Following a reputational and financially bruising fraud scandal — in which the brewer estimates to have lost about UGX 9 billion — and the subsequent exit of its Heads of Marketing and Sales, Nile Breweries appears to have completed an overhaul of leadership across its sales and marketing functions, bringing in a rich fusion of talent from within and beyond its ranks and the wider industry.
After the scandal was unearthed, Amou Jervas Majok, who was then the Country Marketing Lead, and her sibling Majok Darwin Jervase Majok, who oversaw trade marketing and key accounts, left the company as investigations widened into governance lapses and irregular promotional spending.
In their place, Nile Breweries has installed a refreshed leadership line-up — Wangechi Gitahi as Head of Marketing, Ifeoluwapo Subair as National Sales Director, and Yasintah Mgallah, strengthening trade-marketing oversight. Collectively, they bring a mix of blue-chip FMCG training, frontline commercial leadership and cross-market exposure spanning Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania.
The blend of external industry experience and deep AB InBev system knowledge is deliberate: it couples new thinking with familiarity with the brewer’s processes, controls and performance culture. The appointments also signal a shift toward tighter oversight, clearer accountability and more rigorous executionacross the commercial value chain.
A New Guard With Defined Mandates
Wangechi Gitahi, appointed in June 2025 as the Head of Marketing, brings with her more than a decade of structured FMCG experience, most visibly from her time at Unilever, where she rose to Head of Consumer & Trade Marketing after leading shopper marketing and brand stewardship roles, including the Geisha brand. Before that, she helped build the marketing department at Capwell Industries in Kenya. Her grounding was sharpened further through agency roles at EXP, CentreStage Marketing and X-Que Communications, giving her a practical understanding of how strategy translates into execution on the ground.
Academically, she holds a Master’s degree from the University of Bristol (graduating with Distinction), and professional certification from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).
The Majok siblings — Amou Jervas Majok and Majok Darwin Jervase Majok — former senior executives at Nile Breweries, who are currently facing prosecution over their alleged role in a scheme that cost the company an estimated UGX 9 billion.
Ifeoluwapo (Ife) Subair, who joined three months later, in September 2025, as National Sales Director, was, before coming to Uganda, within the AB InBev Africa fold, rotating through critical roles: District Sales Manager, Customer Experience Centre Manager, Route-to-Market & Tech Sales Manager, mainly in Nigeria. He joined AB InBev through the brewer’s elite Global Management Trainee programme.
He holds a B.Sc. in Electrical & Electronic Engineering (Control & Power Systems) from Obafemi Awolowo University, and has completed leadership training from Henley Business School and Wharton Business School.
Fixing the “Execution Gap”
To handle marketplace execution, Yasintah Mgallah, the new National Trade Marketing Manager, was onboarded in June 2025. Prior to Uganda, Yasintah Mgallah worked with AB InBev in Tanzania, where she held several roles across the commercial function. She served as PPM (Planning, Performance & Marketing) Specialist for BU South East, supporting brand planning cycles, budget alignment and commercial performance tracking. Earlier, as Route-to-Market Project Manager, she was involved in distributor route redesign, sales tools rollout, and incentive scheme coordination. She also worked as Commercial Technology Manager, contributing to the deployment of digital sales platforms and reporting dashboards across multiple territories.
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She joined Nile Breweries in June 2025 as National Trade Marketing Manager. In this role, she oversees national trade-marketing activities, including promotion planning, field execution coordination, and post-activity evaluation. She works closely with sales and marketing teams to align trade programs with approved processes and controls.
Below the executive tier, Nile Breweries has also reinforced its capability in the layer where brand plans are executed.
In July 2025, Ivan Muwanga joined as Marketing Manager. His background spans banking, aquaculture and agency work — including roles with Exim Bank Uganda, Yalelo Uganda, and TBWA\Uganda.
That same month, Belinda Blessing Kasemiire was appointed Brand Manager for Castle Lite and Chairman’s ESB. She previously worked in marketing functions at dfcu Bank and in FMCG environments, gaining exposure to brand planning, promotions and stakeholder coordination.
New Leadership at the Helm — But Stability Will Depend on How Fast the Team Gels
Nile Breweries’ leadership reset has also extended to the very top. The company is set to welcome a new Managing Director, Nkanyiso Mncwabe, who replaces Adu Rando, who was promoted to lead AB InBev’s BEES MarketPlace Africa digital-commerce portfolio. Mncwabe arrives with more than 15 years across The South African Breweries and AB InBev, having led regional business units and commercial operations in multiple markets — experience that aligns with the brewer’s current focus on disciplined execution, digital transformation and leadership continuity.
Taken together, the rebuilt executive bench — stretching across sales, marketing, trade marketing and now the managing director’s office — brings fresh perspectives from different markets and sectors across the continent. That diversity may prove important in dismantling the informal practices and relationship networks that contributed to the fraud exposure.
Importantly, this new leadership tier does not stand alone. It is supported by a cohort of seasoned practice managers, especially at the exco level, who provide institutional memory and operational stability. Among them is James Kavuma (District Manager – West), Davidson Wadada (District Manager – East), Benson Atwijukire (Plant Manager – Mbarara), George Mbogo (Plant Manager – Jinja), William Ddamba (Plant Manager – Maltings) and Allan Oligo (Country Lead, Solutions & RTM). Others are Brenda Nzirambeera (Country Procurement Lead), Martha Nalubega (Country People Lead), Hillary Muhwezi (Country Logistics Lead), Eunice Muheirwe (Executive Director & Country Head of Finance), and Emmanuel Njuki (Country Legal & Corporate Affairs Lead).
But the transition also comes with risk. Nile Breweries now enters a period where new leaders must quickly gel in, in a fiercely competitive market, while still stabilising internal reforms. Competitors are aggressive, consumers are under economic pressure, and industry margins are tightening. How quickly this new team gels — and whether it can translate stronger governance into commercial performance — will determine whether the company’s “reset” becomes a competitive advantage, or a costly learning curve.
Nile Breweries Limited, established in 1951, is Uganda’s leading beer manufacturer with breweries in Jinja and Mbarara. The company produces a diverse portfolio of brands including Nile Special, Club Pilsener, Eagle Lager, and Castle Lite, among others. NBL is part of the AB InBev family, the world’s largest brewer.
