Kiira EV 12 years later: Arrested development?

Why is he coming out now? What does he want? Who is behind him? Those were some of the questions posed when Mr Jeremy Steven Ntambi, 39, came out of obscurity on June 29, 2020, on Twitter to, as he put it, “set the record straight.”

He was addressing himself to Kiira EV—that petit green electric vehicle that went down in the annals as the first such car to be made in Uganda 12 years ago.

When President Museveni rode in it while visiting Makerere University in November 2011, Kiira EV captured the imagination of the international media. After a messy general election reached a crescendo a few months earlier, this was welcome positive coverage for the Museveni administration.  The UK Guardian screamed with the headline: “Uganda’s first electric car proves the potential of Africa’s universities.”

Subsequently, an idea was considered to start “producing cars” in Uganda under the enterprise, Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC). The corporation was first housed out of Makerere University under the Presidential Initiative for Science and Technology Innovations. It then moved to Uganda Development Corporation, the government’s development arm under the Ministry of Trade and Cooperatives.

Disagreements, however, supervened and KMC moved to the Ministry of Science and Technology, where it is reinforced by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces’ (UPDF) commercial arm—National Enterprise Corporation.

Kiira EV was hitherto known as Makerere EV, but according to accounts President Museveni recommended an indigenous name—Kiira; the other name of the River Nile.

Mr Ntambi’s claims attracted the odd media interview here and there. KMC, now led by his former supervisors at Makerere University’s College of Engineering, Design Art and Technology (CEDAT), strongly rebutted his claims. It threatened legal action for good measure.

“I don’t want to be mistaken as having an agenda to bring the current efforts of Kiira Motors down,” Mr Ntambi affirmed during a nearly four-hour-long interview with Saturday Monitor, adding, “I just want[ed] to set the record straight.”

In early 2019, Mr Ntambi quit his job as the engineering operations manager at KCCA to focus on his private venture dealing in technology-based solutions. With his double degree in economics and international trade from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Italy, and University of Warsaw in Poland, respectively, he said he had a lot to do—especially focusing on models-based technology solutions.

It is as a result of this passion for technology, Mr Ntambi asserted, that he cannot let go of his erstwhile association with Uganda’s first electric hybrid vehicle, aka Kiira EV. He claimed the idea was originally his and later had input from other students. Two are living a quiet life in Kampala and the other moved to Ireland for greener pastures.

He who alleges…

So what did Ntambi want? He maintained he just wanted to let the world know. Also for that reason, contrary to suggestions from friends, remained opposed to the idea of seeking court redress. Why was he coming out then?

He said when he was initially thrown off the project in 2011, after it had eventually taken off following President Museveni’s financial support, he was pained but agreed to stand aside “hoping the vision we set out with would be translated into something; I was wrong.”

He added: “I just want the country to see, for people to start asking the right questions since its taxpayers’ money being played around with. Some people think I want money or I am being used; don’t they think I could have tried to cut a deal of sorts not to come out at all?”

The car idea he narrated was borne out of the Power Electronics course unit during his Third Year in 2007. This was part of the four-year Electrical Engineering degree course. He was among the three students taking the course unit taught by Dr Tom Wanyama, who would exit Makerere for greener pastures in Canada later that year.

In a statement responding to media inquiries issued on July 3, 2020, KMC executives clarified that “Ntambi didn’t at any one time develop Kiira Motors concepts and at no one time was he involved in Kiira Motors Corporation.”

The company, however, loosely acknowledged that he was involved in the development of the Kiira EV. Even then, the company offered that Mr Ntambi was involved in the development of the vehicle as a students-led project under CEDAT.

It added that after completing his undergraduate, he immediately went away to pursue his Masters and then PhD.

The genesis to the current entanglement, KMC added, started on June 22, 2020, when Mr Ntambi presented a system for public transport payments to a private company. He was reportedly referred to KMC, and on June 23, 2020, met the Kiira Motors team with an idea to provide a public transport payment system. KMC said the idea was well received and Mr Ntambi was asked to submit a proposal and a formal letter of intent with relevant documentation.

During our interview, Mr Ntambi denied this account of events. He said he approached Victoria Motors and made a presentation on a possible business proposal on a system for public transport payments, which they bought. He further suggested that since they have a vehicle leasing contract with KMC, he pitches for them as well “because they likely needed the product more.”

“Given my background with Kiira Motors, I was against the idea, but for the sake of securing my business with Victoria Motors, I agreed to meet and present to them (Kiira),” he clarified, adding, “It is true they too liked the idea … my dealing was with Victoria Motors, not Kiira Motors.”

While in their defence KMC has tried hard to discount Mr Ntambi’s involvement in the development of Kiira EV, available records and interviews with multiple individuals familiar with the project indicate otherwise.

Time reveals, relives

In January 2009, The New Vision published an article titled “Ntambi leads Makerere team to next generation car.” It detailed the car project in its early stages, and quoted then Makerere University Chancellor, Prof Mondo Kagonyera, waxing lyrical about both Mr Ntambi and the invention.

According to the article, Mr Ntambi and a group of fellow students who graduated that same year, fantasised of setting up a $1.7m (Shs6.3b) general transportation research centre and told dreams of Uganda being able to produce special vehicles.

This dream, Mr Ntambi said and KMC admitted, started with the students taking part in the Vehicle Design Summit (VDS) organised by the US-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology. VDS was a students’ innovative research project aimed at applying contemporary technologies to develop sustainable transportation solutions for Uganda and Africa.

Mr Ntambi narrated that during his Third Year—and during discussions with Dr Wanyama—they explored several projects, some of which less interested him.

In 2007, while he was exploring the idea of remote controlling cars as part of the Power Electronics course unit, Dr Wanyama introduced Mr Ntambi to one of the VDS directors. This led to him attending the first students meeting in Leuven, Belgium, in November 2007.

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VDS brought together students from some 35 research universities around the world, advised by industrial bigwigs like General Motors, with the idea of designing and building different components of a car—Vision 200. Makerere University was the only participating institution from Africa.

“One of the things that occurred to me when I attended the summit was thinking: ‘what can we do as Makerere?’ In line with what the meeting was about, I got the idea of our university building a plug-in series (engine) for hybrid electric cars,” he recalled.

Upon return, Mr Ntambi rallied a team of three other students—one classmate and two from other courses, civil engineering and Information Technology. These, Mr Ntambi said, “would add value to the plug-in series engine.”

The team, including Mr Ntambi, attended a follow-up meeting in January 2008, in Milan, Italy, to advance discussions on the component they were building. The New Vision documented the students’ trip in an article published on January 15 that year, with Mr Ntambi mentioned as the team leader.

When they returned, he moulded the project work into his Fourth Year thesis as a prelude to finishing the course and graduating.

“For me, it was not just about graduation; it was about how to make our idea work,” he noted.

Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, then principal of the college, allocated them working space, and the project team was expanded to 11 members of mainly continuing students who would take it forward after Mr Ntambi’s group had graduated.

A follow-up/final VDS meeting dubbed the design summit, took place in June 2008 in Turin, one of Italy’s industrial cities. Only six members of the team travelled since it was mostly a self-funded trip.

In Turin, their idea was fine-tuned and added to the larger student car project.  This being the final leg, Mr Ntambi said they invited Dr Sandy TickodrI Togboa. He had taken over supervision of the project from Dr Wanyama.

Eventually, the ideas from the different students led to the assembling and showcasing of a six-passenger, hybrid, 100 miles per gallon (mpg)— used to show how far your car is able to travel for every gallon (or 4.55 litres) of fuel it uses—and, world prototype was thus built.

Seeing the seed sprout

“It was a moment that made us feel proud as Makerereans and Ugandans being the only African group present,” Mr Ntambi reminisced his account corroborated by another student who participated but requested anonymity owing to his current status.

Mr Ntambi added: “What hurts me most is after MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] funded part of our trips and some of the things we eventually did. They had wanted us to sign off our work to them, which I refused. If I did so, I was going to betray not just Makerere but Uganda.”

He immediately emailed Prof Nawangwe, informing him of the proposal by MIT and further asked about the university’s policy on intellectual property.

In the email, Mr Ntambi noted that MIT had actually coaxed one of their colleagues to sign away the project but it was not too late to reverse the order.

He wrote: “We have insisted that all the work that was done by the Ugandan team is intellectual property of Makerere, and none of us is willing. We were, however, not sure if there is an intellectual property policy at the university to protect our work.”

In an interview with Saturday Monitor, Prof Nawangwe, now the university vice chancellor, acknowledged that upon Dr Wanyama’s exit, he tapped Prof Tickodri as supervisor of the project. This was at the behest of the students with whom they travelled to Italy “where they did their part successfully; showcased their part and upon return, they felt they could build their car here.”

Prof Nawangwe added: “It is true Jeremy [Ntambi] led the team to Italy and the idea was conceived under the mentorship of Prof Tickodri. It was also at a time when Jeremy was in his final year, and after his graduation, he left Makerere and went away for his Masters and later PhD.”

Prof Nawange proceeded to note: “It is true Jeremy was involved in the conception of the idea of building a car, but the development of the car happened when he had left.”

The idea materialised eventually during the Italy excursion while the students and Prof Tickodri were visiting the automobile giant Fiat’s old factory in Turin after the main design event.

“We told Prof Tickodri that given what we had seen and been exposed to, we could do the same upon returning home—a spinoff of sorts,” Mr Ntambi told Saturday Monitor.

Upon return from Italy, Mr Ntambi modelled the design of the car component into his Fourth Year thesis titled “Vehicle Design Summit’s Vision 200—Design of the Power Electronics—focused on design and development of the converter for the auxiliary power unit (APU) and its control strategy.” He requested Prof Tickodri to supervise the project.

“It was very hard. After the exit of Dr Wanyama, there was no one else competent enough to supervise my thesis. Prof Nawangwe, who was passionate about it, was from an architecture background and Prof Tickodri, who was the closest competent person, was into mathematics and IT. But to his credit, he had been involved in other ambitious projects like the academic records management system,” Mr Ntambi said. “But he was too busy. He agreed to my request to supervise me, but brought in Paul Isaac Musasizi, who was an assistant lecturer at the time, to assist him.”

Moving parts

KMC in its defence said Mr Ntambi requested Mr Musasizi, who is now the chief executive of the company, to supervise his thesis. The latter in turn brought in Prof Tickodri. Mr Ntambi said from the beginning, he did not get along well with Mr Musasizi, who felt his thesis was “too ambitious.” Mr Ntambi further said more than once Mr Musasizi talked him into changing the subject if he wanted to graduate in time.

“Today, he is the same person who is leading the supposed car production,” Mr Ntambi said.

“I refused to change my thesis, and in fact, eventually we had to get external validators to double check my work leading to my graduation.”

Pending graduation in January 2009, and picking up on discussions with Prof Tickodri in Italy, Mr Ntambi said the team threw around the idea of the Centre for Research in Transport Technologies (CRTT). The intention was to put to effective use skills obtained from the involvement of students in the Vision 200.

Ntambi said he generated a concept for the CRTT, something he first discussed in person with one of the core members he started out with in early 2008, on the car project.

“I remember a team member asking me why I had shared the brief. He felt that I was giving away too much,” Mr Ntambi revealed. “A lot happened in between. I tried pitching the same to several people whom I wanted to connect me to meet the President, but it did not happen quickly.”

Then came graduation and since none of the four students had been retained as teaching assistants by the university, they all scattered. Nonetheless, they remained optimistic the project was in the good hands of the continuing students they co-opted. Mr Ntambi secured a job at Vision Group and later a scholarship for a Master’s degree abroad.

Meanwhile, Makerere University pitched the idea of CRTT to the President as one of the 11 innovations they were working on back in 2011. The Makerere EV was assembled. President Museveni visited, liked the car, and along came a war chest. The rest is history. CRTT metamorphosed into KMC.

Upon return from studies abroad in mid-2011, Mr Ntambi attempted to rejoin the group. After a lot of back-and-forth, he ran into a brick wall.

In an August 11, 2011 e-mail to Prof Tickodri, Mr Ntambi wrote that it “is indeed true that Paul [Musasizi] and I have very different working styles and, therefore, will not be able to work together on the project. This is partially due to the fact that Paul finds me rather very ambitious while he is more conservative. However, this project development is driven by wild ambition to achieve things that have not been achieved before.”

KMC indicated that Mr Ntambi, upon return “with funding secured and work progressing, suddenly sent an email that the current team led by Mr Musasizi should leave and he takes over.” The demand, it added, was baseless “as he had no formal engagement either as a student or staff of Makerere University. He then disappeared again. It was later discovered that he had gone to pursue a PhD out of the country.”

Mr Ntambi said: “That I was no longer wanted on a project I literally conceived was a nightmare. I tried to speak out, but then again, Kiira EV was a hot thing at the time. The journalists I talked to thought I was making this up. And who was going to believe me against the professors, anyway.  I felt betrayed; left with a bitter taste.”

Stasis

There are numerous records, documents and email trails from as far back as 2007 to corroborate Mr Ntambi’s claims. Whether his speaking out now helps his cause or not is unclear, what is not in doubt is that billions of taxpayers’ money have been sunk into KMC to lead Uganda into tomorrow’s vision of mass production of electric cars for which there is little to show other than the occasional razzmatazz of assembled shiny cars put on display.

KMC bought 518 hectares of land contiguous with the Jinja Industrial Park to establish a car production plant whose construction President Museveni commissioned in August 2021. The President further directed the Ministry of Finance to look around for Shs141b to complete the plant whose completion was expected by January 2022.

Phase one of the plant was designed for production of up to 22 vehicles (buses, trucks and pick-ups) a day/ 5,000 vehicles a year. However, little has been said about production of the much-vaunted electric cars, the future of automobiles, 12 years later and with billions of shillings spent.

Mass production

Kiira Motors Corporation bought 518 hectares of land contiguous with the Jinja Industrial Park to establish a car production plant whose construction President Museveni commissioned in August 2021. The President further directed the Ministry of Finance to look around for Shs141b to complete the plant whose completion was expected by January 2022.