Magogo nominated, Kasule hangs on

Magogo, holding the ball looks bound to retain his seat unopposed. 

What you need to know:

  • Only the incumbent Magogo was nominated for the Fufa presidency as his challenger Kasule failed to meet the requirements on a dramatic day that saw a journalist assaulted and a car vandalized

KAMPALA. 

The process of returning nomination forms to confirm the candidates for the Fufa presidential elections later this year turned out to be more dramatic than anticipated. 

The confirmation of Moses Magogo’s candidature and the deferring of Mujib Kasule’s to Monday, outside the electoral committee deadline, came with much more than that on rainy Friday afternoon. 

First, Radio One/Akaboozi journalist Elly Kyeyune was allegedly assaulted by Fufa Big League delegate Hassan Kirunda and Uganda Cranes’ official Patrick Ntege at Fufa House, Mengo. 

Kyeyune, who blacked out temporarily, was treated for a bruised on his hand at the adjacent Lisa Medical Centre, rushed there by Fufa delegate Joseph Mwanje. 

“Kirunda saw me pulling out my phone to give a live update and thought I was taking pictures of the protest outside,” Kyeyune told this newspaper. Kirunda denied the allegations. 

The protectors carrying placards that called for the end of Magogo’s four-year reign had arrived earlier that the stipulated nomination time for Kasule who was booked for 2.30pm. 

Then, Kasule claimed that his car, a black Mitsubishi Pajero (short chassis), was stoned by a motorcyclist who then screamed that “mwe twabakowa” literally meaning “we grew tired of people like you.” 

Sunday Monitor saw the cracked window on his right hind side. He opted to report to the Police rather than get nominated. 

While Magogo’s confirmation as a candidate was seamless and lasted minutes from 4pm after which he promised to “consolidate the gains”, Kasule was even more dramatic when he returned from ‘Police’.

Fufa electoral committee boss Sam Bakiika postponed his nomination to follow a “meeting on Monday” as he lacked most of the prerequisite documents. This happened way beyond the 4.30pm deadline.

Kasule didn’t have a letter from any of the eight Fufa regions backing him. None of his backers came with him while none of the nine members he raised signed on the documents.

Also, they didn’t avail the committee with supporting academic documents, letters or passport photographs of his backers as required for this process.

Interestingly, his proposed first vice president Sam Mpiima, the Buganda delegate, came to Fufa after 6pm, with the process completed. 

If the Bakiika-led committee nominates Kasule, they will do so outside their deadline as the process was meant to wind up on Friday.

As of now, Magogo, given a guard of honour by chanting delegates as he made his way to the tent, looks bound to retain his seat unopposed.