Hotelier and Aero Beach owner Mzee Kodet dead
According to his daughter, Helena Lorika, the General Manager of Kaabong Resort Hotel, she received a call from family members informing her of her father’s death on Monday, December 8, at around 12:45 am
The hospitality industry in Uganda and the Karamoja sub-region is mourning the death of prominent businessman Cornelius Lorika Kodet. (Courtesy photo)
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The hospitality industry in Uganda and the Karamoja sub-region is mourning the death of prominent businessman Cornelius Lorika Kodet, who passed away in the late hours of Sunday, December 7, 2025, at his home in Entebbe, Wakiso district.
According to his daughter, Helena Lorika, the General Manager of Kaabong Resort Hotel, she received a call from family members informing her of her father’s death on Monday, December 8, at around 12:45 am.
“I received calls from my sisters as I was in Kaabong at the hotel where I reside, which was about 12:45 am, and they said they are calling me to break sad news that my dad, who is the head of our entire Lorika Kodet family, had just passed away,” she said.
“For those who don't know, my dad Kodet was a prominent businessman. He is the owner of Mount Moroto Hotel in Moroto, Aero Beach in Entebbe, Katurum Lodge in Kidepo and Apule Safari Lodge opposite Bam Shopping Centre in Mbale. He is also a good friend to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the National Resistance Movement party,” she said.
Among those who sent condolences was former NRM vice chairperson for eastern Uganda and hotelier Mike Mukula, who said, “The Lord Almighty has recalled one of Uganda’s finest businessmen and Karamoja’s top business Icon Kodet last night in his house in Entebbe. Funeral service at All Saints Church, Nakasero, on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, 9:00 am-11:00 am.”
Kodet was a well-known hotelier and entrepreneur whose ventures shaped the hospitality and entertainment sector.
In July 2002, Kodet, a wealthy Karimojong landowner, offered his 500,000-acre farm for the resettlement of Banyankole, Banyarwanda and Sabiny pastoralists from western Uganda.
This followed a six-month deadline issued by the then National Political Commissar, Dr Crispus Kiyonga, directing the pastoralists to leave wetlands in Teso after complaints from local leaders who accused them of damaging crops.
Kodet said his farm in Nakapiripirit district could accommodate 10,000 head of cattle. He added that his gesture was made “in appreciation and solidarity with President Yoweri Museveni's efforts to bring peace and unity to Uganda."