Positive parental input beyond the norm does occur in Uganda
Battle Hardened. Rugby Cranes prop Mugerwa holding the portrait of his late father. The Rugby Cranes first choice prop played for his country against Kenya even after learning that his dad had passed on.
PHOTO BY JERRY BURLEY
Anyone who has ever been involved in television work will have heard of “The Commentators Curse”, when comments made today come back to haunt tomorrow – “Hellsea United will clobber Munchester Rovers by at least four goals tonight” and then the exact opposite occurs.
Well, a couple of weeks back in this column I bemoaned the lack of parental input, nay even cursory interest in their children’s sport in Uganda. It seems I was wrong and that there are genuine exceptions.
The Friday night before Uganda clashed with Kenya at Kampala Club, the father of Rugby Cranes first choice prop, Asuman Mugerwa, succumbed to cancer.
Mugerwa himself was unaware as he was locked away in pre-match camp (designed of course to avoid the distraction of players during the build-up period), although he knew his father wasn’t well having actually seen him earlier in the day.
His mother then took the incredibly brave and selfless decision not to tell her son, for fear of causing the inevitable anguish that would result on the night before this huge international contest. She knew how much Mugerwa loved his rugby and was well aware of the likely effect on his and the teams morale if the news leaked out before the game. Although I have never met her (she has attended a couple of internationals where her son was playing) she shared his subsequent view that nothing could bring his father back and that the interests of the team and the country should now take priority.
In a country where local culture invariably places a person’s importance after death at a higher level than when said individual was still alive, this was indeed a brave decision. As it turned out, another party told Mugerwa about his family’s loss so he was actually aware before the match started and even though his mates asked if he wished to drop out, he refused, he too now putting his team and his country ahead of his obvious grief.
The loss to the squad of this iron-hard warrior would have been seriously detrimental at this late stage.
I hope one day to meet Mugerwa’s mother. I salute her and thank her on behalf of all Ugandan’s who wear their national hearts on their sleeves. We could do with more like her.
*Burley is a Ugandan-British dual national who has lived in Uganda for 30 years. He has worked in the tea, motoring, electrical power and mineral exploration industries and helped coach the Uganda Cranes when they first became African rugby champions. This column, as a one-off has run today, but check it out every Monday in our paper.
