Fare-thee-well Luwandagga

Veteran sports commentator Andrew Patrick Luwandagga died on Saturday morning. Courtesy photo

What you need to know:

  • The issue: Andrew Patrick Luwandagga.
  • Our view: His ability to learn the various sports, to mentor journalists, sports figures and others and to remain vigilant should be remembered.
  • We should not let his hard work and example be forgotten. Let us find a way to make what he has done for this country, a lasting memory.

Veteran sports commentator Andrew Patrick Luwandagga, who passed on last Saturday morning at his home in Namasuba, might not have won any medals or trophies for the nation, but he did so much for sports in this country.
His career began in 1975 when he joined Radio Uganda as a sports presenter. He then went on to rise through the ranks, going on to work with the national broadcaster, then UTV as a presenter and broadcaster. He worked with the Uganda Sports Press Association as general secretary and then president. He also worked as a sports reporter with the BBC World Service. Luwandagga is also said to have been part of the team that was hired to launch Multichoice in the mid-1990s.
And this is just part of the numerous things he did in his career.
The tributes that have flowed in from various quarters show how much he was liked and will be missed. Many have spoken about how he worked hard not just at his job, but to groom other sports journalists to be what they are today.

Luwandagga had such love for the sports field, and in this day and age, when many people leave their careers to pursue other jobs that are deemed more profitable, he stuck to the profession and sports in particular.
It is said he chaired a meeting in his office at 1pm on Friday on the upcoming World Cross Country Championships.
The next morning, he passed on. Luwandaga had put 41 years into his trade, giving it his all, all the time. He also loved his country because he would have thrived in any private TV station given his knowledge and standing but he stuck with Uganda Broadcasting Corporation.

People like Luwandagga should be credited as heroes in this country. In a nation where people are seeking to do things only for themselves, where people want to do the least work possible and get the most amount of pay, where there seems to be hardly any personal attachment of self to the country, Luwandagga has shown a difference.
His ability to learn the various sports, to mentor journalists, sports figures and others and to remain vigilant should be remembered. We should not let his hard work and example be forgotten. Let us find a way to make what he has done for this country, a lasting memory.