Ivan Semwanga (12 December 1977 – 25 May 2017) was a Ugandan-born South African socialite. He was one of the members of the self-styled Rich Gang group well known in both

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. The Rich Gang group was based on both humanitarian and philanthropy principles which target the less privileged youths, especially

Ugandans demographics, Demographic features of the population of Uganda include population density, Ethnic group, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and others. Population According to the tot ...

living in

. Other key members of the group are; Ivan's cousin Lawrence, a Ugandan tycoon based in South Africa, and Eddy Kyeyune. The Rich Gang graced several occasions both in

and

. Also, Ivan invested in numerous educational institutions in

Early life and education

Ivan was born in Nakaliro,

Kayunga Kayunga is a town in the Central Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Kayunga District. Location Kayunga is approximately northeast of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city, on an all-weathe ...

District. He then moved to

for greener pastures, and it is alleged that Ivan worked as a ritualist in a local shrine in

. He was helping rich

South Africans South Africans are the citizens of South Africa (officially the Republic of South Africa ''RSA. These individuals include those residing within the borders of South Africa, as well as the South African diaspora. History The first modern inh ...

to solve their problems by dumping them on the ground and giving them holy water that would wash their problems away. This helped Ivan accumulate wealth and by the time he died, Ivan had made a fortune with multimillion Business Empires which included Schools (in South Africa), students’ hostels, and apartments among others. Ivan was christened the ‘modern father of Showbiz’ in

because he gave a new look to the socialite scene. All the current socialites in

learnt the game from Ivan. Ivan married Zarinah Hassan, who is popularly known as Zari. The couple had three boys together. In 2011, Ivan and Zari organized a traditional introduction ceremony which cost over a billion

shillings. In 2013, the couple called it quits after Zari accused Ivan of domestic violence. Zari was involved in a relationship with a

Tanzanian Demographic features of the population of Tanzania include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The population distribution in Tan ...

musician called

Diamond Platnumz Naseeb Abdul Juma Issack, professionally known as Diamond Platnumz, is a Tanzanian bongo flava recording artist, dancer, philanthropist and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of WCB Wasafi Record Label, Wasafi Bet and Wasafi Media. Diamo ...

in 2014 and separated from him in 2018.

Achievements

Ivan started the Brooklyn Colleges which have 6 branches spread across

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

and

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. The colleges specialize in Information Technology, Mining and Policing services among others. In

, Ivan was constructing a hotel on Sir Apollo Kagwa road, he also had several houses in Bunga,

Munyonyo Munyonyo is an area on the northern shores of Lake Victoria and part of the metropolitan area of Kampala, in Makindye Division. Location Munyonyo is bordered by Lake Victoria to the south, Bulingugwe Island to the southeast, Ggaba to the east ...

and Mutungo. A combination of all those projects leaves him with over Uganda Shs700m profits per month. Additionally, Ivan had two main houses in

Sandton Sandton is a financial, commercial and residential area, located in the northern part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Formerly an independent municipality, Sandton's name came from the combination of two of its suburbs, Sa ...

and

Philanthropy

Ivan was considered to be the chairman of

. He helped several needy people in both

and

. Three weeks before his death, he visited the underprivileged kids in M-Lisa orphanage,

Nsambya Nsambya is a hill in the center of Kampala, the capital and largest city in Uganda. The name also refers to the upscale and middle-class neighborhoods that have been developed on the hill and its slopes. Location Nsambya is located approximat ...

. On his visit, he donated household items like bags of rice, sugar, soap, cooking oil and many other basic needs to the orphans. He also gave each orphan Ugandan Shs20, 000 before returning to

where he died. Early on, Ivan gave the Uganda National Football team (Uganda Cranes) Uganda Shs10m in cash during the African Cup of Nation match between Uganda and Ghana. He also promised the team Uganda Shs5m for all the goals they scored. Within 90minutes, the Uganda Cranes had beaten Ghana before they crossed to a penalty shoot-out. Furthermore, Ivan once sponsored 10 fans with all expenses from

to watch the

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

game live at

Mandela National Stadium The Mandela National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Uganda. It is named after the former South African President and anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela. The stadium's record attendance of 50,000 was set in 2004, in a football match b ...

(Namboole).

Death

Ivan suffered a heart attack after leaving

. Before his departure to

. Ivan was admitted at

Steve Biko Hospital Steve Biko Academic Hospital (formerly the Pretoria Academic Hospital and before 1994 called H F Verwoerd Hospital) of Pretoria, South Africa, previously located at what is now Tshwane District Hospital, is a purely tertiary training healthcare ...

where his ex-wife; Zari took care of him. He later died on Thursday, 25 May 2017 morning.

Burial

The body of the deceased was brought back to

on 28 May 2017(Sunday). A vigil was held at his home in

Muyenga Muyenga is a hill in Kampala, the capital of Uganda and the largest city in that country. The name also applies to the upscale community that sits on that hill. Location Muyenga is located in Makindye Division, one of the five administrative di ...

that night. Ivan's body was then taken to

Namirembe Cathedral Saint Paul's Cathedral Namirembe, commonly and locally (Uganda) referred to as 'Namirembe Cathedral'', is the oldest Anglican cathedral in Uganda. It serves as the provincial cathedral of the Anglican Church of Uganda and the diocesan cathedral f ...

on 29 May 2017 (Monday) for church prayers before he was taken to

for burial. Ivan was buried on 30 May 2017(Tuesday) in his ancestral home in

. When still alive, Ivan would organize parties where he would throw notes of

Rands,

Shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...

and

US Dollars The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

to people. The same trick was used by the remaining Rich gang members while burying him. So, instead of throwing handfuls of dust into his grave as it is in the

Christian tradition Christian tradition is a collection of traditions consisting of practices or beliefs associated with Christianity. Many churches have traditional practices, such as particular patterns of worship or rites, that developed over time. Deviations from ...

, the Rich gang members tossed of notes of

Rands,

and

and Champagne in Ivan's grave. Concerned citizens; Abey Mgugu and Gideon Tugume dragged A-Plus funeral management and

Bank of Uganda The Bank of Uganda () is the central bank of Uganda. Established in 1966, by Act of Parliament, the bank is wholly owned by the government but is not a government department. History In 1979 and again in 1987, the Bank of Uganda managed to ma ...

to the High Court seeking orders that the body of late Ivan should be exhumed and all the currency notes that were buried with him removed. They argued that the money was being misused since it is a legal tender. Therefore, they wanted it to be removed and brought back for the purpose of fulfilling its use. They continuously argued that the currency of

and other nations like

and the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

should be respected and not end up being buried. In response, the

wrote a document stating how it is no longer interested in retrieving the money buried in the grave as the money no longer serves its purpose. They stated that the money was mishandled but then it is likely to be defaced, soiled or damaged and so it will no longer serve the purpose for which it was intended. Furthermore, amendments were made to the

Act because the previous one didn't state penalizing someone who defies paper money.

References