How Basajjabalaba’s Hides & Skin Scam Built His Empire – And Why Delegates Must Rescue Entrepreneurs League 

In the mid-1990s, businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba — known in business circles as Haba Group struck what seemed like a golden deal. He was to supply hides and skins to powerful buyers in Europe. The contract was worth billions of shillings.

But when the money landed in his account, the hides tycoon is believed to have diverted much of it into building shopping arcades, petrol stations, buying prime plots of land around Kampala, importing luxury cars, and leasing lucrative public markets.

Meanwhile, the Europeans who had paid in advance were growing impatient. The goods they had paid for were nowhere to be seen. As pressure mounted, Haba came up with a plan — one that would later shake Uganda’s insurance industry.

Basajjabalaba hurriedly collected hides from different sources. But these hides were of questionable quality. He then walked into Uganda Provident Association (UPA), a respected insurance firm on Kimathi Avenue and took out a policy to “protect” the consignment.

The insurers without properly checking the quality or verifying the full story, issued him the policy. With the document in hand, Haba is said to have sat back knowing his next move.

Some accounts claim he shipped the hides to Europe, where the furious buyers rejected them on arrival. Others insist he never sent the goods at all, but instead told the buyers the hides had rotted and that he was chasing compensation from the insurance company.

        From Claim to Court

When UPA refused to pay, Haba sued them  claiming tens of billions of shillings. He won the first round in the High Court. But on appeal, the insurance company’s lawyers exposed the scheme, and the victory was overturned.

By then, however, Haba’s name was already tied to whispers of international trouble.

The Italian Trap

Sources recall an incident in Italy. The European buyers, tired of excuses, invited Haba for a meeting to resolve the dispute. Once he arrived, they allegedly detained him, demanding a full refund plus interest and penalties.

From his captivity, Haba called influential friends back in Kampala — the same powerful people said to have benefited from his business dealings. They reportedly raised the money and wired it to Europe. In return, the Italians freed him warning him never to touch their money again.

While the insurance claim collapsed, Haba’s investments in property, petrol stations, and public markets had already been set in motion  financed, according to critics, with money from questionable deals like the hides scam. Over time, this empire became his power base in politics and business.

Today, as he seeks to continue leading the NRM Entrepreneurs League, the question is whether a man with such a past can truly serve the interests of honest businesspeople.

Entrepreneur delegates  the League is yours, not his. Do you want a leader with a name to protect, or one with only schemes to protect? It’s time to liberate the league from a man whose legacy is not enterprise but taking.