.5% and Jubilee Allianz’s 9.1% market shares, leapfrogging rivals and positioning itself as the clear leader in Uganda’s competitive non-life insurance market.
The merged business instantly becomes Uganda’s largest non-life insurer, commanding 20.6% market share with UGX 201.1 billion in Gross Written Premiums (GWP) out of the industry’s UGX 976.5 billion non-life segment for 2024. This puts it ahead of Old Mutual, which previously led the market with UGX 185 billion in premiums (18.9% share).
We, however, understand that Paul Kavuma will stay on for some time, assisting Ruth Namuli navigate the delicate transition.
Although the public launch is pending, much of the operational integration is complete. Staff from both companies have merged and relocated to new premises in Nakasero, previously occupied by the World Health Organisation.
The SanlamAllianz brand is expected to be unveiled publicly in Uganda by late October 2025, cementing the new identity, according to our sources.
In Uganda, beyond the general insurance merger, Sanlam Life will rebrand to SanlamAllianz Life, with Gary Corbit continuing as CEO.
Broader Regional Realignment
The Ugandan merger is not an isolated development but rather part of a broader East African consolidation being driven by the Sanlam–Allianz joint venture. The restructuring extends across Kenya, Tanzania, and Mauritius, marking a sweeping transformation of the group’s general insurance operations in the region. In Kenya, the Insurance Regulatory Authority has already given its nod to the amalgamation of Sanlam General with Jubilee Allianz General, paving the way for the transfer of assets and liabilities that is currently in progress.
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Similar restructuring exercises and rebranding efforts are also underway in Tanzania and Mauritius, as the joint venture seeks to establish a unified SanlamAllianz identity across its markets. Importantly, the Jubilee Life and Jubilee Health businesses were excluded from the Sanlam–Jubilee transaction and will continue to operate independently outside the scope of the merger.
Ruth Namuli: A Career Forged in Insurance
Ruth Namuli’s rise to the top of Uganda’s insurance sector is the culmination of nearly two decades of steady progression through the ranks of the industry. She began her career at the Insurance Company of East Africa (ICEA) Uganda in 2005, where she worked as a Senior Underwriter for five years. This early grounding gave her a deep technical appreciation of risk assessment and underwriting — skills that would prove invaluable as she moved into leadership.
In 2011, she joined UAP Old Mutual Uganda, first as an Assistant Manager before being elevated to Underwriting Manager for Corporate Business. Over the next five years, she built a reputation for balancing risk management with business growth, helping the company expand its corporate client base in an increasingly competitive market.
Her biggest career leap came in 2016 when she joined Sanlam General Insurance Uganda as General Manager – Corporate. Over seven years, she transformed the division into a key driver of the business, cementing her place as one of Sanlam’s most trusted executives in the country. By June 2022, her leadership credentials were unmistakable, and she was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Sanlam General Uganda.
Namuli’s professional growth has been reinforced by strong academic and professional qualifications. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Management from Makerere University, is a Chartered Insurer (ACII) through the Chartered Insurance Institute of London, and is an alumna of the Leadership Development Programme at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
This combination of technical expertise, corporate leadership, and international training has prepared her for her biggest challenge yet: steering SanlamAllianz Uganda General Insurance into its new role as the market leader in Uganda’s non-life insurance sector.
Challenges Ahead: Integration, Clients, and Competition
As Ruth Namuli steps into her new role, the true test of leadership will lie in how she navigates the complex challenges of integration. Bringing together two organisations with distinct histories and cultures requires careful alignment of people, processes, and expectations. Staff cohesion will be vital to ensure that the merger translates into improved service delivery rather than internal friction.
Equally critical is client management. The success of SanlamAllianz will hinge on retaining the trust and loyalty of existing policyholders while using the enhanced scale of the new entity to attract new business. Any missteps during the transition could open the door for competitors to woo away clients, undermining the very market dominance the merger has created.
Competition also looms close. With 20.6% market share, SanlamAllianz may now sit at the top, but Old Mutual trails closely with 18.9%. A slip in execution or failure to demonstrate added value from the merger could see the former leader claw back lost ground. For Namuli and her team, the challenge is therefore not just about building a bigger company, but about shaping a more agile, trusted, and client-centred market leader.
