Ugandans are being encouraged to prepare wills and set out clear succession plans so that family wealth is protected, inheritance quarrels are avoided, and businesses pass smoothly to the next generation. The appeal came from Robert Waggwa Nsibirwa, the Buganda Kingdom's Minister for Finance, Investments, Planning and Economic Development, according to NTV Uganda. He spoke at the fourth annual Enjovu Family Business Conference, held with I&M Bank Uganda at the International School of Uganda in Lubowa.
The gathering drew business leaders who stressed that planning ahead for succession is essential to keeping family assets intact, maintaining continuity in family-run companies, and leaving a lasting legacy for future generations, NTV Uganda reports.
Why it matters
Family-owned enterprises are a major part of Uganda's private sector, and the conference's message reflects a practical concern: when the head of a family business dies without written instructions, the result is often litigation, stalled operations and assets sold off to settle disputes.
NTV Uganda reports that the speakers framed succession planning not as a bureaucratic formality but as a safeguard for the wealth a family has built and for the businesses that employ others. A will, in this view, is one of the simplest tools available — yet it is frequently postponed or never drafted at all.
The conference's focus on legacy also points to a longer-term question. Businesses that survive their founders tend to be those where ownership, management and decision-making authority were written down and agreed in advance, rather than settled after a death in the family.
A minister's platform, a bank's partnership
The call was made at the Enjovu Family Business Conference, now in its fourth year. The event was organised in partnership with I&M Bank Uganda, and it took place at the International School of Uganda in Lubowa. NTV Uganda identifies Nsibirwa by his Buganda Kingdom portfolio covering finance, investments, planning and economic development.
The involvement of a bank alongside a kingdom minister is notable. Financial institutions in Uganda have a direct interest in whether family firms have a plan for what happens when control changes hands: lenders and investors need to know who will run a company, who will own it, and whether its obligations will be honoured.
The conference brought together business leaders, and their emphasis, as reported, was on acting early. Proactive planning was described as the means of preserving family wealth, sustaining business continuity and building enduring legacies for generations to come.
The disputes succession plans are meant to prevent
NTV Uganda's report links the absence of a succession plan to inheritance disputes. That framing places the conference in a familiar debate across the region: families that build substantial assets often leave the question of who inherits what until it is too late, and the resulting conflicts can consume the very wealth they were meant to preserve.
Writing a will is the most direct step the speakers urged. A will sets out who receives what, reducing the room for disagreement among heirs. A broader succession plan goes further, covering how a business will be managed, who will take over leadership, and how the transition will be handled while the current generation is still able to oversee it.
The conference's message was directed at Ugandans generally, not only at the owners of large enterprises. The report does not offer figures on how many Ugandans have written wills, nor does it describe specific proposals for legislation or regulation. What it records is a public call from a kingdom minister and a gathering of business leaders, made at a named event, on a specific platform.
What to watch
Whether the appeal translates into action — more wills drafted, more family firms documenting their succession arrangements — is the open question. NTV Uganda's report does not indicate any follow-up programme, and the conference itself is an annual event, now in its fourth edition. The next signal will be whether the topic returns to the agenda at the fifth.
For now, the takeaway from Lubowa is straightforward: the people who spoke at the Enjovu Family Business Conference want Ugandan families to put their intentions in writing before circumstances force the issue.
