Julius Mwale, brother to MP Tindi Mwale, made headlines in 2010 as the President and Head of Strategy of US-based SBA Technologies Inc.
He aimed to build a city in his village and later placed a bid of Sh. 27.6 billion for troubled Mumias Sugar in a lease program.
Mwale, allegedly a former air force engineer, is the financier behind a project called Mwale City, which seeks to transform Lunza village in Kakamega County into a ‘Silicon Valley’ worth Sh. 200 billion.
Despite the ambitious goals, this project has faced skepticism.
In 2022, Mwale announced a partnership with an American firm to build a battery plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to power smart cities.
The plant, which would manufacture batteries for smart cities across Africa, was reportedly part of a broader strategy by KE International, a US-based engineering and infrastructure firm, in which Mwale was a key partner.
Mwale explained that the 16-gigawatt plant in DRC would help power smart cities across Africa, including Kenya, through electric power storage batteries.
“We are investing in building a battery manufacturing plant in the DRC to help power our smart cities in Kenya and the rest of Africa,” Mwale stated.
Zambia’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) struck a deal with Mwale in Lusaka, following seven months of negotiations.
The agreement involves smart cities, mining, infrastructure, and agriculture to help Zambia boost its domestic industrial capacity and create jobs.
Mwale’s consortium met with President Hakainde Hichilema, who introduced them to IDC for collaboration.
This deal follows a significant discovery of copper deposits in Zambia by KoBold Metals, a US firm backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, further heightening the value of the partnership.
Zambia and the DRC are rich in minerals needed for the growing global demand for electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy.
Mwale’s involvement positions him as a key player in Africa’s battery manufacturing industry as he expands MMTC into 18 smart cities in 12 African countries by 2050.
The consortium plans to start its work immediately, according to Norbert Mugeni, an assistant project manager at MMTC, who highlighted the use of copper, cobalt, and nickel from Zambia for battery manufacturing.
Jack Chadukwa, CEO of Afritechnics, also emphasized the potential job creation and value addition the projects would bring to Zambia, while investments in healthcare, agriculture, and infrastructure are expected to follow.
Earlier in 2023, Mwale received an award from the Africa Prosperity Network for his work on MMTC, a project that is planned to be replicated across the continent.
Mwale’s vision for Africa’s future includes using battery technology to power smart cities, and he claims to be at the forefront of the region’s industrial development.
However, his past is not without controversy.
Lawsuits in the US and Kenya accuse him of unpaid debts, with court records showing over $2.5 million in unpaid bills.
Contractors involved in MMTC’s development have also sought legal redress over unpaid wages.
Mwale works closely with KE International, a Delaware based company that claims an $8 billion portfolio, though it lists only two projects MMTC in Kenya and Akon City in Senegal.
Despite the grand announcements, some investigations have revealed that certain companies linked to the MMTC project have not made the investments as claimed.
Mwale’s entrepreneurial journey began in the early 2000s with SBA Technologies, which he claims became a leading biometric company.
However, it dissolved in 2010, and many of his patent applications were unsuccessful or abandoned.
Despite these setbacks, Mwale continues to portray himself as a visionary in Africa’s technology and industrial sectors.
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