Rostam Aziz has dodged business bullets and survived an onslaught from politicians and regulators’ hammers in Kenya and across the region.
Now from Tanzania, he plots to expand his business empire across Africa, with major deals lined up in Kenya and Zambia.
Probably in Kenya, most people did not know Mr Aziz, who has interests in manufacturing and mining sectors in Tanzania, before local regulators stopped his firm Taifa Gas planned $130 million plan at Mombasa’s Ndongo Kundu Special Economic Zone.
After months of push and pull, Kenyan authorities granted the company a license to establish a 30,000-tonne cooking gas plant in the special economic zone.
For a man who rode to success through a blend of hard work and political dealings, the hitches in Kenyan spun into works a lobbying machinery, forcing the region’s largest media outlet Nation Media Group (NMG) to pull down stories and apologize.
For top officials in ex-President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government, Aziz was linked to his then-erstwhile deputy and now president William Ruto.
Ruto would in February 2023, after taking office in September 2022, launch Aziz’s giant gas plant in Mombasa, a project that local press touted as the “largest private investment by a Tanzanian company since the collapse of the East African Community (EAC)”.
The pose by Kenyan authorities on Aziz’s Taifa Gas investment was probably just a blip as that deal would later open another mega-deal in neighboring Zambia where the Tanzanian is setting up $100 million power plant.
Aziz blamed the hitches in Kenya on business rivals, with insiders pointing fingers at coast-based billionaire Muhammed Jaffer of Africa Gas and Oil (AGOL).
Jaffer has, in the past, been linked to Kenya’s opposition veteran Raila Odinga, who received Uhuru’s backing in the last elections.
Who is Rostam Aziz?
Born August 21, 1964, Aziz is one of the wealthiest men in Tanzania.
He was named Tanzania’s first dollar billionaire by Forbes in 2013, boasting a net worth exceeding a billion dollars.
As of 2022, Aziz was still East Africa’s only dollar billionaire according to the Africa Wealth report by Henley & Partners.
Although he ranked 25th in Forbes’ Africa 50 richest list in 2015, he chose to keep the details of his wealth private in 2016, consequently dropping off the roster.
The mogul’s businesses span many sectors, from real estate to energy, agriculture, mining, media, and politics. His portfolio includes ownership stakes in giant telcos Zanzibar Telecom (Zantel) and Tigo Tanzania, boasting of over 13 million customers.
Notably, before acquiring Zantel and Tigo, he owned a 35 per cent stake in Vodacom, Tanzania’s biggest telecommunications giant. However, he sold his shares, raking in $500 million.
Aziz controls New Habari Limited, one of the largest media houses in Tanzania. He holds a majority share in Coastal Aviation, an air operator specializing in personalized safaris and air charters for tourists.
Additionally, he owns Taifa Mining & Civils Ltd, the largest contract mining company in Tanzania, Taifa Leather Tanzania, a prominent leather goods processor in the country, and real estate in Dubai and Oman.
Aziz’s interests go beyond business; he dabbled in Tanzania’s politics, serving as the MP for Tanzania’s Igunga constituency for two terms.
He also served as the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi’s (CCM) National Treasurer from 2005 to 2007 and as a member of the Politburo/Central Committee of CCM from 2006 to 2011.
Critics argue that his vast wealth was as a result of his political connections through different positions he held in government and the independence party which still controls the country.
