German expert advises UAF to stop sidelining coach Kasajja
Cheptegei (left) celebrates after winning gold in the 10,000m in Oregon, USA. He is one of the runners Kasajja has handled. PHOto bY AFP
What you need to know:
Despite his outstanding performances, Rafael Kasajja won’t be appointed national team coach because he is deemed to have supported Julius Achon, who unsuccessfully tried to take over leadership of the local athletics body in January. Kasajja also angered UAF leaders after he disagreed with their move to cover up for coach Peter Wemali, who was accused of sexually harassing female junior runners in March.
KAMPALA
In life, there is that one person who never loses faith in you even when the whole world turns against you. Coach Rafael Kasajja has endured a torrid time dealing with the leaders of Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF).
While he has produced incredible results in a very short time, UAF managers continue to frustrate him. They consider him a saboteur working for the downfall of Africa’s second oldest athletics federation even as he has invested personal resources to support helpless athletes.
In the ideal world, Kasajja should have been the head coach for Team Uganda at the recently-concluded World Junior Championships where his athlete Joshua Cheptegei won 10,000m and Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where he had more than five runners on the squad.
He won’t be allowed to board the plane, however, because he is in UAF’s black book.
He is thought to have supported former junior world champion Julius Achon, who unsuccessfully tried to take over the federation’s leadership at the start of this year.
Kasajja’s magical work, though, has not gone unnoticed especially by genuine athletics lovers. Gunter Lange, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) development manager, has praised Kasajja for his exceptional work. “It makes me sad to learn that such a coach is being sidelined because he is considered ‘opposition’,” Lange said during the second National Sports Development Action Plan workshop that climaxed Wednesday at Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC).
Stop politics
“All federations must stop playing politics and focus on performance,” added German Lange who, who spent four years (2009-2013) working as a technical expert at the Ministry of Education and Sports under the auspices of the German Sports Cooperation Programme.
During the four years, Lange was hugely involved in the matters of track and field. Severally, he has commended UAF for doing great on certain fronts but is clearly not impressed by their dirty politics. He left at the end of his contract but returned this week on a short-term follow-up project.
“Rafael is amazing. He was my student and I can tell you he is such a character. It’s rare to get a coach who can produce medals from 800m up to 10,000m and cross-country.” Without any support from UAF, Kasajja started a club three years ago with athletes that were hitherto unknown on the national scene. In just a short time, his athletes are now dominating national races and shining for the country in international competitions.
This year alone, Kasajja’s runners have won five medals at major championships, four of them gold. Ronald Musagala, who burst onto the scene in 2012 and qualified for the Olympics at the first time of asking, opened the season with gold at the Africa Cross-country Championships before his counterparts Cheptegei and Winnie Nanyondo took top positions at the World University Cross-country Championships.
Both events were staged at Entebbe Golf Course in March. Going into the World Junior Championships in Oregon, many expected UAF to appoint Kasajja the team coach but they overlooked him. Nalis Bigingo instead took the team to USA.
More baffling for Lange, Kasajja was also kept in the cold during the Commonwealth Games in Scotland. Nanyondo won 800m bronze in Glasgow while Musagala made the 800m and 1500m finals.
Kenya situation
“When a coach produces such world class athletes, you must motivate him. There is no reason you should send your friends to coach the team and frustrate a productive coach,” Lange argued, promising to meet the coach, thank and motivate him for the tremendous job.
The German advised UAF that fighting such a coach would be counterproductive in the long run. “There is a possibility that the federation will lose control of top athletes handled by such a coach. We have seen a similar situation in Kenya,” he explained.
Lange used Kasajja’s Performance Made in Uganda Limited project as an example of how local sport can develop even without foreign support during his presentation to federation heads and some UOC commission members. “Rafael’s model is a classic case,” he said. “Local coach, local sponsor, local physio and with all school-going runners.” Kasajja’s team is now financially supported by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
Top performances of kasajja’s athletes in the year 2014
Joshua Cheptegei
*Gold at the World Cross-country Championships
*10,000m gold at the World Junior Championships
Winnie Nanyondo
*Gold at the World University Cross-country Championships
*800m bronze at the Commonwealth Games
*800m national record at the Monaco Diamond League
Dennis Opio
*First runner to clock 45 seconds in a local 400m race in over two decades
Ronald Musagala
*Gold at the Africa University Cross-country Championships
*800m/1500m finalist at the Commonwealth Games
