SUMMARY;
Banyankole traditionally giving a cow as a gift is one of the most powerful signs of gratitude and friendship. Giving someone a cow is worth far more than giving someone an expensive car because economics don’t matter here. The cow gives people drinks, income (by selling milk on the market), education (by using the money to go to school instead of having to perform child labor) and in the end food.
To the culture, they are not just cows but special symbols of love, of respect of friendships, of bondages & oneness, of wealth, of greatness and most important, a symbol of prosperity.
By Musisi Lwanga (realmusisilwanga@gmail.com)
At the sidelines of the 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit, president Museveni discussed a lot with business mogul Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia and promised to give Sudhir’s daughter Sheena Ruparelia cow’s as a token of appreciation for finishing convention center on record.
While speaking to this website https://trustednewsug.com Sudhir said besides the global issues were discussed at the 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit (NAM) I managed to have a closed meeting with his excellency president Museveni and thanked Sheena Ruparelia and I for building convention center.
“He appreciated me, my wife Jyotsna Ruparelia and he had promised me to give cows to my daughter Sheena Ruparelia for having finished the state of the art facility, speke resort convention centre in time”. Sudhir told this website.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED? A cow is an important animal and in president Museveni’s traditional (Banyankole) has a great meaning! A cow gives life. A cow is a symbol of friendship. A gift of a cow is the greatest gift to get in their culture. In marriage, cows are given for bride price. The more cows the man gives for a wife, the more respected the man will be by his in-laws. Among the Banyankole a man is expected to give not less than 8 cows for a wife. Cows are given for a wife because she is going to produce children for the continuity of life.
Sudhir build and finished the state-of-the-heart facility on record for thirteen months (13) together with his daughter Sheena Ruparelia who worked tirelessly to complete the first of it’s kind in Uganda, and Africa at large, the magnitude facility that brought a smile to the president who were a company by the first lady maama Janet who doubles as minister for education.
Uganda, President Museveni has one of the biggest cattle farms in the country at his country home Kisozi ranch and inspired South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to start rearing long-horned Ankole cattle.
WHO’S SHEENA RUPARELIA
Sheena Ruparelia; Is a daughter of money magnet H.E Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia one of the richest man in Uganda and Africa at large. Sheena was born on December 23rd, 1988 and she is married to Mr. Jay Sakaria.
She’s a member on Board of Trustees of the Ruparelia Foundation and her interest is the disadvantaged children in rural areas. She has been instrumental in changing the lives of the orphans she has met in several of the orphanages the foundation works with.
Sheena has been a Director and one of the trustees at Ruparelia Group under the chairmanship of Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia since January 2017.
Ruparelia Group is one of Uganda’s largest business conglomerates with investments in financial services, real estate, education services, hospitality, agriculture and media/broadcasting and etc.
Sheena holds a BSc. Economics and Accountancy from City University, London.
After completing her Economics and Accounting degree at the City, University of London, Sheena returned to Uganda to join the Group as the Business Development Manager of the former Crane bank Uganda limited until 2016 when the bank closed.
In 2017, she then joined the Group’s real estate development arm – Meera Investments as a Director. She is also involved with the hospitality and property arms of the Group.
For the last six years or so, siblings, Rajiv Ruparelia and Sheena Ruparelia have spent time under the tutelage of their property mogul and billionaire father, Dr Sudhir Ruparelia.
The Kampala’s largest tenant Meera investment, with over 300 properties, the camera-shy Sheena is more involved with Project Management and the her most recent projects, include speke Resort Convention Center, Tagore Living and Bukoto Living.
SPEKE RESORT CONVENTION CENTER
The construction of Speke Resort Convention Centre at Munyonyo is now 100% complete. The development comes ahead of the opening ceremony of the NAM, and G77 summits hosted starting January 15-23, 2024 Delegates from 120 countries attended the Summits.
In a joint venture, Ruparelia Group under the chairmanship of Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia in collaboration with the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC), completed the state-of-the-art facility to not only host’s the NAM Summit and the G77+China, but also to enhance Uganda’s diplomacy and high ranking meetings.
Speke Resort Convention Center, located on a 105-acre luxury resort complex, with impressively 3500-4400 seaters auditorium, multipurpose hall, 12 high-end conference, breakaway meeting rooms and a floating restaurant with the capacity to accommodate over 900 guests, offering a breathtaking view of Lake Victoria.
Before the two Summits, President Museveni inspected and assessed the readiness of various infrastructure projects ahead of the 19th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and G77+China with over 5,000 delegates, including 70 heads of state and government, from 120 countries.
