Countdown: 50-46 top athletes

Musitafa Mujuzi (L) and Timothy Awany

From the longlist, each journalist was asked to craft a list of 50 Ugandan athletes they think stood head and shoulders above their peers in 2019. The list was arranged in descending order, with No.1 being their best choice and summarily scoring 50 points. The points kept whittling down with a 50th pick consequently scoring just one.

To qualify to be on the final list an athlete needed to be scored by at least three journalists. Votes were then aggregated to give a raw score. The tiebreaker in the event that athletes tied on points was the number of individual votes cast.

New entrants dominate the first installment of our countdown of the 50 athletes that stood out in 2019. Neither of them made the grade last year when we put together our second list of athletes whose performances were definitive in 2018. For our third list, we have assembled 22 journalists from across Nation Media Group’s three stables (NTV, Daily Monitor and KFM). The journalists have their finger on the pulse of a multiplicity of sporting disciplines with bags of know-how in correspondence.

They are backed up by respected voices from track & field athletics (Sande Bashaija), football (Asaph Mwebaze, John Vianney Nsimbe), basketball (Albert Ahabwe), cricket (Denis Musali) and rugby (Herbert Wafula) whose contributions helped piece together a longlist.
The countdown of 50 best Ugandan athletes in 2017 will run from December 22nd before hitting a crescendo on New Year’s Eve. Today we look at athletes occupying positions between 50 and 46.

50. Musitafa Mujuzi
Age: 20
Team: Proline / Uganda
Position: Defender (football)
Rank: New entry

His unexploited potential somehow keeps him on the fringes of the Uganda Cranes. He might be rough around the edges, but his leadership abilities are not in question. He emerged as a leader when Proline won a Fufa Big League and Uganda Cup double under the stewardship of Shafiq Bisaso. While the contributions of Ibrahim Ssendi and Yusuf Mukisa at the back cannot be discounted, Mujuzi was the standout. He also chipped in with mature displays during Proline’s run to the Caf Confederation Cup playoff round, scoring a peach of a free-kick against Al-Nasr in Egypt. By that time he had already been confirmed as captain of the ‘Chan Cranes.’ He led Uganda to next year’s Chan finals without losing a match. BY DENNIS BBOSA

49. Charles Uhuru
Age: 27
Team: Hima Cement Heathens / Uganda
Position: Lock (rugby)
Rank: Re-entry

The driven maul off a lineout has been Hima Cement Heathens’ signature move since the Pope was an altar boy. Crucial to the execution of the set play in recent times has been the towering frame of Charles Uhuru.
Together with fellow lock Simon ‘Diego’ Olet, Uhuru was imperious at the lineout as Heathens stole a march on Betway Kobs and Black Pirates en route to winning an unprecedented 14th league title. An ever-present as Heathens chalked up 80 points (three more than Kobs), Uhuru was at the heart of the action; perfectly placed to put a guiding hand on the tiller. When Heathens transferred the captaincy to a pack member for the 2019/2020 season, it came as no surprise that Uhuru was coach Athiyo Muhammad’s pick.
It is also worth noting that Uhuru was one of a handful of players to leave with their reputation intact as the Rugby Cranes placed a disappointing third behind Kenya and Zimbabwe (in that order) in the 2019 Victoria Cup.

BY ROBERT MADOI.

48. Timothy Awany

Age: 23
Team: FC Ashdod / Uganda
Position: Defender (football)
Rank: 34 in 2018

Undoubtedly the KCCA FC best player in their title-winning season, Awany’s star continued to rise when he sealed a lucrative move to Israel top-flight side FC Ashdod where he hit the ground running. His steady development as a versatile defender aided him into the Uganda Cranes team that largely excelled at the Afcon finals Egypt. He came on for a hamstrung Hassan Wasswa to put in a commendable defensive showing against Senegalese and Liverpool speedster, Sadio Mane during a round of 16 clash. Awany is gradually turning into a Cranes mainstay and has polished up bits of his trade. BY DENIS BBOSA

47. George Aporu
Age: 30
Team: Nemo Stars/ Uganda
Position: Outside hitter (volleyball)
Rank: Re-entry

Although there was an anti-climax to the Aziz Damani Volleyball League as Sport-S pulled out of the third and decisive leg of the final, George Aporu stood tall for Nemostars. The talismanic captain was a huge influence as Nemo dragged themselves to the playoffs in a mixed regular season. Then he was the go-to man when the now six-time champions needed to get past pretenders Uganda Christian University (UCU) in the semi-finals. Aporu settled the first game in the best-of-three final, but was well targeted by Sport-S as they drew level in Game Three. You still get the feeling from the kind of year he had that he had it within him to get Nemo over the line in Game Three. Earlier in the year, he had captained Nemo to sixth place at the Africa Club Championships in Egypt. That’s the best ever finish by a Ugandan club in the continental competition. BY MAKHTUM MUZIRANSA

46. Harold Wanyama
Age: 38
Team: Mulago Kings / Uganda
Position: N/A (chess)
Rank: New entry

On January 11, Harold Wanyama headed to bed at 2am safe in the knowledge that a little over six hours later he would be at his Andela Uganda workstation on a routine grind. A couple of thieves, however, jumped the Fide Master an hour later and made off with his laptop, smartphone and Shs 50,000. After the mugging, it wasn’t until 11pm that Wanyama was discovered. The 38-year-old software engineer had been lying in a puddle of blood, fighting for his life for 11 hours. Initially given the all clear following several stitches to his head, a scan carried out on second option later revealed that Wanyama had a fractured skull and blood clot. Selected to represent Uganda at the 12th African Games in August, the Fide Master held his own against three Grand Masters. He beat one and shared the spoils with another in the Rapid Section. BY ROBERT MADOI

The panel
Robert Madoi (NTV Sports Editor), Fred Musisi Kiyingi (Daily Monitor & Ennyanda Sports Editor), Joel Khamadi (NTV Sport Anchor), Felix Manyindo (NTV Sport reporter), Sam Mpoza (NTV Sport reporter), Collins Muhwezi (NTV Sport reporter), Mark Ssali (NTV PressBox panelist), Usher Komugisha (NTV PressBox panelist), Andrew Kabuura (NTV PressBox host), Raul Kanyike (Ennyanda Deputy Editor), Innocent Ndawula (Score Editor), Andrew Mwanguhya (Daily Monitor Sports reporter), Patrick Kanyomozi (KFM Sports Editor), George Katongole (Daily Monitor sports reporter), Makhtum Muziransa (Daily Monitor Sports reporter), Allan Darren Kyeyune (Daily Monitor Sports reporter), Deus Bugembe (Daily Monitor Sports reporter), Elvis Ssenono (Daily Monitor Sports reporter), Abdulnasser Tajudeen (Daily Monitor Sports reporter), Eddie Chicco (Daily Monitor sports photojournalist), Ismail Kezaala (Daily Monitor sports photojournalist), Denis Bbosa (Daily Monitor Sports reporter).