KAMPALA: Former Minister of Finance, Maria Kiwanuka has been accused by her co-wife, Beatrice Kiwanuka of taking advantage of the deteriorating health of her husband and city businessman, Mohan Musisi Kiwanuka, to wrongfully evict her children from the family business as well as denouncing her (Beatrice) as Musisi’s wife.
Beatrice Kavuma Kiwanuka, the first wife of the city property mogul for over 50 years says Maria used her husband’s vegetative state to swindle family property and evict old children and their mother, Kavuma from their work and residential premises.
Mr Kiwanuka has four children, including Lawyer Jordan Ssebuliba Kiwanuka with his first wife Beatrice Kavuma, and another three with Maria whom he married later.
Mr Kiwanuka’s sisters and some of his children contend that Ms Maria and her son Edin Musisi had assumed powers of attorney to control the tycoon’s vast business interests.
They said he was not mentally stable to make informed decisions and that Ms Maria was taking advantage of this to either sell or transfer properties to her children’s names.
Ms Beatrice Kiwanuka says when the tycoon went to the press and denied siring lawyer Jordan Ssebuliba, then that’s when they confirmed that something was wrong.
“When my husband of 49 years, who has been known to have two wives and two homes with 8 children between us, got up on National Television and among other things, denied being married to me, and worse still, denied our second child, Jordan Ssebuliba Kiwanuka, is what confirmed our worst fears, that indeed, something is terribly wrong and that He is likely, in rapid decline,” she adds.
She also says for all these years, the tycoon had never appointed any of his wives as directors in his business and therefore, the appointment of Maria as the director also raised suspicion about her role in the matter.
“It is also important to note that in all these years that we have been married to Mwaami Kiwanuka, myself and my co-wife, Maria Kiwanuka have never been directors in his businesses. She was always just the General Manager of the Businesses and I was a Civil Servant. He has always chosen and preferred to work with his children, his own flesh and blood,” Ms Beatrice Kiwanuka says.
“So, isn’t it curious that in the very recent past, since between April 2019 and now, especially when my children and I were denied access to him, he suddenly appointed my co-wife and current minder as Director. And that upon assumption of said Directorship, her first order of business was to cause our Husband to become very harsh and hostile to my children and I, leading him to want to throw me out of my marital home of 36 years, throw Jordan out of his work premises where his Law firm is located, throw Jordan and his siblings, my children from their business premises, which Mwaami Kiwanuka on his own volition asked the children to conduct business from these premises? It is this type of hostile behavior that caused my children and I to turn to court for redress, while my co-wife turned to the media to harass us among other things.”
It is a public secret that tycoon Mohan Musisi Kiwanuka’s Business Empire is facing unprecedented turbulence resulting from a disagreement with his son, Jordan Ssebuliba Kiwanuka.
Although he has lived a low profile for many decades, Kiwanuka is the Chief Executive Officer of renowned Oscar Industries and runs a number of businesses including properties in Kampala and its environs.
Montage photo of Mohan Kiwanuka, his son Jordan Ssebuliba and Maria Kiwanuka
Beatrice’s sigh of relief
Recently Uganda’s Court of Appeal ruled that prominent businessman Mohan Musisi Kiwanuka has suffered from Alzheimer’s disease since at least May 18, 2017. This landmark decision by the Court of Appeal overturned an earlier High Court ruling and aims to resolve a lengthy family dispute over Kiwanuka’s mental capacity and his vast estate.
Justices Cheborion Barishaki, Christopher Gashirabake, and Dr. Asa Mugenyi delivered the judgment, citing “damning evidence” from the businessman’s medical team and family. They stated the court “simply cannot look the other way.”
The ruling reverses a 2019 High Court decision by Justice Musa Sekaana, which had rejected Jordan Ssebuliba Kiwanuka’s request to have his father undergo a mental health evaluation.
New evidence, including testimony from four of Kiwanuka’s sisters and two doctors, showed consistent cognitive decline. This included memory loss, personality changes, and difficulty with daily tasks.
The appellate court criticized the High Court’s process, particularly a private, unrecorded 15-minute meeting between the judge and Kiwanuka at a hotel. The justices called this “a defect that taints the inquiry, and the entire trial, with mystery and suspicion.”
The Court dismissed claims that the son’s application was motivated by property, stating it was “not unexpected for a son who has worked closely with his father for over 20 years and noticed memory loss to worry.”
The court granted all of Kiwanuka’s direct descendants and wives full access to him. It also ordered a family meeting within 30 days to appoint a new manager for his estate.
Court documents indicate Kiwanuka owns 46 prime properties in Kampala, including at least 26 in Kololo. A 50-acre property in Sonde, Mukono District, was also part of the dispute.
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