KAMPALA — A scholarship recipient pursuing an education, a rally car preparing to return to competition and a donation to patients at Mulago Hospital are among the developments keeping alive the memory of businessman Rajiv Ruparelia.
Rajiv died on May 3, 2025, aged 35, but initiatives connected to his interests have continued through his family, institutions and people who benefited from his work.
His posthumous recognition at the Pan-African Pyramid (PAP) Global Awards in August was the latest of several developments that have drawn attention to his contribution to education, business, philanthropy and motorsport.
At the 9th PAP Global Awards and 12th Anniversary Dinner at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Rajiv was honoured with a Humanitarian Achievement Award. His father, Dr Sudhir Ruparelia, received the award on behalf of the family.
The award recognised Rajiv’s contribution to humanitarian causes, youth empowerment and business.
Scholarships outlive their benefactor
Among the areas most closely associated with Rajiv was education.
Through the Ruparelia Foundation and institutions linked to the Ruparelia Group, he supported students through scholarships and school-fee assistance.
Two of the beneficiaries whose stories became widely known are musicians Patrick Ssenyonjo, popularly known as Fresh Kid, and Faith Nanyanzi, known professionally as Felista Da Superstar.
Fresh Kid received a full scholarship to Kampala Parents’ School after Rajiv met him and took interest in his talent and ambition.
Felista was later offered a similar opportunity. In 2020, the Ruparelia Foundation awarded her a full scholarship to Kampala Parents’ School after Rajiv watched her perform.
The intervention came at a time when she had faced challenges meeting school-fee requirements.
In August 2026, Felista recalled that the scholarship helped her complete her primary education. She has since continued pursuing her music career.
The foundation’s education programmes, however, went beyond the two young musicians. Its records include school-fee support, scholarships and other education initiatives involving students at different institutions.
100 postgraduate opportunities
Rajiv’s association with education also extended to Victoria University.
He was described by the university as having played a role in its development, particularly in areas involving innovation and scholarship programmes.
Following his death, the university announced 100 fully funded Master’s scholarships in his memory in October 2025.
The scholarships were intended for academically strong graduates pursuing fields including business, technology and social sciences.
For the beneficiaries, the programme turned a memorial initiative into an opportunity for further education.
Business was another part of his career
Rajiv was also building his career within the Ruparelia Group.
He was involved in several businesses and was being prepared to assume greater responsibilities within the family enterprise.
Colleagues and associates described his interests as including technology, branding, innovation and modern approaches to management.
His work in education and philanthropy consequently developed alongside his corporate responsibilities.
The rally car that could return
For Uganda’s motorsport community, another part of Rajiv’s story remains connected to a machine.
Rajiv was an active rally driver and developed a strong interest in motorsport.
One year after his death, veteran rally driver Ponsiano Lwakataka called for Rajiv’s rally car to be brought back into competition as a way of preserving his memory within the sport.
In August, the Ruparelia Group contributed Shs25 million towards Lwakataka’s efforts to acquire a Volkswagen Proto previously driven by Rajiv.
The vehicle is expected to return to competitive rallying as Lwakataka works towards a comeback to the National Rally Championship circuit.
The development has given the motorsport community a physical link to a driver it remembers for his involvement in the sport.
Philanthropy continues
Rajiv’s family has also continued supporting community initiatives associated with his memory.
In May 2026, marking one year since his death, the family donated 20 prosthetic legs to Mulago National Referral Hospital.
Dr Sudhir said the donation was intended to support causes that Rajiv had cared about while alive.
The donation formed part of the family’s efforts to continue community initiatives while remembering him.
A legacy measured through people and institutions
More than a year after his death, Rajiv’s name continues to appear in different sectors for different reasons.
In education, scholarships associated with his work continue to benefit students.
In music, beneficiaries of his support have continued developing their careers.
In business, the institutions with which he was associated continue operating.
And in motorsport, efforts are under way to return his former rally car to competition.
His posthumous PAP award in August provided another public recognition of his contribution.
For those who knew Rajiv and benefited from his initiatives, his legacy is therefore being carried through programmes, institutions and individuals rather than through remembrance alone.
His life ended at 35, but the scholarships, education initiatives, philanthropic activities and motorsport connections associated with his name continue to feature in Uganda’s public life.