He has welded his way to prosperity

Elemia Male hails from a poverty-stricken family. To make matters worse, at the age of 12, his father was murdered by former president Idi Amin’s soldiers. While this would have spelt doom for Male, he took it all in his stride. But it looked like
misfortunes were bent on following him.

After striving to create a source of livelihood for himself, he lost it all during a stint in jail. Yet today, thanks to his perseverance and passion for welding, he has built a business empire worth about sh1b, write Samuel Lutwama and Umar Nsubuga.

MOLDED BY A DIFFICULT CHILDHOOD

The adage “man is the master of his destiny” holds true for Male, for he made something of himself, despite having had a difficult past. From a poverty-stricken family in Namasumbi village, Nakasejje subcounty, Mukono district, Male’s father was murdered in the 1970s when he was 12 years old. His father’s death spelt doom for Male and his siblings. His mother struggled to educate him, but when he was in Primary Six, the burden weighed heavily on her, so she gave up. Male consequently dropped out of school.

SELLING LOCAL BREW

“I started helping my paternal uncle, James Nsereko, to run his local brew business. He would pay me depending on the sales I brought in,” Male recalls. His uncle’s business fl ourished as Male started selling local brew to established depots in Kampala. In 1990, Male moved to Kampala and started living with his maternal aunt, Nakaggwa Nantumbwe, a local brew dealer in Ntinda and the surrounding areas.

JOINING WELDING

“I worked with my aunt and her business prospered, but I was not contented with what I was doing. I was tired of working for peanuts, yet I knew I could make more money if I joined another business, preferably welding,”  Male recalls.At that time, there was an established welder in Ntinda, who was close to his aunt. Male remembers him only as Sendegge. He accepted to take Male  on as an apprentice.  “Sendegge taught me the necessary skills required in the welding business,” narrates Male.

TURNING POINT

In 1993, Sendegge won a tender to repair the ceiling at Entebbe International Airport. “This is when I realised that this
business was profi table. It made me continue pursuing my passion,” Male explains.

In the successive years, money started trickling in. In 1996, Male was part of the group that roofed Prophet Samuel Kakande’s church at Mulago in Kampala. He earned good money from this project, which he used as start-up capital for his own business.

FIRST WELDING WORKSHOP 

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Male at his office in Ntinda

With personal savings, he teamed up with three of his friends and opened up Ntinda Fabricators and Designers. “Over the years I worked with Sendegge, I established a clientele that helped me to market and sell my work,” Male says.

Meanwhile, his uncle, who worked  with businessman and former Uganda Olympics Committee boss Rogers Dungu noticed the potential Male had in the business and offered him  two machines; an angle grinder and a welding machine. “That was a big push for me,” Male says.

TRAGEDY STRIKES

In 2002, when Male’s business was flourishing, he was imprisoned for three years for allegedly killing a friend. These accusations later turned out to be false. Upon his release, however, Male had to start from scratch. “My business had collapsed because some of my machines had been sold by my business associates. All my plots of land were sold,” he says.

Fortunately, Male’s younger brother, Sam Nviri, retained the  angle grinder and welding machine. His landlady, who became his friend, had also not rented the space out. “I had a base to start from,” Male says.

FRESH START

Although he could recover some of his properties by suing his business associates, Male chose not to let revenge take the best of  him. Instead, he reconciled with some of his former workmates. He renamed his business enterprises Kutegeragana Metal Fabricators  and Designers. “I reasoned: ‘Better the devil you know than the angel you don’t’,” he says philosophically.

Since Male’s job required handson experience, which he already had, he used his influence and reputation among his clients to boost his business. “There was a client of mine called Richfl ow Magezi, who had built storeyed apartments with 10 units at Kalinabiri in Ntinda. He had sourced for metal fabricators to make door and window frames, but when he learnt of my release from prison, he gave me the job because he trusted my workmanship.” Male recalls.

“Magezi gave me the money to procure materials. That deal launched my comeback. From this deal, jobs started flowing in. I have never looked back since.”

ACHIEVEMENTS

“If there is one thing I learnt from prison, it is saving. I appreciated the value of every penny I made upon my release. I started saving seriously,” Male says. “Fortunately, I had bought a few plots of land before I was jailed. I started developing them one by one.”true

Male has, overtime, acquired a chain of properties, especially in the real estate, in prime suburbs of Kampala such as Kiwatule (right), Ntinda and Naalya. “I have over 20 residential houses in Kampala, some of which are storeyed, and several business enterprises,” he says. In addition, Male has over 40 acres of land and hires out wielding machines worth sh100m. He also has a fleet of special hire vehicles.

GIVING BACK

His own experience has given him the urge to give back to society. “I equip the youth with hands-on skills in metal fabrication. Many have opened up their own workshops,” Male says.

Not surprisingly, Male has nothing but contempt for youth who indulge in self-pity because of their dire situation. “Who says someone should be held hostage by the misfortunes that befell him or her in their past?” he wonders.