An opportunity for Moses Magogo to sign off on a high

Now is a good time. I personally would like to thank him for all his efforts to Ugandan football which can hardly be called small. Whether he is guilty or not, or whether it can be proved or not, doesn’t matter to me. He doesn’t have to wait for us to find out though.

Last week Fifa announced that it had suspended Fufa President Moses Magogo, from all football activities for two months. To this they added a 10,000 Swiss Francs fine. Reason? ‘Dealing’ 177 premium Brazil 2014 World Cup tickets meant for Ugandans.

Now, a black-market ticket of such caliber can fetch upward of $500. It isn’t therefore far-fetched to assume that this exercise could have gotten him 10 times what he was fined. And to that extent the punishment doesn’t match the crime.

Apparently this is because he entered a plea bargain which means he either agreed to plead guilty to a less serious charge, or to one of the several charges, in return for the dismissal of other charges or he agreed to plead guilty in return for a more lenient sentence. Most likely the latter as we know of only one charge so far. Still, I have a problem with all of this plea bargaining.

It doesn’t matter how or why he entered this agreement, for me, and to the extent that a leader must provide example and direction, he has failed in his key responsibility as a leader of Ugandan football.

And by the way the drama has just started. There is definitely a sequel to all this. To start with those who understand these things like City Lawyer Joshua Mwema says Fifa’s action isn’t consistent with what Fifa laws and laws of Uganda of Uganda advise.

And if we know Mr Mwema we will remember he never comes out for the fun of it. And there is Makindye West MP Honourable Allan Sewnayana who thinks the CID should peek into this file.
So, what a shame it would be if Moses Magogo loses out on this opportunity to put to rest this five- year rumor that has always hanged upon his presidency like a dark cloud.

I just don’t think that a two-month suspension is the way to do it. If all things held constant Magogo will be back at the helm in December. But if indeed he did sell the tickets or is owning up as a matter of collective responsibility, then he should resign

As much as that is alien to our leaders, I believe Magogo can harness political capital out of it. For starters, he has done a good job with Fufa overseeing our first Afcon qualifications in decades and the development of the junior and women leagues. Resigning allows him to leave on a high as opposed to waiting for the imminent low.

I personally would like to thank him for all his efforts to Ugandan football which can hardly be called small. Whether he is guilty or not, or whether it can be proved or not, doesn’t matter to me. He doesn’t have to wait for us to find out though. Now while he is relatively ‘free’ is just the right time for him to sign out and he might find that he is in good company in the new career he is said to be pivoting towards.