Onyango: Humble beginnings beget a star

The year 2016 was an extraordinary one for Dennis Masinde Onyango, the Uganda Cranes goalkeeper. In September 2016, he stood between the posts when Uganda beat Comoros, to qualify for the Africa Football Cup of Nations, (AFCON) for the first time in 39 years. During qualifications for Gabon, he conceded only two goals.
He was declared the best player in his club, the Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa and the best goalkeeper of 2016, in the South African league. His club became the champions of the Football League of the Republic of South Africa and Champions of African Clubs, 2016. The Mamelodi Sundowns also represented Africa at the World Club Championships 2016 in Japan, which included representatives from Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.

As he waited to travel to Abuja, Nigeria to be declared and crowned Confederation of African Football (CAF) best Africa based player 2016, news came through that he was now considered the 10th best goalkeeper in the world. Like is said in the Bible, that a prophet is not recognised at home, Dennis Onyango, though nominated did not scoop the FUFA sportsman of the year award in his native country Uganda. The above achievements and exploits by Onyango have prompted me to trace his origins and the opportunities accorded to him and others along the way.

Origins
The name Onyango is found among the Luo speaking and some Bantu tribes of East Africa. According to Augustine Oguttu, the football coach and promoter of Nakawa United FC, many tribes claim Onyango as one of their own. Some call him a Japadhola, others an Acholi and very few know that Bantu speakers such as the Samia of Busia and Namayingo districts also have names such as Onyango, Ogoola, Odoki.
Onyango is the son of Gabriel Onyango from the Samia Balindu clan, and comes from Buduli village, Butangasi parish, Masaba Sub-county in Busia District. This is the same parish where former Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki is from. His father, who is now retired, was born in November 1952 and went to Kololo Senior Secondary School after which he joined the enforcement division of the Departed Asian’s Property Custodian Board (DAPCB). Dennis Onyango’s mother, Nakato Musoke Olive Onyango, hails from Mpala village, near Nkumba University on Entebbe Road. She works as a laboratory assistant at Makerere University Medical School, which is currently being hosted by the Mulago National Referral Hospital Directorate of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kawempe.

Gabriel and Olive Onyango were blessed with four children. Lillian Nabwire the eldest, who studied librarianship is self-employed and married to a man from Kasese. Ivan Mudambo who follows her, did Music, Dance and Drama and is self-employed. Dennis is third in the family and is followed by Hellen Ajambo, who works as a librarian at Ggaba Seminary.
Dennis Onyango has a splendid relationship with his parents and siblings in Uganda and according to them is very helpful. He had for instance over Christmas just given a new smart phone to his father, Gabriel. Although his siblings have not taken to sports as a profession, Mudambo used to play volleyball, while Ajambo used to play netball in primary school. They, however, closely follow his games.

Going back to his roots
In his book, Dreams from My Father, by former US president Barack Obama, his sister Auma, says it was so refreshing going back to their village home in Kogelo, which she looked at as ‘home squared’, because it brought back together, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers and grandparents in that village setting.
On December 23, last year Onyango’s parents, children, relatives and friends made a five-day pilgrimage to their village home in Butangasi, Busia District. Dennis took along his footballing friends Simeon Masaba, Ssali and Mugalu. His mother, Nakato brought along two of his aunts. The idea behind the pilgrimage was firstly, to celebrate Christmas among their people. Secondly, to introduce, Dennis and his siblings, who had grown up in Kampala, to their clan and Samia community.
According to the father, people used to call him all sorts of tribes, so this was meant to put clarity to Dennis Onyango’s origin and lastly, to baptise Dalio, the lastborn of Dennis’ three children. Dalio was baptised in the local village church, which his great grandfather, Ekisoferi Mahoni founded in a grass-thatched hut.

The Balindu clan and community were informed beforehand and invited to the relevant activities. The family bought the food to feed their guests and hired cooks to prepare it. A bull was slaughtered and on December 25, musicians came in the early morning and entertained guests, who wined, dined and danced for two days.
Dennis and siblings were introduced to the clan and community and Dalio baptised. They also went to Masafu to watch their Balindu clan football team play in one of the football matches of the Samia’s from Uganda and Kenya, an annual event.
According to Ajambo, while in Busia, the elders gave Dennis blessings for him to win the best Africa based player of the year award.

Developing the football career
When the DAPCB was disbanded, Gabriel and Olive moved to Railway quarters in Nsambya, where they raised their children. This is where young Dennis during his primary school days got the chance to start kicking the ball around.
As little boys, they had two teams in the railway quarters, ‘Mategula’ and ‘Mabaati’. From there, he started going to the Sharing FC playground at Nsambya, where one coach took interest in him and started taking him to competitions.
Onyango wanted to go to St. Peters College, Tororo for his secondary education, and was indeed offered a place there, but his parents felt that it might be difficult and expensive to take him there and visit him, so they took him to Kitante Hill School. Because of playing football, he would come back home from school after dark between 7 and 8pm, which worried his mother. So it was a welcome move for her when Ntanda College, near Gombe Secondary School took him on from Senior Two for his footballing skills.

After school, he joined the first division Sharing FC from where he was bought by Villa FC.
It was while at Villa that he was invited to join the under 23 national team. When current Cranes Coach Milutin Micho Sredojevic who had been his coach at Villa FC, moved to St. George FC in Ethiopia, he persuaded Onyango to join him. Villa FC had wanted to sell him to Yanga in Tanzania, but Onyango opted to join his former coach, where he stayed for two years.
Micho has played a key role in Onyango’s football development. While he left him in Ethiopia, it was not surprising that Onyango would follow his mentor to South Africa, where he played for several clubs such as Palangwa FC, Super Sport FC and finally Mamelodi Sundowns FC.

While with Super Sport, Onyango came to Uganda to play against Kampala City Council (KCC), a game in which Brian Umony scored against him.
It was Bobby Williamson who invited him to the national team and through several CECAFA tournaments and wins enabled him to develop to a point where he could replace Zambian Mamelodi Sundowns star keeper, Kennedy Mwene and as they say, the rest is history.
The CAF award winning best coach of 2016 Pitso Mosimane of Mamelodi Sundowns has also played a key role in nurturing his team to stardom.