It is almost a month since the US government placed sanctioned on Fufa president Moses Magogo on grounds of his direct benefit from proceeds of corruption.
The sanctions, which bar him from engaging in any transactions with US interests, are already crippling the Ugandan football administration.
For those who may not be aware, Magogo, in spite of being the principal signatory of Fufa accounts, is now barred from putting his hands on the millions of dollars that Fifa sends to Uganda annually. In fact, my reliable source at Fufa recently intimated that workers have gone some months without pay as Fufa tries to mitigate the situation of having new signatories.
To this end, I find it quite surprising that government is yet to come out with a statement regarding Magogo’s situation. What I know from my friends within Fufa and the National Council of Sports is that no one wants to collaborate with someone whose integrity is questioned but, on the flipside, they don’t have the guts to openly say it out.
All this leaves the ministry of Education and Sports to take a stand on Magogo’s situation in order to clear the air. For a fact, I know that minister Janet Museveni resents corruption and Magogo’s issues are not helped by the fact that he is a corruption ex-convict even though Fifa let him off the hook with a two-month suspension in 2019.
So, what ordinary football enthusiasts don’t realize is that the continued ambiguity of Magogo’s situation is costing Fufa potential football sponsorships and partnerships. What serious company would wish to associate with an entity whose leader has a questionable moral and integrity character?
What’s more, will the minister throw Magogo under the bus and thwart his efforts to seek another term in 2025? Well, it remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, I remain bemused by Magogo’s inner circle of cronies who have been made to believe their boss will rule over football forever.
Magogo ringfenced his position but with his current woes, the likes of Justus Mugisha, Decolas Kiiza, Sam Mpiima and Ronnie Kalema should be positioning themselves to take the game forward.
The late Darius Mugoye was my go-to man and would surely have been in position to raise the game’s reputation. For one, I have interacted with Kalema several times, especially after church mass, and I find him to be an astute fella. So, seeing him blindly following Magogo to the sanctions worries me about the future leaders of the game.
The author is SC Villa president emeritus
