James Bulchard Rugemalira is the central Tanzanian player in the long drawn-out IPTL saga. Describing himself as an ‘Independent, International Consultant’ and a ‘great patriot’, Rugemalira is a former employee of the Bank of Tanzania who took early retirement and entered the University of Dar es Salaam as a mature student, were he obtained a First Class degree (B.Com) even though he was not an outstanding student. In his capacity as director of VIPEM Ltd, he was instrumental in navigating the IPTL deal through the corrupt corridors of power. Although Rugemalira’s job was to fast-track IPTL through Tanzania’s sluggish bureaucracy--after all, it was an emergency project--legal disputes meant that the project was not commissioned until seven years after the MOU was signed. Mr Rugemalira’s JVs (Tritel, IPTL) and distribution franchises (Windhoek, Heineken) sooner or later end up in court. The Tanzanian judiciary has helped turn Mr Rugemalira into one of Tanzania’s richest men. While Mr Rugemalira files suits mainly in Tanzanian courts against his JV partners or business adversaries, cases are brought against him (as IPTL shareholder) in international tribunals. The 2001 ICSID case resulted from crude attempts by IPTL to inflate the cost of the EPC. His strategy has been to wave the nationalist flag by challenging the legitimacy of all external actors--companies, lawyers, courts--citing the supremacy of Tanzanian law. Though an active contestant in international tribunals in the past, his escrow account coup involved the denial of jurisdiction for the ICSID. Although recent decisions by the High Court have favoured his interests, for more than a decade he failed to get IPTL wound up so as to claim his 30 percent share. If he has pocketed the US$ 75 million he claims, then the wait has probably been worth it, since a decade ago he would have settled for US$30 million. When ‘interviewed’ on the IPTL deal, Mr Rugemalira is quoted as saying: “Actually, fellow Tanzanians should regard me as a great patriot because the deal was sealed on (sic) national interest. I deserved $600million but I only pocketed $75 million, which is peanuts...”
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