Kampala, 13th Nov 2013: Uganda has lost a top entrepreneur, Mr. Rainer Koehler, the founder of Roko Construction Company Limited, who died on Thursday last week at The Surgery Clinic in Kololo, (just after Golf Course Club) where he had been admitted after complaining of an abrupt fever.
Mr. Mark Koehler, Roko’s managing director, the son of the deceased said that his dad started feeling feverish on Thursday morning while at the company’s headquarters in Kawempe. He was then taken to the Surgery Clinic in Kololo where he was attended to and later died after suffering a heart attack while on his rest bed. He had a history of heart complications and seemed to have recovered. “His heart had been operated on a couple of years ago, but prior to his death, he was doing well”, his said.
The late arrived in Uganda in July 1969, and thanks to his entrepreneurial spirit, he set up Roko Construction. The foundation of Uganda’s trust in Roko’s ability was when it was contracted to construct the Uganda Martyrs shrine at Namugongo, Kampala in 1973. Since then contracts started coming in and in 2001 the company expanded to Rwanda. In 2004, they opened Roko Dr. Congo and in 2005, Roko Sudan was opened. At the time of his death, the company was working on projects such as; the upgrading of Kigali International Airport, construction of Southern Sudan airport and Acacia Mall in Kisementi, Kampala.
The 82 year old is survived by a widow and four children, two of the children live within the country and the other two are abroad. He will be buried in a week’s time in his home village, Comano, in the district of Lugano, Switzerland.
Reflection
It is at times like these that we need to stop and ponder: why are you too busy to appreciate the gift of life God has given you? After years of hard work and persistent, Rainer’s ROKO is one of the top contractors in the country with both public and private sector clients.
He just lost his life, as he was starting to enjoy the fruits of years of hard work.
You need to pause, and acknowledge God’s gift to you: good health.
This does not mean that Rainer was not acknowledging God’s gift. He gave him life and good health when he needed it most. Today, his Son Mark is the CEO of ROKO after years of mentorship and support from his father.
Don’t be too busy to pray and thank God for giving you good health.
Uchumi Supermarket to cross list in Uganda
Uganda’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the Uganda Securities Exchange approved the application by Uchumi Supermarket seeking to cross list on the Uganda Securities Exchange.
Today, the Kenya’s retail store will have its shares traded on the Uganda Securities exchange. It will be listing 265,426,614 ordinary shares at Ksh5.00 each at the Uganda Securities Exchange.
Uchumi Supermarket is currently listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the Rwanda Securities Exchange – where its shares began trading on Oct. 14 2013. There are also plans to cross list in Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange in the coming months.
Capital Markets Authority officials said they were satisfied with the level of disclosure by Uchumi.
Uchumi will become the 16thcompany to list on the USE and joins other Kenyan companies including Kenya Airways, East African Breweries, KCB, Equity Bank, Nation Media Group, Centum Investment Company, and Jubilee Holdings.
It currently has 23 branches in Kenya, five in Uganda and one branch in Tanzania.The company is keen to establish presence in Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan in the coming years.
The performance of companies on the USE has been poor of late. Many people made loses on the Safaricom shares.
Before you invest, first examine Uchumi’s competition, and future potential to create value and improve the price of shares.
Sources: The New Vision & Daily Monitor, Nov 13, 20138108281082
