To mourn Mulwana’s death is to cry out for local investors

We do not even have the symbolic privilege of a dedicated queue at Entebbe Airport!

Mulwana was a child of the Independence movement, which believed that if Ugandans were good enough to fight for the allies in the World War and to work for the colonial government, they were good enough to govern themselves.

He also believed that indigenous businesspeople, even those of limited education, such as him, could make the transition from petty trade to industry and manufacturing.

Most importantly, he also believed that those who made it in business had a responsibility and an obligation to support others.

There will be plenty of wise words and condolence messages as we celebrate the life of this man but the only fitting tribute we can pay him is to finally realise that we need to support our own.

This is not to call for a return to the violent and often xenophobic attacks of the 1940s or the 1972 expulsion of Asians including Ugandan citizens; rather, it is to call for more progressive policies to create more local investors, like my friend, while attracting genuine foreign capital.

Twitter: @kalinaki dkalinaki@ug.nationmedia.com