Anita Among and Moses Magogo The habit among Ugandans of generating friction and quickly deploying remedies is steadily becoming characteristic of the country’s political, social, and economic life. Hundreds of examples can be cited, but former Speaker Anita Annet Among’s recent alleged corruption controversy, seemingly driven by a well-calculated master plan, has dominated headlines for the past few weeks. The Among conflict appears to still be in its infancy because “ball-boys” are now making every effort to drag her husband, Eng. Moses Magogo — the Budiope East MP and President of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (Fufa) — into the fracas. The timing may seem perfect on one hand, but premature on the other. Magogo’s opponents have amplified their mission, jumping onto the Among situation, which many view as a golden opportunity to forcefully remove the man who ascended to the summit of Uganda’s football leadership through a popular vote. Magogo succeeded Dr Lawrence Mulindwa, who had, several years earlier, clandestinely overthrown the late Denis Obua in 2005. The engineer’s opponents — who cut across different sections of society — have a litany of accusations against him. While some may have direct access to Namboole Stadium, others merely engage in “Nasser Road discussions” across various social media platforms. Among the contentious issues raised by Magogo’s critics are alleged abuse of office, financial mismanagement, nepotism, corruption, and poor remuneration of national team players. Unfortunately, most of the complaints remain broad accusations without detailed substantiation. “We have received the news of your intentions to amend the (Fufa) constitution. However, the long-standing issues that have been contentious over a period of time have not been mentioned for amendment,” noted Taddeus Kitandwe, one of Vipers SC’s directors. Kitandwe highlighted the eligibility requirements for Ugandans wishing to contest for the Fufa presidency as one of the burning issues, but he did not offer an opinion on who should qualify or how such individuals should be selected to compete. However, the Fufa constitution explicitly guides on who qualifies and how one becomes a candidate for the federation’s top leadership position. Kitandwe is not alone, as several individuals appear to be backing former player Mike Sulaiman Mutyaba, who has repeatedly positioned himself as a crusader against the Magogo administration. Mutyaba’s position in the fight against Magogo also appears tied to the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), a civic organisation headed by Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Despite the Mutyaba group’s covert operations, the mission to “throw out Magogo” appears to have shifted into high gear, especially following the termination of his wife’s extended Speakership role. As if to spice up the situation further, Fufa announced an Extraordinary General Assembly to amend parts of its statutes. The May 20 notice generated excitement among different sections of the public. However, Fufa Director of Communications and Public Affairs Ahmed Hussein clarified that the June 4 online meeting had been arranged specifically to align some of the federation’s statutes with National Council of Sports (NCS) regulations, in line with the recently enacted Sports Act. “NCS regulations require that all national associations’ statutes should be in conformity with the Sports Act. So, it is not only Fufa amending selected articles,” noted Hussein, dismissing claims that the Thursday meeting would consider changing clauses related to the federation’s general elections. NCS General Secretary Patrick Ogwel recently emphasised the importance of sports associations formalising their ties with government through registration in order to operate legally and receive funding under the Sports Act. It is, therefore, imperative that the escalating situation surrounding Eng. Moses Magogo and Fufa is handled within the established principles until such a time when stakeholders can come together to create a more inclusive and conducive environment for all. The author is a former football refereeThe post Not yet time to celebrate Magogo’s downfall appeared first on The Observer.