David Obua erects sh2b mansion

By Alex Balimwikungu

DAVID Obua’s sublime ability to hit the front and back pages- mostly for bad reasons only draws comparisons between him and Manchester City’s bad boy footballer Mario Balotelli.

Like the Italian Bad Boy, Mario Balotelli, who makes so many headlines mostly for the bad reasons, Ugandan David Obua who turns out for Hearts of Midlothian in Scotland is no stranger to controversy.  

When he walked out on the Uganda Cranes prior to the penultimate game against Kenya’s Harambee Stars, the whole nation drew daggers at him and wanted to skin him alive.

A picture of David Obua’s mansion in Munyonyo. On completion the House would have cost up to sh2b

 It was no different from the previous game when he threw a tantrum and desecrated a Uganda Cranes jersey before storming off the pitch after an unlikely substitution by Coach Bobby Williamson, who exercised restraint. 

To many fans, Obua is currently one of Uganda’s biggest soccer exports, who is a good-for-nothing spoilt boy concerned about living a playboy lifestyle.   

The claim hasn’t been helped by pictures of him splashing millions on drinks for patrons at exclusive clubs like Rouge, Effendy’s and Cayenne.  Pictures of him cozying up with mystery ladies have always provided fodder for tabloids.

Then the million dollar question on many people’s lips: When will David Obua grow up?

Will he ever settle down and start a family or will he end up like former 75,000 pounds a month Manchester United and Cameroon’s former midfielder Eric Djemba Djemba.

A picture of David Obua’s mansion in Munyonyo. On completion the House would have cost up to sh2b

 After two seasons at Manchester United and Aston Villa, the failed midfielder boasted over 30 bank accounts and ten Hummers and SUVS.  It wasn’t long before he was declared bankrupt because of financial wastefulness.

It is unlikely David Obua will tread that dreaded path. The Kampala Sun has reported that Obua has a sh2b investment in an upscale Munyonyo’s Cape of Uganda’s capital city. We all know that not everyone wakes up and they are neighbours with Prof. Gordon Wavamunno or tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia. David Obua however joins the elite list.

Hearts FC, the club for which he plays left back is currently embroiled in wage sagas with first team players going for two months without pay.

However, if what our snappers saw in Munyonyo was anything to go by, Obua, who earns a six-figure monthly wage has splashed a commendable sum of money on the palatial home. When completed, it will typify those homes that appear they are just plucked from glossy magazines.

Nestled atop a hill overlooking Prof. Gordon Wavamunno’s residence, Obua’s palatial double-storeyed lakefront property sits on acre of land.  According to a contractor working at the site, the temperamental Ugandan star seems to have planned his retirement home.

The mansion boasts an average soccer training pitch, a   50 x 50 swimming pool and a stable for horses.  It also has two garages.  Currently, it is David Obua’s mother who is supervising construction at the site.  He reportedly bought this particular vantage point on which he is constructing at a cool sh250m, three years ago.

A picture of David Obua’s mansion in Munyonyo. On completion the House would have cost up to sh2b

If a sneak-peek into what the interior promises to be Obua is planning on living a reclusive life when he returns to Uganda.  The interior is what you would expect of footballers earning large sums of money. It is a five bedroom house with an inbuilt cinema, a gym, sauna and steam bath. 

Perhaps to fully stay away from the prying public eye, the house will also be fitted with a life-size bar and banquet room for his high-end friends. The architect reveals that Obua wants to fit the home with top-notch fittings and furnishes, which are being ferried in from Italy.

The home, which the star expects to occupy in April 2012, is built on land he purchased at sh250m three years ago.  According to a close friend, Obua, who has also splashed on two residential properties in Edinburgh, Scotland, plans to buy a Yacht and dock at the Munyonyo Cape pier. 

The source however denied any knowledge of the footballer’s sh1 billion commercial property on Kampala road next to Shell Capital as was reported by some sections of the press.  Even then, Balotelli, who recently burnt his rented property and lives in a $50,000 a week hotel, comes second to Obua on this.