Business

Tahir Sheikh Said (TSS): The Mombasa Billionaire Who Left His Children With Huge Debts

The name Tahir Sheikh Said, or simply TSS as he was popularly known, was equated with wealth and power. TSS, together with other tycoons, decided who got elected by financing handpicked candidates and blocking their opposition.

According to a story in the Standard newspaper titled ‘Mombasa Tycoon Tahir Sheikh Said (TSS) dies a broken hearted man’, his influence fizzled out when Kibaki was elected president and his fortunes dwindled further under the Jubilee regime.

TSS was saddled with debts and worn out with infighting among his sons and other family members who wanted a slice of his vast wealth. The Star reported that this may have ultimately led to his death on 10, January 2017.

Politics and Businesses

The tycoon, who was born in Moyale in 1942, became a dominant figure within the religious and political circles in Mombasa. He was KANU Lamu branch chairman, a position he held until 2002.

Away from politics, his business foothold stretched over a number of sectors including transportation, real estate, tea and coffee export and food processing. He owned buses, lorries, Unga Millers (a leading flour manufacturer), Juja Coffee Exporters, and the 14-floor TSS Tower in Mombasa.

An Empire of Debt

The once influential TSS empire began...