An accomplished pediatric surgeon, tutor and medical entrepreneur, Dr Mutumba died on June 15. Today’s average sports fan may not even know him because he has not been actively involved in football but beyond being the face of Abii clinic in Wandgeya, Dr Mutumba had a huge impact on the game.
Back in 1981, SC Villa had just established itself as a league contender but it suffered a setback when several players got ruled out in key games due to injuries. Dr Timothy Mutesasira, the club physician who also doubled as The Cranes doctor, had just been wooed to KCC FC by Bidandi Ssali.
The club resorted to a number of therapists but injuries persisted. Just before the 1982 season, a section of Villa fans identified one of their own, Dr Mutumba, to take the position but it was not easy to convince him since he was already an established medic.
It took a delegation led by Patrick Kawooya, the Villa boss, to approach Dr Mutumba, who overwhelmingly accepted the position. Within weeks, players who had been ruled out for months were back in the first team.
On the pitch, the club fortunes greatly improved and Villa won the 1982 title without losing a single game, a feat several club faithful attributed to the healthy squad.
From then on, Dr Mutumba was a regular feature on the Villa bench as the club dominated domestic football. What’s more, his Abii clinic in Wandegeya also became the hub for injured players from other clubs.
Dr Mutumba’s magical touch with player injuries led some rival clubs to believe that his blessing runs through the family. Back in the day, there was a lot of superstition and clubs always copied one another. In that regard, Express snapped up Mutumba’s brother, Dr Moses Mutumba, as the club doctor.
Interestingly, the two Mutumbas strikingly looked alike. It was always a joy to watch the two brothers gesturing on the touchline when the two teams played. Dr Sam Mutumba was always the calm one but he was also an emotional person. For one, he dreaded watching a penalty shoot-out. Oftentimes, he would turn and face the crowd during shootouts.
In 1989, he had just been appointed Cranes doctor when the team travelled to Kenya for the Cecafa Cup. The final against Malawi ended 3-3 after extra time, paving the way for penalty shootout but before any penalty could be taken, he turned his back against the pitch, buried the head in his hands.
He was only awakened by jubilating players after Uganda clinched the title. In the mid-90s, Dr Mutumba was elevated to serve as Villa team manager but then, he acquired so many engagements in the medical field that he quit the national team.
At Villa, he would sometimes delegate work to his assistants. By the turn of the millennium, Dr Mutumba could no longer handle mixing the rigors of the medical world with fulltime commitment to football.
He quietly quit the game but remained an eminent figure that was often consulted whenever a crisis arose in the club. Always jovial and friendly, Dr Mutumba remained the go-to person for medical checkups by several members of the football fraternity due to his generosity and immense experience in the field.
May he rest in peace!
bzziwa@observer.ug
The author is The Observer Operations director
