Intrigue, sabotage kill rowers’ European dream

Omony was forced to row in the single sculls after his double scull teammate Alfred Okello failed to secure a visa to Germany. PHOTO BY AMINAH BABIRYE.

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lsewhere the quartet of Douglas Kisalare, Raymond Adiga, William Mwanga and Samuel Mpiira were selected for the Commonwealth Games Regatta (Scotland) and World Rowing Championships (Netherlands) but didn’t travel.

KAMPALA- Local rowing is in a slough after rowers failed to make it for the European Tour to compete in the World Under-23 Rowing Championships earlier scheduled for July 21-27 in Varese, Italy.

Alfred Okello, Arnold Omony, Felix Mukambya, Betty Nabifo and Susan Nabukenya were selected to represent Uganda but the regatta was scrapped off the tour.

“Fisa (World Rowing Federation) felt the Ugandans wouldn’t get visas in a short time,” national coach Rodrick Muhumuza told SCORE.
Instead Gerald Ssemambo competed in Varese finishing first in final D despite not being on the list that URF had sent to Fisa.

Okello, Omony, Nabukenya and Nabifo were again selected for the August 6-10 World Junior Rowing Championships in Hamburg, Germany. But Nabifo and Nabukenya were apprehended for missing training sessions. Only Omony traveled then. Constance Mbambu was then included on the list only for her name to be scrapped off at the 11th hour for missing training sessions.

Mbambu, though competed in the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing - China, where she finished last to spark off a blame game.

Muhumuza labeled her performance ‘wanting’ and pointed a finger at the federation’s failure to have her train regularly. Her club, Greenbelt, say they tried to get Mbambu to train in Penne Sculling Academy (France) but URF never blessed this move even when her school, St. Kizito SS, Luzira, offered to pay for her travel ticket.

According to Muhumuza, Okello, 18, needed Shs200,000 to pay for travel insurance to Germany. Muhumuza gave Greenbelt’s chairman Charles Batambuze Shs120,000 from a Shs300,000 loan he had acquired from Solomon Muwonge, the chairman Nalubaale Water Sports Club, to pay for Okello’s insurance. Batambuze had informed Muhumuza that he had Shs80,000 for Okello and only needed to top up.

When put on the spot by SCORE, Batambuze neither denied nor accepted. “Alfred needed more than Shs120,000. He needed $89 (Shs231,400).Why was I expected to add anything when Muwonge had paid the money?” Batambuze questioned. That is how Okello’s trip ended up in the smoke.

Elsewhere the quartet of Douglas Kisalare, Raymond Adiga, William Mwanga and Samuel Mpiira were selected for the Commonwealth Games Regatta (Scotland) and World Rowing Championships (Netherlands) but didn’t travel.

The four successfully paid for their visas and travel insurance and were only awaiting air tickets from Fisa only for URF president Hamza Kahwa to request the world body not to issue them. “I looked at the list and we had rowers born in 1980. My view was that we shouldn’t be investing in them,” Kahwa said in reference to Kisalare and Adiga. “My emphasis is on rowers under 23 years because they are the ones that have a chance to compete at Olympics 2016.”

However, in an email exchange between Muwonge and instructor Jim Flood, it emerged that the selection process for Scotland and Netherlands events was tampered with to accommodate Ssemambo. The latter was supposed to travel with coach Swaleh Kasibante but they didn’t make the trip as the rower’s visa had expired.

“I believe the selection process was going smoothly until Gerald was reinstated as a team member which meant that someone had to make way for him,” Flood wrote. Muwonge has since promised to pull out of rowing because his rowers Nabukenya and Mukambya didn’t travel after he invested a lot.

“Nearly Shs4.2million in this project,” reads one line in the email to Flood.
Muwonge also discloses that a lot of money has been mismanaged by URF including $23,000 (about Shs57.5m) sent by Fisa for the regatta in Kisubi.

“Everyone saw Flood’s report where he said this regatta was a success. People are now using baseless accusations to fight us,” Kahwa said without denying or confirming receipt of the money.

Muwonge has also written to the Minister of Sports, Charles Bakabulindi and the National Council of Sports accusing Kahwa of running URF as a personal company. He questions the involvement of Kahwa and URF vice president Fharuk Baluku, as executive members in Uganda Canoeing/Kayak Association.

“Most of the clubs that are registered have no athletes. Kisubi Beach has equipment and athletes but is not registered. Also clubs not doing any canoeing are registered as canoeing clubs so there is a problem in the two federations,” Muwonge explained to SCORE.

“I gave clubs a chance to build themselves by giving them a center at Garuga. I told them that we can take rowing to Ndejje University, train students and distribute them among our clubs but they refused,” Muwonge, who also runs Garuga Country Resort, continues.

Kahwa, however, says it isn’t his business to know how clubs run and URF will continue to lock out the clubs that don’t pay membership fees. He also says that URF signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kisubi Beach where the site only acts as a rowing centre.