Ibrahim Kizito, one of the brightest lights in Ugandan football in the nineties, passed on over the weekend.
He succumbed to high blood pressure and diabetes. When Kizito moved to KCCA FC in January, 1992 from Spear Motors, many questioned the wisdom of the transfer. At the time, KCCA had just signed Mathias Kaweesa, who was the 1991 league’s top scorer, and Crispus Muyinda, who had just crossed from Spear Motors.
The pair added to a forward line which already had the flair and imagination of Jackson Mayanja, Charles Jalendo and Julius Kisekka. Young, breathtakingly talented and, above all, athletic, the 21-year-old Kizito was visibly seen as a work in progress.
Those in the know believed that whereas he could go on to become a star, there were many players ahead of him in the pecking order. However, Barnabas Mwesiga, the KCCA coach, was vindicated immediately when Kizito scored on his debut against Nile FC. A year later, he played a key role as KCCA won the 1993 Uganda Cup title.
His goal-scoring prowess was the reason why fans tagged him `Kizota’ after Tanzanian lethal striker Saidi Mwamba Kizota, with whom they shared goal-scoring instincts. Kizito was aggressive, hard in tackles and unmarkable in aerial duels. He meant business on and off the pitch.
Off the field, he was outspoken with his views, which sometimes found him on the wrong side of the football law.
FOOTBALL CAREER
Born March 30, 1971, in Kikunyu, Buyenga, Butambala district, Kizito first emerged as a striker at Bilal Islamic School. But it was after moving to Posta FC in 1990 that top clubs noticed his attributes.
He started hitting headlines a year later, at Spear Motors, scoring nine league goals, three shy of club top scorer Crispus Muyinda. At the time, David Otti, the Junior Cranes coach, took notice and included Kizito in the team which destroyed Mozambique in the 1992 Olympic Games qualifiers.
He is remembered for a hat-trick in that game at Nakivubo stadium, which guided the youthful side to the next round. When Kizito switched to KCCA, he was rendered third in the pecking order behind Muyinda and Kaweesa. As fate would have it, an injury to Muyinda, coupled with Kaweesa’s poor form, necessitated a run in the starting XI for the youthful Kizito.
He was ready and scored on his debut against Nile. Lest I forget to remind you, Kizito was a special talent. He played top-level handball and hockey, and represented the country in both sports. Unfortunately, this sometimes distracted his football career.
At KCCA, Kizito experienced significant growth and success in 1993. His abilities as a well-rounded player were on full display as he scored 13 goals, including the winning goal against Dairy FC in the Uganda Cup final. However, cracks also emerged about his discipline for occasionally getting silly bookings for dissent. Kizito made a flying start in the 1994 campaign, scoring four goals in the first seven league matches.
However, the goals dried up and he scored only two more for the rest of the entire campaign. There were reports of him missing training sessions, something that prompted then KCCA coach Fred Mugisha to render him surplus to requirements at the club.
Kizito, who by now was known for his big ego, moved to Uganda Electricity Board (UEB FC), where he picked form and scored 14 goals. In 1995, Kizito hit peak form and concluded the season as the league top scorer with 20 goals.
By now, Kizito was at the brink of stardom. But in spite of his goal-scoring abilities, Kizito never nailed a permanent place on the Uganda Cranes team due to the presence of the undisputed Majid Musisi and Phillip Obwin.
Unfortunately, Kizito was also never the same after that season. His continued participation in handball and hockey had many in the football fraternity questioning his dedication to football. And Kizito being Kizito, he didn’t give a damn about opinions. He just enjoyed his passions.
A key football training session would find him in the middle of a handball or hockey game. In fact, there was a belief that he just enjoyed football for his tal- ent, but not a full-time career.
THE JOURNEYMAN
A brief period at SC Villa (1996-1997) was followed by a stint at Express FC, before spells in the Middle East. He returned in 2004 and briefly played for Gaba United. After retiring from football, he had some coaching stints in Rwanda and he also had some spells as an assistant coach for the Mamba clan team.
To honour his impact at the club, KCCA management gave him a season ticket which enabled him to watch matches free of charge at the Omondi stadium. In one of my recent interactions with him, Kizito, who admitted he was battling diabetes and high blood pressure, said he should never have left KCCA, the team he said he loved since childhood.
He looked battered, and it was clear he was struggling financially. In fact, he had spent the past few years in and out of hospital until his death over the weekend at Kiruddu hospital.
