By Ben Oduor
The newly elected Chairman of the East African Business Council (EABC), Kassim Omar, has died. According to Daily Monitor (DM), one of Uganda’s leading dailies, the businessman died after a blood clot operation in Nakasero Hospital on Tuesday.
Omar was elected chairman of the regional private sector body in June this year, taking over from Audace Ndayizeye, of the Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Burundi.
In a communiqué to members of the private sector in Uganda, condoling the deceased, Chairman of the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda (PSFU) Patrick Bitature, said: “I commiserate with the family of Kassim- RIP. His premature departure is a huge loss to the business fraternity in East Africa and especially to Uganda.”
As one of the business leaders in Uganda and the East African region, DM reported, Omar had been passionate about safeguarding interests of the business community through his engagements with counterparts in the region.
“When he was elected in June, Omar pledged to push the private sector agenda towards creating a conducive business environment by engaging with the governments to reduce the cost of doing business in the region,” the publication noted.
On her part, Jennifer Mwijukye, the managing director at Unifreight and Board member at PSFU, was shocked by the Chairman’s untimely death.
“It is shocking news! What a loss to the business community,” Ms Jennifer was quoted saying.
It is anticipated that the deceased will be laid to rest on Wednesday at his home in Gayaza, send-off that will leave a remarkable gap at the region’s private sector body.
