Ugandan-born Popat now part of UK House of Lords

Feb 04, 2013

Born in Busolwe, Butaleja district and raised in Tororo, Lord Popat of Harrow is the first Ugandan-born appointed as minister in the UK House of Lords

Born in Busolwe, Butaleja district and raised in Tororo, Lord Popat of Harrow is the first Ugandan-born appointed as minister in the UK House of Lords, writes Moses Mulondo
 
Lord Popat of Harrow has been appointed a Government Minister and Lord-in-Waiting in the House of Lords, following the recent Government reshuffle. He replaces Viscount Younger of Leckie and will be the Minister for business and transport in the House of Lords. 
 
Lord Popat is the first Ugandan born Minister to represent the Conservative Party on the frontbench in the House of Lords. Lord Popat was born in Busolwe, Butaleja in 1953 and was brought up in Tororo, before being forced to flee to Britain from Idi Amin at the age of 17. 
 
Last month, Lord Popat led a debate in the House of Lords to mark the 40th anniversary of the expulsion of Ugandan Asians and paid tribute to how far the country had transformed and developed under President Museveni’s leadership. The High Commissioner for Uganda, Joan Rwabyomere attended.
 
Following his recent appointment Lord Popat said, “It is an absolute honour to have been appointed as Government Whip and to have the chance to serve in Her Majesty’s Government.
 
I never imagined when I arrived in Britain 40 years ago from Uganda that I would be so fortunate and I feel very humbled by the appointment.  I am grateful for all the good wishes that people have sent in the past week and I hope I can serve our Government well.”
 
Popat’s Journey
 
The Story of Ugandan-Indian born tycoon and now British minister for transport and business, Lord Popat of Harrow, is like that of the Biblical Joseph who was sold into slavery in Egypt by his Jewish brothers and later became their saviour when he became the Prime Minister of Egypt.
 
Lord Popat’s father Amarshibhai Haridas Popat left India for Uganda in 1938 where he secured a job and he was later joined by his wife in 1942.  
 
Lord Popat, who is known to be one of the richest people in Britain, was born in Busolwe in 1953 and was brought up in Tororo, before being forced to flee to Britain from Idi Amin at the age of 17 and arrived in Britain with just 10 pounds in his pocket.
 
He is among the thousands of Ugandan Indians who were expelled by autocratic Idi Amin in 1972 after claiming he dreamt that God instructed him to do so.
 
Since during Independence, Ugandan Asians had been given British passports, India indicated that the 60,000 Indians Amin had ordered out were Britain’s responsibility.
 
Conservative Prime Minister, Edward Heath and his Government gave refuge to thousands of Ugandan-Indians. Many of these Indians, including Popat, became successful from their humble beginnings. 
 
Lord Poppat got involved with the Conservative Party activities since 1980, having served Margaret Thatcher and John Major as an adviser on minority communities.
 
The Daily Mail of May 26, 2010 reported that the then 55 -year-old father-of-three had built a fortune worth an estimated £42million and was by then the 1,296th richest person in Britain. 
 
As one of the major donors, Popat has given the Tories (Conservative Party) more than £200,000 in donations over the last six years. He haas also made a series of donations to the constituency (North West Cambridgeshire) of fellow Ugandan-born MP, Shailesh Vara. 
 
Lord Popat sponsored himself through night school at Kilburn Polytechnic through ordinary jobs as a dishwasher, waiter, and grill chef at Wimpey on Kilburn High Street until he qualified as a Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) in 1977.
 
He became an accountant and went on to form a company that advised small companies on how to raise capital.  
Popat, who speaks four languages including Gujarati, Hindi, and Swahili, had his wealth grow after he founded the TLC Group, which owns a string of hotels and care homes across Britain. 
 
Lord Popat founded and funds a registered charity, The Dolar Popat Foundation, which makes contributions to medical and educational institutions. He has made contributions worth over £400,000 to various charities and voluntary organisations over the last five years.
 
He emerged as Speaker on behalf of the Conservative Party on the Next Step Diversity and Leadership in Britain in the 21st century.
 
Recent visit
 
Sanjay Tana, a Ugandan-Indian MP representing Tororo municipality said: “We are extremely proud of Lord Popat for having succeeded both financially and politically. It inspires the young people to emulate him.”
 
He reported that when Popat came to Uganda last year, he spared time to visit Busolwe, where he was born and entered the house in which he was born, visited Rock View Primary School, where his sister was a secretary, and Manjasi High School where he studied.
 
“We are preparing for his visit to Uganda because he has sponsored the establishment of a computer laboratory in Manjasi High School,” Tana revealed.
 

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});