By Frank Kamuntu
The tourism world is abuzz after Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia revealed an extraordinary personal story at the POATE 2025 welcome dinner – the untold tale of how a dangerous midnight encounter with mountain gorillas 30 years ago shaped Uganda’s entire hospitality industry.
As 500 international buyers sipped cocktails at Speke Resort’s lakeside terrace, Uganda’s foremost businessman shared a gripping confession: “I built Munyonyo because a silverback once spared my life.” The revelation came after a surprise screening of never-before-seen 1995 footage showing a young Sudhir (in his signature white shirt, now mud-stained) standing frozen as a 400-pound gorilla examined him in Bwindi’s moonlit forest.
“That moment taught me Uganda’s wildlife wasn’t just heritage – it was our golden ticket,” Sudhir told the captivated audience, explaining how the experience inspired his then-controversial decision to shift from pure banking to tourism investments. Conservationists gasped as he disclosed his team secretly funded ranger patrols in Bwindi for a decade before publicly associating with the project.
The story took a dramatic turn when veteran guide Francis Mugisha stood unannounced from the crowd – the very man who led that fateful trek.
“Dr. Sudhir returned next morning with notebooks, already sketching what would become Uganda’s first luxury eco-lodges,” Mugisha revealed, producing yellowed sketches that bore uncanny resemblance to Speke Resort’s now-famous canopy walkways.
Tour Uganda CEO Lilly Ajarova later told The Digest: “We never understood why he insisted on nocturnal wildlife viewing platforms at his properties. Now we know – he was recreating that transformative night.”
As the evening concluded, Kenya Tourism Board representatives were seen urgently phoning their headquarters, while Rwanda’s delegation requested a private meeting with Sudhir. Meanwhile, 23 international buyers immediately committed to new Ugandan safari packages – with one demanding “the full Sudhir moonlit gorilla experience.”
