KAMPALA: The most consequential pledge at this year’s Pan-African Pyramid Global Awards was not contained in an award citation. It came after the ceremony, when businessman Dr Sudhir Ruparelia committed his family’s continued support to an initiative closely associated with the humanitarian legacy of his late son, Rajiv.

Receiving the 2026 Pan-African Pyramid Humanitarian Award on Rajiv’s behalf at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Sudhir said he would continue supporting and hosting the annual awards.

“I’m a man of few words. I will continue supporting and hosting these awards every year. We want to make this a home for the Pan-African Pyramids in Uganda,” he said.

The declaration effectively gives the Pan-African Pyramid Global Awards a permanent Ugandan base at Speke Resort Munyonyo, a property owned by the Ruparelia Group.

The ninth edition of the awards, held on August 29, brought together Pan-Africanists, business leaders, politicians, humanitarians and activists from Uganda and several other countries. The event was organised by journalist Andrew Irumba under the theme “Honoring the Humanitarian Legacy of Rajiv Ruparelia.”

Rajiv’s posthumous recognition added an unusually personal dimension to the evening. He died aged 35 in a road crash in May 2025, having served as Managing Director of the Ruparelia Group while also developing interests in motorsport and humanitarian work.

Irumba said Rajiv’s significance was not adequately measured by his age or business position. Instead, he argued, the better test was the number of people whose lives were improved by his actions.

The organiser recalled approaching Rajiv while developing the Pan-African initiative and receiving an immediate practical response: an inquiry about how much support was required.

That encounter, Irumba said, demonstrated the late businessman’s willingness to move from sympathy to action.

The 2026 awards consequently became both a commemoration and a statement about what the organisers believe Pan-Africanism should become.

Irumba used the occasion to argue for stronger economic integration, greater movement of Africans across borders, increased intra-African trade and investment, and industrial policies that enable the continent to add value to its own minerals and raw materials.

His central argument was that African unity cannot remain a slogan.

“The African border should be an administrative line, not a psychological wall,” he said.

The gathering attracted participants from South Africa, Ghana, Jamaica, Zimbabwe and the United States, alongside Ugandan leaders and business figures. Among the international voices were South African anti-apartheid activist Dr Khanyisile Litchfield Tshabalala, Ghanaian businessman Clinton Arko Agyemang, US-based Pan-Africanist Ayo Kimathi and Jamaican representative Blossom Thomas.

The event also featured keynote remarks by Bishop Joshua Maponga of Zimbabwe, who challenged Africans to take greater responsibility for the continent’s future.

For Sudhir, however, the evening carried a family meaning that went beyond ceremony.

By committing Speke Resort as a permanent home for the awards, he linked one of Uganda’s major hospitality venues to an annual platform dedicated to African unity, development and humanitarian action.

The significance of the pledge will ultimately be judged not by the ceremony itself but by what follows: whether the awards can continue to identify and encourage practical African solutions, whether the platform can attract broader continental participation, and whether Rajiv’s humanitarian values can remain visible through sustained action.

That is the more demanding test of legacy.

A name can be remembered by an award. A principle survives only when other people continue the work.

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