Prof. Gordon Babala Kasibante Wavamunno often referred to simply as Gordon Wavamunno is a Ugandan entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist.
He is the owner of Spear Motors Uganda – the sole distributor of Mercedes Benz in Uganda.
Born on 16th December 1943, Gordon Wavamunno is ranked high among the list of Uganda’s wealthiest men. He also serves as the honorary consul of Hungary to Uganda.
In 2012, he was featured in Forbes Africa ‘Out of Adversity Comes Opportunity’ where he revealed that he chose business over education.
Prof. Wavamunno is the Chairman and CEO of an enterprise that has earned him worldwide recognition whereas his wife Morine Wavamunno is the Executive Director of the Uganda-based Spear Group.
The couple successfully grew their business from humble beginnings into a diversified business group which includes the following business ventures under their group; insurance, automobile distribution, textiles, bottled water, construction, real estate, farming, radio, and television, among others ventures.
It is important to note that Spear Motors grew into Uganda’s largest auto dealership after having started out in a small garage in 1973.
Gordon was born 78 years ago in Rugaaga, in present-day Insingiro District in Uganda on the 16th of December in 1943.
He holds an Honorary doctorate degree from Makerere University attained in 2006 plus an Honorary doctorate from Nkumba University (2007).
He founded the now defunct but once popular media company known as WBS Television that dominated Uganda’s airwaves for several years.
Prof. Wavamunno is also an accomplished author who has written two popular books which include; “Independent Uganda: Reflections and Recollections” published in 2018.
His other book was originally published in 2007 titled “The Late Ssaabasajja Kabaka Muteesa II an Outstanding Defender of Peace and First President of Uganda.”
Gordon’s Early Life
Following early public education in his home area, Wavamunno relocated to Mbarara, as it was the largest town in the Ankole sub-region, when he was a teenager.
His quest for better opportunities in a more urban setting later led him northwards to Kampala – Uganda’s capital and largest city.
His business acumen was sharpened earlier on in life during his childhood. Wava’s parents owned a retail shop and as a young boy, he helped in running it as a shop attendant at a tender age.
Letters to My Younger Self: Robinah Siima — “Success Is Quieter, But Richer”When he moved to Mbarara as a teenager, he worked as a shop assistant in a produce store that was owned by an Asian family. Later, he began to purchase farm produce from the nearby villages. He would then sell the produce to the Asian shops and families in Mbarara.
When he acquired his first automobile, he began special hire taxi services in the town. He expanded this business to include a driving school. In his mid 20s, he relocated to Kampala and worked as a driver/tour guide for a tour operator called Equatorial Agencies Limited. from 1967 to 1972. He took over the management of Spear Tours and Travel when its owner Ashok Patel was murdered by Idi Amin’s soldiers.
In 1973, one year after the expulsion of Ugandan Asians by former President Idi Amin, Wavamunno leveraged his assets and started Spear Motors Limited, the sole Mercedes Benz dealership in Uganda.
The dealership is also the sole authorized dealer in Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler automobiles and their spare parts.
In addition, Spear Motors is the sole distributor of Deutz Fahr tractors and farm machinery in Uganda.
Deutz Fahr is a farm equipment manufacturer based in Treviglio, northern Italy.
Below is a list of some of Wavamunno’s investments that have earned him the reputation and title as one of Uganda’s richest men.
As of September 2013, the following were some of the enterprises owned wholly or in part by Wavamunno. The businesses listed here are sometimes referred to as the Spear Group of Companies or simply the Spear Group.
- Spear Motors Limited – Franchise distributor and dealer in Mercedes Benz, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat and Deutz Fahr brands in Uganda.
- Wavah FM – A private radio station.
- Star Times Digital Satellite Television Service – A digital satellite distributor of television signals in Uganda.
- Spear House – An office building on Jinja Road in Kampala’s central business district.
- Wavah Water Limited – A manufacturer and distributor of drinking mineral water in Uganda.
- GM Tumpeco Limited – A manufacturer and fabricator of steel products, including number plates, traffic road signs, and billboards. Also, furniture, spring mattresses, uniports, wheelbarrows, and truck and bus bodies.
- Fancy Furniture Limited – Importer and distributor of high-end office and household furniture.
- Wavah Books Limited – A publisher of school text books and other writings.
- Nakweero Mixed Farm – A diary, beef, and crop farm in Nakweero, Kira Municipality, Wakiso District.
Wavamunno has an honorary doctorate degree from Makerere University, Uganda’s oldest institution of higher learning, and from Nkumba University.
He is a professor in business and entrepreneurship at Makerere University and is the chancellor at Nkumba University.
In January 2013, Wavamunno was appointed Knight of the Order of Saint John. Recipients of knighthoods in this order are not normally entitled to the honorific of “Sir”.
The award was in recognition of his philanthropic work with St. John Association of Uganda, where he has been a member since 1983. He currently serves as the chairman of the association. Among other charitable acts, he has donated two ambulances to the association, renovated their offices in Kampala, and offered academic financial support bursaries to orphans to enable them to progress with their studies.
Founded by Wavamunno and incorporated in 1973, Spear Motors first began it’s business operations by establishing its headquarters at the International conference Centre which was later moved to Udyam House and then Kitgum House along Jinja Road.
He was the director of the now defunct WBS Television that once dominated Uganda’s airwaves several years ago when television stations were not as many as they are in this digital era.
Despite Prof. Wavamunno’s lavish wealth which he amassed over the decades and his widely acknowledged billionaire status in Uganda and beyond, his public life and level of business activity in recent times has significantly diminished as some of his enterprises are now defunct.
