On surface, the current standoff between the National Council of Sports (NCS) and the Ugandan Olympic Committee (UOC) is all about legal gymnastics, but on close scrutiny, the battle is littered with undertones of power, greed and egotism.
NCS, the custodians of sports in the country, ordered UOC to suspend its January 28 elective assembly after complaints that several sports bodies affiliated to the latter don’t qualify to be in the assembly by virtue of their failure to fulfill NCS regulations.
However, UOC defiantly went ahead with the polls citing NCS’ lack of authority to dictate over UOC affairs. The polls saw UOC maintain its status quo with the return of William Blick as president and the core of his executive. The two bodies and their affiliates are already on the path for a protracted battle and the ever-reluctant sports ministry is yet again looking on.
NCS, for all its powers, often acts like a barking dog, only capable to rein over small sports associations that need the body’s funding. It took the intervention of Fifa and government for stubborn Fufa to subscribe to NCS but UOC brings something totally different to the table because it is every- where but nowhere.
OPPORTUNISTIC FOUNDATION
For one to understand why UOC feels untouchable, one needs to know its beginning. Back in 1975 when it was formed, High court judge Raphael Sebugwawo Amooti led the UOC transitional committee before his death in 1978. Around that time, several high- ranking figures in sports administration had positioned themselves to run the body.
Sports line minister Maj Gen Francis Nyagweso took over as chairman, deputized by then NCS chairman Ernest Oluo. Others included Sev Obura and lawyer Yesero Mugenyi, among others.
The group finalized the constitution in 1981 and tactfully inserted special clauses such as; no government interference in UOC matters,and those founders had to be life members till one reached 72 years. Meanwhile, they made sure the new constitution was ratified by IOC instead of NCS, as is the case with other sports bodies.
On that foundation, UOC managed to barricade itself from scrutiny yet it enjoyed unlimited control on national teams going for Olympics, Commonwealth Games as well as the All Africa Games.
KUUYA REALITY
The first real standoff between NCS and UOC took place in 1984 when NCS boss Patrick Masette Kuuya tried to overhaul sports bodies by dissolving all sports associations and replacing them with interim committees.
For instance, Gershom Rwabona Kagurusi replaced Caleb Babihuga in Fufa but UOC somehow remained firm because their constitution barred interim committees from being represented to the body. UOC was backed by IOC and fearing for a longstanding battle, Kuuya backed off to leave the founders as the only remaining UOC members.
ALI DIRECTIVE
Nyangweso and Co. would enjoy an uninterrupted tenure until 1988 when Dr Edward Kakonge, the then new sports line minister, ordered for fresh elections in all sports bodies.
He quickly overhauled NCS by dissolving the Abbey Kafumbe-Mukasa-led board. He then set his eyes on overhauling the UOC executive, which he accused of ring-fencing top positions.
However, Moses Ali replaced Kakonge before he could effect the changes. Ali, too, reiterated Kakonge’s order, only that this time, his directive ended up sav- ing Nyangweso at the expense of his biggest critics and threats.
Just two days before the set UOC elections on March 30, 1990, Ali issued an order barring all UOC founding members from participating in the polls. The directive automatically locked out many founders such as Mugenyi, EJ Kitaka-Gawera, GW Sentamu, Dr JW Kasirye, John Baptist Walakira and Sarah Magala, among others.
Amidst cries of foul play from the locked-out members, the two people to survive the coup were Nyangweso, by virtue of doubling as the local boxing boss and Obura, who was seconded by the local athletics body.
Ali had to attend the polls where Nyangweso was relieved of threats to his seat unopposed. However, Obura couldn’t be saved as then Fufa boss John Baptist Semanobe defeated him to become the UOC secretary/treasurer. Mugenyi and the disfranchised group took legal action but their suit never yielded anything.
From then on, Nyangweso was only left to fight with NCS general secretary Abbey Lutaya. The latter fought a longstanding battle with Nyangweso but could not do much to dissolve UOC.
WAY FORWARD
I don’t see NCS doing anything to unseat Blick’s UOC apart from the two bodies engaging in dialogue as IOC recently suggested. Even then, I don’t see UOC repeating the elections because the polls possess too much risk for Blick and company, who are determined to keep their stronghold intact in the financially-lucrative body.
The only way tables could turn for UOC is if the sports ministry directly intervenes in the show- down. Again, that is a big if because Charles Bakkabulindi, the state minister for sports, has never been one to engage in such forms of confrontation. He always tries hard to appease everyone.
For starters, UOC is one of the best-funded sports bodies with an annual IOC grant of $250,000. And this doesn’t cover donations, trainings and international trips for members.
Added to the minimal costs of running the body, the UOC executive is always financially solid. So, Blick and his executive can afford to ignore NCS without fearing for any repercussions.
Besides, NCS knows it will need UOC’s help to accredit athletes for international competitions such as the All Africa Games, Common- wealth and Olympics. The most likely compromise is for UOC to throw out sports bodies not affiliated to NCS.
The author is operations director of The Observer Media Ltd