Robert Kabushenga on Reinvention after New Vision, Coffee, New Media & Why He Can’t Stop Running

Robert Kabushenga is a prominent Ugandan media executive, entrepreneur, coffee farmer and public commentator who spent nearly 15 years as Chief Executive Officer of Vision Group, one of East Africa’s largest multimedia companies. In this wide-ranging conversation with CEO East Africa Magazine's Executive Editor, Muhereza Abel Kyamutetera, Kabushenga reflects on life after New Vision, the business and politics of Uganda’s coffee industry, the changing future of media, and how running became his anchor, community and new entrepreneurial frontier. From the influential “Kabushenga effect” on Uganda’s media industry and the ambition to build a world-class Kampala Independence Marathon, to transforming his family’s coffee-growing heritage into a modern export and advocacy story, this episode explores reinvention, leadership, responsible fatherhood, technological disruption and the national opportunities Uganda must seize. 🎧 What You’ll Learn 📎 How corporate leaders can reinvent themselves without being trapped by past titles 📎 Why coffee remains Uganda’s most reliable export bet – and how we’re squandering or leveraging it 📎 How running can build discipline, character, and powerful business networks 📎 Why the future of media belongs to nimble, tech‑driven storytellers, not legacy institutions 📎 How setting boundaries, clapbacks, and personal values shape public reputation in the age of X/Twitter 🕒 Timestamps / Chapters 🕒 Key Themes & Timestamps 0:00 – Media Power & the “Kabushenga Effect”: How Robert changed the relationship between media, PR and brands at New Vision. 5:00 – Discovering Running & Building Discipline: Mutungo to Entebbe runs, why running is “the most democratic sport,” how daily mileage, Strava and community created discipline, routine and a new identity after corporate life. 12:50 – The Uganda Independence Marathon Vision: Dreaming of a proper Kampala marathon, why Uganda lagged behind other East African capitals, route and safety challenges, and how the Northern Bypass + Mandela National Stadium solve them. 20:00 – Business Model of a Marathon & Independence Branding: Date set for 4th October 2026, sections for runners and walkers, sponsor lineup (Stanbic, Old Mutual, TMR, International Hospital, Nivana), “eyeballs” along the route, and how the race ties into Ugandan pride and independence celebrations. 26:30 – Leadership Lessons from Running: Consistency, doing hard things when you don’t feel like it, community and connection, endurance vs “music video” instant success, and how running helps build self‑awareness and character. 30:50 – Personal Branding, Clapbacks & Boundaries Online 37:30 – The Boy Child, Fatherhood & Responsibility: How fathers of his generation outsourced parenting to screens and house help, the contrast between village childhood and Xbox childhood, and his call to men to model responsibility instead of entitlement. 45:00 – Life After New Vision: Identity & Reinvention: Why you must never fuse your identity with your job title, how he reinvented himself in three arenas—coffee, ultra‑sport/running, and new media (podcasts, X Spaces)—and why he prefers working with much younger people. 52:00 – Bad Natives & the Future of African Media: Origins of the Bad Natives podcast, why Africa needs its own voices and platforms, the decline of print, how Facebook killed the tabloid model, and why the winners will be tech‑savvy, innovative storytellers—not legacy institutions or old journalism schools. 1:06:30 – Coffee: Uganda’s Oldest New Opportunity: The myths and hard realities of coffee margins, coffee’s historic role in funding Uganda’s development, livelihoods for 12 million Ugandans, the need for a real coffee business model #RobertKabushenga #CEOConversations #CEOEastAfrica #Leadership #UgandaCoffee #CoffeeBusiness #CoffeeActivism #UgandaEconomy #NewMedia #AfricanMedia #Podcasts #BadNatives #RunningCommunity #Marathon #UgandaIndependenceMarathon #SportsBusiness #Wellness #LeadershipLessons