Former Ugandan Attorney-General William Byaruhanga hit the headlines in Nairobi last week following disclosure that he was the face behind Kenbe Investments, which had acquired a 14.63 percent stake in Sidian Bank.
Ownership of the small bank became the centre of public attention following the entry of little-known investors on its shareholder roll after rejecting the renowned and deep-pocketed Access Bank of Nigeria.
The group of new investors spent billions of shillings to buy stakes in the bank and have pumped in more capital to ensure the lender keeps chasing its ambition of being a mid-tier bank by 2028.
It is this fast growth that could have lured Mr Byaruhanga to invest beyond his traditional portfolio, which largely consists of real estate, agribusiness and hospitality.
Though little known in Kenya, the lawyer-cum-businessman is a household name in Uganda, where he rose to the epitome of the legal profession when he was appointed the country’s attorney-general in 2016. He served in the position for five years until 2021.
His legal career began in 1988 when he was admitted to the Uganda Bar, having graduated from Makerere University with a Bachelor of Laws and attended the Law Development Centre, graduating with a diploma in legal practice.
In 1991, the law firm Kasirye Byaruhanga and Company was born in Kampala with Mr Byaruhanga serving as principal partner.
The lawyer was invited to the board of directors at Centum Investment Company Plc in 2016 when the Kenyan firm was building its presence in Uganda through the development of its flagship project, Pearl Marina. It is through his association with Centum that Mr Byaruhanga has entered into Sidian Bank.
As of June 2022, Centum had signed a binding agreement with Nigeria’s Access Bank to sell its 83.4 percent shareholding in Sidian Bank for Sh4.3 billion. However, the deal was called off in January 2023, denying Access Bank the conclusion of its second acquisition in Kenya after Transnational Bank, now called Access Bank Kenya, in 2020.
Centum opted for a staggered sale of its ownership, ceding a 43 percent stake to investment vehicles Wizpro Enterprises Limited, Afram Limited, Pioneer General Insurance, Pioneer Life Investments and Telesec Africa for Sh3.2 billion.
In 2023, Mr Byaruhanga registered the firm Kenbe Investments in Kenya, with himself holding a 90 percent stake and Jacqueline Byaruhanga holding the remaining 10 percent.
In Uganda, an investment vehicle with a similar name has been associated with Mr Byaruhanga and MTN Uganda chairman, the wealthy Charles Mbire.
Mr Mbire is reported to be the wealthiest indigenous Ugandan.
It is through Kenbe Investments that Mr Byaruhanga bought half of an investment vehicle dubbed Bakki Holdings Company from Centum Investments for Sh1.03 billion.
This gave the wealthy lawyer a 14.63 percent indirect stake in Sidian through Bakki Holdings Company. Bakki has a 29.2 percent direct stake in the bank, down from the previous 40 percent.
Mr Byaruhanga, who is a close ally of President Yoweri Museveni, is a major real estate investor in Uganda, holding prime properties in Kampala and across the country.
He is a shareholder in Pine Investments together with Charles Lubega and Henry Lubega. Pine Investments owns some of Kampala’s signature properties, such as Rwenzori House, Rwenzori Towers and Rwenzori Courts. He is also linked with the Village Mall Bugolobi and the Mountains of the Moon Hotel in Fort Portal.
With his entry in Sidian Bank, Mr Byaruhanga is marking a change of strategy from wealth conservation through real estate to a more aggressive investment stance. Notably, despite his long tenure on the board of Centum, Mr Byaruhanga has not bought a share of the listed investment firm in a period when the company has reaped from the sale of some prime assets.
The investment in Sidian Bank will, however, test the lawyer’s mettle as the bank has to increase its core capital from the current Sh6.1 billion to a minimum of Sh10 billion by the end of 2029 while matching its rapid growth. This means the owners of the bank will be injecting additional capital for a while before they can start reaping dividends.
The entry of new investors in 2023, coinciding with the start of Kenya Kwanza’s term, has seen Sidian Bank book some huge business from the national government, including the collection of monies for the Social Health Insurance Fund and the Housing Levy.
The bank reported a 70.8 percent growth in deposits to Sh59.8 billion in the 12 months to June 2025, while its lending rose 4.8 percent to Sh26.9 billion in the same period.
Sidian Bank’s profit in the six months to June 2025, meanwhile, grew 4.5 times, making it the fastest-growing bank among Kenya’s 38 lenders.
It reported a net profit of Sh1 billion in the period, up from Sh221 million posted a year earlier on the back of increased earnings from government debt securities.
