I am yet to come to terms with the loss of my son Umar Senyonga, who passed away on March 3. I received condolence messages from sports personalities, high profile journalists, and the general public at large. However, on Eid al-Fitr day, I was privileged to host a couple of visitors who came to celebrate the big day with us, and also commiserate with my family. My home was full, with visitors from different spheres of life. But the most notable ones, were a group of former netball stars. Yet, even among those, a one Rita Nakkazi, the former She Cranes defender, caught my mind more profoundly. Nakkazi is one of the few surviving She Cranes legends who featured in the 1979 Netball World Cup held in Trinidad and Tobago. At 70, Nakkazi hasn’t changed much from the person I first saw decades ago; a black beauty, tall and slender. She has not added much weight from what she had during her heyday. Together with her colleagues, we had a lengthy chat, and at the end of it all, concluded that the game was no longer as entertaining. This, we owed to the poor standards of club netball. We recalled the competitiveness of clubs like Coffee, KCCA, Posta, Bank of Uganda and Uganda Commercial Bank among others. Added to that, we reflected on the top players then like Fatuma Nakato, Lucy Bisereko, Phoebe Nakimera, Ida Musoke, Jane Nakamatte and Margaret Bisereko among others. NAKKAZI THE SUPER STAR While so many athletes go the full length of their sports careers without winning a thing, Nakkazi won almost everything there was to win during her 20 years of active netball. In fact, she is among the top five netballers, who excelled in the 70s and 80s. Rita NakkaziSoft-spoken, Nakkazi hailed from Luwero, where she first held a netball ball at Mulajje C/U Primary School in Bamunanika. But she became more active at Modern SS along Nasser Road in Kampala. In fact, during a schools competition in 1974 at Nakivubo stadium, Nakkazi and her schoolmates (Kelvin Katende and Nulu Birabwa) were quickly spotted by Coffee netball club coach Florence Kironde for her team. It was not long before Nakkazi became the defence lynchpin for Coffee alongside goal-defender (GD) Agnes Male and wing-defender (WD) Robinah Biddo. Notably, Kironde used to refer to her as the ‘rock’. As a result, Coffee became dominant, winning eight league titles in a row from 1974 to 1982. They also defeated regional rivals from Kenya and Tanzania, and by 1975, Nakkazi was summoned to the She Cranes by coach Ben Namubiru Muwanga.A year later, Nakkazi, who helped the She Cranes win the Cecafa championship, was now the undisputed goal-keeper. Her ball interceptions, something that was aided by her superb aerial presence were attributes to marvel at. Namubiru referred to Nakkazi as “classy defender”. TRINIDAD & TOBAGO HEROICS It was on this basis, that Nakkazi was selected to the She Cranes side heading to the 1979 netball World Cup. It was Uganda’s first ever appearance at that stage. Despite a good start to the tournament, the She Cranes lost dependable goal-shooter Phoebe Nakimera, after she fractured her leg. The option was moving Nakkazi from defence to attack, as Nakimera’s replacement. That is how versatile and invaluable Nakkazi proved to be. Uganda finished thirteenth in the 19- team tournament. Nakkazi followed up her great exploits at the World Cup with another Cecafa Cup title in 1988, before winning the Bika netball title with her Mamba clan in 1987. Consequently, in 1993, Coffee won a sixteenth league title. That proved to be their last, as the team was dissolved shortly after. But with her reputation, Nakkazi was not short of suitors. She joined National Insurance Corporation (NIC) netball side in 1995, inspiring them to their first league title. By 2005, when Nakkazi retired, NIC had won ten championships. GREAT SADNESS That said, Nakkazi is sad that a host of her team-mates to the 1979 World Cup, including Suzan Namatovu Ddumba, Margaret Ndawula, Norah Mukasa and Florence Ntege have passed on. But at the same time, she lives a deprived life. Nakkazi wondered why, after what they did in representing the country, the government today, has never rewarded them, too. Nakkazi lives in Kawempe with her only child Eva Nakawooya under unimaginable struggle to have a meal on the table.The post Remembering the glory days of Rita Nakkazi, the 1979 Netball World Cup star appeared first on The Observer.