Hamis Kiggundu

Hamis Kiggundu (born 10 February 1984), commonly known as Ham, is a Ugandan businessman, lawyer, and author. He is the CEO of the Ham Group of Companies and has written two books: Success and Failure Based on Reason and Reality (2018) and Reason as the World Masterpiece (2021).

According to The Independent 2026 wealth ranking, Kiggundu was listed as Uganda's richest individual, with an estimated net worth of approximately US$1.35 billion.

In March 2020, Kiggundu was featured prominently in Ugandan media for his court battle against Diamond Trust Bank. He alleged that the bank defrauded him over $30 million over the course of 10 years. He won the case in October 2020 and the Ugandan High Court ordered Diamond Trust Bank to refund all the unlawfully withdrawn monies totalling to USh 34.29 billion and US$23.4 million, with an additional 8% interest for legal costs. The court additionally ordered the bank to unconditionally release/discharge all mortgages allegedly created over all Kiggundu's properties and all corporate and personal guarantees issued by Kiggundu. The court also issued a permanent injunction to prevent DTB from enforcing the mortgages over Kiggundu's properties. DTB Bank later appealed the decision in the High Court and were issued an injunction halting payment of the monies. In November 2023, this legal dispute was peacefully settled outside court. Ham and Nasim Devji, the group CEO of Diamond Trust Bank Group reached a mutual agreement in a private meeting to drop all court cases.

Kiggundu received a presidential directive in 2015 to redevelop and upgrade Nakivubo Stadium under a public-private partnership with the Ugandan government. Construction works began in 2017 following the demolition of the old structures. The project expanded the stadium's seating capacity from 30,000 to 35,000 and introduced modern facilities including floodlights, seating, digital screens, and parking. The new upgraded stadium was officially commissioned by President Museveni in April 2024.

Early life

Kiggundu was born on 10 February 1984 in the Masaka District of Central Uganda region. He is a son of Haruna Segawa (father) and Nakayiza Jalia (mother) who are part of a family with extensive property investments in Kampala.

Kiggundu attended his elementary education in Masaka, joined Kabojja International School in Kampala District for his high school education, and later graduated from Makerere University with a Bachelors of Laws.

Kiggundu was born and raised in a Muslim family. He talks about Islam as "the highest achievement of a lifetime."

Business career

Kiggundu started his business journey in 2005 as a garments trader. He used to support his father Hajji Segawa in his textile shop from where he learnt basic business principles and during middle school holidays his father gave him capital to start his own venture. As his business grew, he started buying and selling land and properties and in 2009, he incorporated Ham Enterprises (U) Ltd and advanced to constructing and owning commercial properties. In 2010, Kiggundu started constructing Ham Towers, his first commercial property at the Makerere suburb of Kampala city. According to billionaires.africa, having mastered the commercial real estate trifles with reference to lessons learnt from his first project, Kiggundu was able to move a bit faster and within 18 months, he built his second commercial property, Ham Shopping Mall. With combined rental income coming from both properties, he was able to easily secure more financing with the banks, for other projects given his reasonable collateral.

By 2021, Kiggundu had diversified his investments into multiple sectors, including real estate, finance, banking, IT, and social media platforms and large-scale industrialization, with the various ventures administered and managed through the Ham Group of Companies.According to the Forbes report on Uganda by Penresa, he embarked on a US$156 million project in the central region where a pilot advanced Integrated Agro-Processing Industrial Plant (IAIP) was set up at Akright City to process and add value to Uganda's agro produce.

Nakivubo Channel redevelopment

From 2024, Kiggundu became a central figure in debates over the redevelopment of Nakivubo Channel, Kampala's main stormwater conduit. The channel, which drains much of the central city, had long suffered from siltation, waste dumping and encroachment, contributing to recurrent flooding in adjacent commercial areas. After the redevelopment of Nakivubo War Memorial Stadium by Kiggundu's companies, inspections by the Confederation of African Football and other football bodies highlighted the poor state of the surrounding open drainage and recommended improvements as part of Uganda's preparations for hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

In response, Kiggundu's firms undertook desilting and unclogging works around the stadium and later submitted a proposal to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to cover and upgrade sections of Nakivubo Channel and construct commercial structures above a reinforced slab. The initiative prompted disputes between KCCA's political leadership and the developer over approvals and procedure, while technical assessments by KCCA engineers reported that earlier clearance works had improved water flow. In April 2025, KCCA Council adopted a resolution supporting the involvement of private investors in upgrading key open drainages under Authority supervision, and in September 2025 KCCA formally approved Kiggundu's redevelopment application subject to planning and technical conditions.