Story can end here for lack of space and time our dear reader. For some small time, yes, it has worked until 30th May 2024. However, to some like yours truly, I saw dark days coming ahead. First for Magogo, then for the game. And indeed it has come, thanks to sanctions to the speaker, which sanctions, have not spared Magogo either.

 On Thursday 30th May 2024, the US sanctioned the two lover-birds. The US decisive sanctions come in as third account for the Speaker Anita Among which could be viewed as a six-inch nail in her political coffin. Moses Magogo – who is a convict in the sports sphere, having dubiously participated in fraud, was banned by FIFA for selling the 2014 FIFA World Cup ticket meant for Ugandans.

 Magogo, just like the other two former Karamoja affairs ministers’ husbands is also affected by the tough designation simply for close, conjugal relations with the corrupt officials, a US statement reveals. From the US, the Speaker is, again, jointly sanctioned with the two former Karamoja Affairs ministers Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu.

 On the US sanction’s list by Matthew Miller, the State department spokesperson, is also senior presidential advisor and former deputy Chief of Defence Forces Lt Gen Peter Elwelu. Kitutu and Nandutu were on April 30^th sanctioned by the UK for their role in the theft of relief items meant for vulnerable Karamojong citizens.

 The designation of Among comes barely 12 hours after she involved scriptures that the truth will set her free and maintained that the UK sanctions and claims of her wealth were politically motivated. The Department of State said it was designating five current and former Ugandan officials for their involvement in significant corruption or gross violations of human rights.

 “Speaker of Parliament Anita Among is designated due to involvement in significant corruption tied to her leadership of Uganda’s Parliament,” Mr Miller said. “Former Minister of Karamoja Affairs Mary Goretti Kitutu, former Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs Agnes Nandutu, and Minister of State for Finance Amos Lugolobi are being designated due to their involvement in significant corruption related to conduct that misused public resources and diverted materials from Uganda’s neediest communities.”

 The US said all four officials abused their public positions for their personal benefit at the expense of Ugandans. Gen Elwelu, Mr Miller added, is designated due to his involvement in gross violations of human rights. “Specifically, Peter Elwelu was involved, while commanding UPDF forces, in extrajudicial killings that were committed by members of the UPDF,” he said.

 Gen Elwelu commanded one of the deadliest assaults on fellow Ugandans in the attack on the Rwenzuru palace on November 26 and 27, 2016, killing at least 100 people, including 15 children in the attack that also saw King Wesley Mumbere taken into custody. The designated officials are generally ineligible for entry into the US.

“Today’s actions reaffirm the US commitment to support transparency in Uganda’s democratic processes, counter corruption globally, and address the broader culture of impunity that prevents all Ugandans from enjoying their human rights and fundamental freedoms,” Mr Miller said. The US said the individuals are responsible for, or complicit in, the repression of Ugandan members of political opposition groups, civil society organizers, and vulnerable communities in Uganda.

“Impunity allows corrupt officials to stay in power, slows the pace of development, facilitates crime, and causes unequal distribution of resources, which can affect underrepresented and underserved populations disproportionally,” Mr Miller added. For sleeping in the same beds, Kitutu’s spouse, Michael George Kitutu, Lugolobi’s spouse, Evelyne Nakimera and Among’s Magogo are generally ineligible for entry into the US under the Foreign Operations, and Related Programmes Appropriations Act, 2024.

Something the country is not concerned about, yet, very significant is the fact that Uganda as a rising sports nation needs more, not only state of the art sports facilities as homes but also ordinary with playable surface stadia other than Namboole.

Making his submission to the Parliamentary Budget Committee Thursday morning, Eng. Moses Magogo in his capacity as the President of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations-FUFA, was seen and heard supporting the approval of the supplementary Budget meant for the renovation of Mandela National Stadium. 

Magogo, who, also is the Legislator for Budiope East, forgot some core factor to his submissions that, while the country needs Namboole, there is also need for more ordinary Nambooles as home to first, football, then the other sports disciplines to that effect.

Named after the South African then-President and anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela, the multi-purpose Mandela National Stadium should not be the only and only sporting orientation stadium in Uganda. It alone is either to suffocate the facility or else under-developing sports in the Country.

That said, a reminder here is that there is need to have standard stadia in all the cities of Uganda because sports is a huge sector that employs majority of our youths. The many youths across the country do not need to travel distances to come to Namboole to develop their sporting talents if there were such facilities as Namboole in their vicinities.

Just like Magogo, State Minister for Sports, Hamson Obua is not looking at the importance of building and upgrading other stadia across the country but doing a disservice too. Sometime early this year, Obua confirmed receiving Sh30bn to cater for the renovation of the dilapidated Mandela National Stadium, Namboole.

Either Obua or Magogo is working with subordination complex and is not acquainted that these offices are meant to serve the sports docket better.

The dilapidated Stadium is lately momentarily out of use as government turned the facility into a provisional Covid19 isolation center following its pitiable and/or sorry state.

For starters, Namboole today does not pass the required CAF and FIFA standards of hosting continental and international engagements, that such Cranes home games have been shifted to a private St Mary’s Stadium Kitende.

Shs97bn

Some of us may not be architectural engineers but could guide the Ministry of Sports and FUFA on utilizing the shs97bn Namboole renovation bound budget. 

Namboole renovation is great work indeed but the cost should be half the money. The other bunch could be taken to develop a stadium somewhere in the North or East. These are both havens of talent that the country should not forget about.

From the look of things by many it’s suggested that the Sh97bn can be used to install more than five small stadia across the country.

Built on a grant of $36m from China government and opened in 1997, Namboole has under gone refurbishment in 2010. Eleven years later the facility is up for another renovation. The question is, should the focus be Namboole alone. No! It’s time the Country’s Obua’s and Magogo’s look beyond the 50,000 seater Namboole.