KAMPALA – The government of Uganda will investigate the force behind the ‘mass retirement’ of The Cranes’ team members, John Chrysostom Muyingo – the State Minister for Higher Education told parliament last week.
Minister Muyingo, in the company of Hamson Denis Obua –the Minister of State for Sports was on Thursday appearing before the Parliamentary Committee of Education to argue the Ministerial policy statement of the sector for the next financial year. At this forum, Busia Municipality MP, Geoffrey Macho as well as his counterpart of Kalungu West, Joseph Ssewungu – separately took interest in the matter – tabling the issue of the Uganda Cranes’ players’ resignation; urging the Ministry to explain.
The MPs concerns followed the ‘retirement’ of three Uganda Cranes key players – including skipper and custodian Denis Masinde Onyango as well as Hassan Wasswa and US based Mike Azira – all declaring their resignations in a space of less than a week.
Impeccable sources within The Cranes’ ‘corridors’ revealed that the list of players set to retire had at least seven key members but Fufa supremo and Budiope MP – elect, Eng. Moses Magogo swiftly ‘invited’ Onyango, in the week for ‘peace-talks’ – in a bid to diffuse the ‘plot.’
“Onyango is a significant-figure in this issue because all players listen to him; for he never takes arbitrary decisions……so his teammates feel him all the time,” reasoned our source, adding that Eng. Magogo took the right decision to meet him before the situation had totally gone out of hand.
It should be noted that players’ exit from the national team, started when another ex-Cranes member – Sulaiman Mutyaba ‘launched’ a campaign – demanding for unpaid allowances and wages for the various line-ups that had represented the country in different competitions. At first, Eng. Magogo responded to the demands in an arrogant tone – describing players’ output as ‘shitty’; clobbering and arresting of Mutyaba at Fufa House – Mengo but later complied as players received their entitlements. Onyango and Wasswa had separately supported Mutyaba’s move.
On Thursday minister Muyingo expressed fears that more players were likely to quit – the reason government had taken interest in the matter.
Sports Minister – Obua on his part told MPs on Thursday that the retirement was normal, reasoning that there was a time for everything – but committee members disagreed.
Jonam County MP, Emmanuel Ongiertho Jor insinuated that the resignations of The Cranes’ team members could be a product of poor management at Fufa. But Obua was up again; – assuring the committee how his ministry was interested in the matter before revealing that some of the players had disclosed to him that they had wanted to retire. He added that the current election mood at Fufa was also a springboard to the players’ resignation.
The Fufa polls, which started last week at the district level will climax on August 31 with the election of the president and his executive. Incumbent, Eng Magogo is set to face a stiff challenge from a number of Ugandans; and two – including Makindye West MP, Allan Ssewanyana and Proline director, Mujib Kasule have since declared their intentions to contest. Four others, according to our sources, are likely to, separately announce their interest in the topmost job at Fufa in the coming days.
