Thirty years on, Nsereko remains a hot topic when discussing football matters; he is in the conversation when comparing the greatest midfielders in history and many still believe Ugandan football would be much better if his principled approach was followed.
So, to mark this sad day, here is a slightly abridged profile of him I did a decade ago. Nsereko blossomed into one of the continent’s finest in his position, a remarkable athlete who could both win the ball and distribute it effectively.
But the bedrock of Nsereko’s game was his intelligence and strength. His positioning was impeccable; he was abrasive in the tackle, fearsome of any opponent and a staunch worker on and off the ball.
Marriage with KCC
Nsereko was born to Silimu Mabirizi and Jane Nawova Mutesa of Ndeese, Bugerere but grew up at Naguru. He went to Naguru Katale Primary School and later City High School where he began to show glimpses of football artistry and abandoned other disciplines like boxing and athletics.
Since Naguru is just a stone’s throw from KCC FC’s Lugogo training ground, Nsereko joined KCC at 14 and started out as a ball boy. He had to wait till 1970 to get a chance of donning the yellow jersey.
He had pace and was a good crosser of the ball—something which prompted club coach Bidandi Ssali to utilise him as a right winger but with time, he shifted him into the midfield. He secured the regular place in 1971 and at the same time he was summoned to the national youth team after an impressive performance for the Buganda team that won the regional tournament.
He was part of the Youth team that won the 1971 and 1973 Cecafa Cup tournaments.
Cranes career
As fate would have it, Nsereko realised his Cranes dream in 1973 in rather bizarre circumstances. This followed a sudden spate of injuries to Francis Kulabigwo, Parry Oketch as well as defender Joseph Onziga four days to the crucial Nations Cup qualifier against Algeria.
Cranes Coach Burkhard Pape turned attention to youthful Nsereko at the time his KCC outfit played second tier. He didn’t disappoint the German tactician in Uganda’s 2-1 win and when the team edged the two-legged eliminator to qualify for the 1974 continental showpiece, Nsereko became a Cranes mainstay.
He went on to form a formidable midfield with Kulabigwo in the Nations Cup in Egypt.
KCC golden era
In 1974, he was one of the star players as KCC qualified for the topflight. With his trademark short crisp passes, he commanded the midfield in a style that won KCC the hearts of civil servants and school-going children. KCC narrowly missed out on the title in their debut season by a single point to eventual winners Express.
The disappointment followed Nsereko to The Cranes when he missed the decisive spot kick in the 1974 Cecafa Cup final against Tanzania. If anything, this made him even bolder. His confidence grew to the extent that Bidandi switched him to lead the attack in the absence of injured Phillip Omondi.
He didn’t let the club down; he was instrumental in KCC’s first league title in 1976, scoring 13, just a goal shy from league top scorer John Ntensibe. Later that year, Nsereko scored one of the two goals which sunk Zambia to win the Cecafa title.
In 1977, Nsereko was nicknamed “Master Planner” because of his influence to the game while others tagged him “Kisolo Ky’amanyi” (Powerful Animal) because of his physical prowess and intimidating approach. KCC retained the title with Nsereko scoring seven goals in a season where he made 29 appearances—the highest by any KCC player in that year.
Nsereko was also a formidable force in the club’s success at the Cecafa Club Championships in 1978 and three months later, exposed his great skill during the Africa Cup of Nations held in Ghana as Uganda finished runners-up. On a consolation note, the mercurial KCC player was voted alongside Ghana’s Karim Abdul Razak as the tournament’s best midfielders.
As the years progressed, Nsereko’s influence grew and, when Bidandi got an appointment to cabinet in 1979 coupled with Tom Lwanga’s departure to the paid ranks in United Arab Emirates, Nsereko was named coach/player. In his first season, he won the 1979 Uganda Cup.
He also served briefly as Uganda Cranes skipper, replacing Jimmy Kirunda, who had also moved to United Arab Emirates. Nsereko’s only match was Coffee’s Fred Mugisha; the two had running battles whenever the two clubs met.
In December 1982, after winning the Uganda Cup trophy with KCC, he announced his retirement from the national team and in May 1984 decided that his playing time was up at KCC.
In return, Bidandi quit the KCC technical bench and handed over all the coaching responsibilities to Nsereko. He went on to win the 1985 league title but the club won no silverware in 1986 and when the club lost 1-3 at the hands of Nsambya in February 1987, Nsereko resigned.
He later joined football administration in 1989, winning the post of Fufa general secretary. He did a commendable job. However, his strict principles won him many friends as well as enemies and on September 15, 1991, he was brutally murdered at his home at Wampewo flats while returning from an ex-Internationals friendly game in Nkokonjeru.
Only something massive and memorable would be good enough to reflect the impact Nsereko had on the Ugandan game.
bzziwa@observer.ug
The author is The Observer operations director