Down Memory Lane: When Michael Ezra tried to buy Namboole Stadium

More than two decades ago, Ugandan businessman and sports philanthropist Michael Ezra Mulyoowa caused a stir when he offered a jaw-dropping $30 million cash to buy Mandela National Stadium, Namboole.

At the time, the stadium was being prepared for divestiture under the Public Enterprises Reform and Divestiture (PERD) Statute, and Ezra had formally written to the Privatisation Unit (PU) with his unprecedented offer.

“I cannot comment on that,” Ezra said when reached for confirmation in 2004.

But sources confirmed that the written offer had indeed been submitted.

The Privatisation Unit’s spokesperson Jim Mugunga remained diplomatic:

“It’s true we are preparing Namboole for divestiture,” he said by phone. “But the preparation is structured... we are working towards a concession.”

Under the proposed model, the stadium’s assets were to be leased to a reputable firm for a defined period—after which ownership and improvements would revert to government. Mugunga cited similar cases like Nile Hotel, Uganda Electricity Generation Company, and Uganda Electricity Distribution Company as precedents.

The PU had even brought in global audit giant PriceWaterhouseCoopers to guide the divestiture process.

“When the time comes… this offer, and any other that comes through the tender process, will be subjected to competitive measures,” Mugunga added.

A Pattern of Ambition

Ezra’s Namboole bid wasn’t his first high-profile move. Just six months earlier, in early 2004, he had made international headlines with a £60 million (approx.sh208 billion) offer to buy English football club Leeds United. Though that deal ultimately fell through due to disagreements over board composition, it added to Ezra’s growing mystique.

Then in April 2004, he pledged a sh1 billion grant to the Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) to fund its operations for two years—a gesture that cemented his role as one of the most generous private backers of Ugandan sport at the time.

The Legacy of Namboole

Named in honour of Nelson Mandela, who laid its foundation stone on July 7, 1990, Namboole was built with a $34 million grant from the Chinese government and officially opened on January 26, 1999.

With a capacity of 40,000, the stadium has hosted historic matches, concerts, political rallies, and national celebrations—standing as a symbol of Uganda’s sporting pride.

Though Michael Ezra never took ownership, his bold bid to buy Namboole in full cash remains one of the most memorable moments in Uganda’s sports-business history, a time when audacity and ambition briefly collided under the floodlights of a national landmark.