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Our History

Muljibhai Prabhudas Madhvani
Kakira Sugar File
Kakira Sugar File
Kakira Sugar File

About Kakira's Founder:

Muljibhai Prabhudas Madhvani - A Man of Great Vision

14th May 1894 - 11th July 1958

On a sunny day in Kakira in the 1940s, on a hill overlooking the pristine shores of Lake Victoria, Muljibhai Prabhudas Madhvani and his sons were having a heated argument. The senior Madhvani loved trees and although many had already been planted on his sprawling estate, he wanted to plant yet another mile of them - running through the marshes to the southern edges of his estate. The younger Madhvanis argued that while previously they had planted trees along estate roads, there wasn't even a footpath in the marshes to justify this grandiose project. But to all their opposition, Muljibhai had one answer: "Men are not stupid; one day there is going to be a road here".

And time would bear him out. True to his vision, the section of the Jinja-Iganga highway that runs through Kakira Sugar Works today follows the line of trees that he planted more than 50 years ago.

A man of great vision, Muljibhai arrived in Jinja in 1912 aged 18. With little more than brains and an outgoing personality, he set up his own trading concern - his first step into a business that would later account for 10% of Uganda's GDP. His is a story of a fearless man - decisive, devoted, endowed with intelligence and intuition. A man out of the ordinary. There was about him an aura of a creative power, which enabled him to conceive brilliant ideas and carry them to splendid fulfilment.

Following his humble business beginnings there was no looking back and Muljibhai went on establishing industry after industry, laying the foundation for Uganda's economic development.  As his business prospered, Muljibhai was keen to care for the well-being and welfare of his employees and the community at large.  He established many educational institutions throughout Uganda's towns with a view to sharing his good fortune with the country that had been so kind to him. His workers and their dependants have long enjoyed free education, housing and healthcare.

When Muljibhai passed away in 1958, he left behind an indelible imprint on Uganda.

Kakira - The Major Milestones

Decline of Sugar Production in Uganda Thumb

Year Achievment
1920 Bought 800 acres of land in the Jinja area.
1920 Initially planted cotton and started the Kakira ginnery, then switched to cultivation of sugarcane.
1930 The first sugar mill at Kakira - 150 Tonnes of Cane per Day (TCD).
1936 Installed a 1,000 TCD sugar factory.
1930-1947 Expanded land area under sugarcane.
1950 Modernisation / mechanisation of agriculture.
1954 Installed a modern 2,500 TCD sugar factory.
1957 Installed sprinkler irrigation for 2,800 ha - the largest in the world outside Cuba.
1970 Highest KSW output : 853,000 Tonnes of Cane (TC) / 83,000 Tonnes of Sugar (TS).
1972 Asian expulsion from Uganda by Gen Idi Amin.
1972 - 1983 Production steadily declined from 63,000 TS in 1972 until the plant ceased operations in 1983.
1985 Repossession - formed a joint venture company, Kakira Sugar Works (1985) Ltd. with 51% Government of Uganda (GOU) shareholding.
1987 Finalisation of rehabilitation programme with funding of US$ 59.38 million by World Bank, African Development Bank/Fund.
1989 Factory resumed crushing at 1,200 TCD.
1992 GOU shareholding reduced to 30%.
1993 Factory rehabilitation to 1,500 TCD.
1995 Completed rehabilitation to 2,500 TCD.
2000 The Madhvani Group acquired 100% shareholding of Kakira Sugar Works (1985) Ltd.
2000 Expansion programme to 3,000 TCD with funding from Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschapij voor Ontswikkelingslenden (FMO - the Netherlands Development Finance Company.)
2002 Completed expansion to 3,000 TCD.
2002 Finalisation of next stage of KSW expansion.
2003 Arranged financing from FMO, East African Development Bank, Global Environment Facility etc.
2004 Commenced implementation of 5,000 TCD expansion.
2006 Completed construction of new Power House and installed a second 3MW turbo-alternator for increased in-house use as well as sale of small surplus (up to 0.5MW) to the national grid.
2007 Completed installation of 2nd mill, two new 45 bar boilers, 16 MW turbo-alternator and ancillary equipment in order to commence sale of electricity to the grid by November 2007.
2008 Expanded factory boiling house installed capacity to 6,000 TCD and increased grid electricity supply to 12 MW.
2009 Consolidating and preparing new plan for a further increase in plant capacity to crush 2 million tonnes of cane per year by 2012 - 13 and raise grid electricity supply to 32 MW.


KSW Image

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