By Fanuel Viriri
Flamboyant and controversial, Roger Boka was fired three times for brawling with white colleagues at work.
He had enough, so he started his own cleaning business at his Kambuzuma home. And boy, did he make it big. He scaled dizzy heights, reaching for the stars and making his mark.
Boka was a true original, living life on his own terms. A man ahead of his time, he owned a private plane and a sleek Rolls-Royce, always chauffeured in style.
But behind the glamour, Boka‘s journey was marked by controversy.
He started as a temporary Science teacher in 1967 at Highfield Community School, then attended Chibero Agricultural College on a scholarship.
He dropped out after two years and joined Royal Insurance, but was dismissed after clashing with a white colleague over a black workers’ union.
He moved to South British Insurance, but left due to a racial spat.
In 1975, he joined BP & Shell, but was dismissed after another brawl with a white colleague. With a Z$3,000 package, Boka started a household cleaning oil business at his Kambuzuma home.
He made a profit, then launched a watch assembly company, Boka Book Sales, and Boka Cosmetics. He ventured into gold trading, then tobacco, and became a prominent figure .
Boka’s bold move was taking out full-page newspaper ads, lobbying against white economic dominance and sparking national debate.
He gained favor with President Robert Mugabe who described as a patriot. Boka was granted a tobacco merchant license in 1994, a first for a black Zimbabwean.
He set up his own auction floor, challenging white-owned dominance, and launched United Merchants Bank (UMB). The bank got government business, including a deal with Cold Storage Commission.
But it all unraveled in 1998 when UMB’s license was revoked due to fraud. Boka was accused of issuing fake bills and siphoning off millions to offshore accounts. The bank issued fake bills worth US$50 millipn and siphoning US$21 million.
Boka’s bank also issued loans to prominent businessmen and politicians who did not pay back. The bank would have their license revoked and it collapsed.
Rudo Boka
Boka died on 21 February 1999 at 52 and his daughter Rudo took over the running of Boka Tobacco Auctions Floor.
In 2020, Rudo said she inherited his father’s seven children and a debt-ridden company. She said most people assumed she was born with a “silver spoon in the mouth” but it was not case. She was only 21 with O Level and a typing certificate.
Boka enterprise also had to settle 19 civil cases brought against the business. She could not access loans because of the image of the company.
He said the only thing she did was to send his siblings to school. She then started working to return the company to profitability. #business
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