Misagga puts Fufa to task over fixing claims

Not Guilty. Misagga (C) and his lawyer Kagoro were all smiles as they left Fufa House, Mengo yesterday. PHOTO BY EDDIE CHICCO

The case filed against former SC Villa president Ben Misagga accusing him of attempting to influence a match official so as to obtain an improper advantage failed to take off yesterday after he asked to know his accusers.
Misagga had been summoned to the adjudicatory committee of the Fufa Ethics Committee through an e-mail signed by Darius Ruta, the chairperson Adjudicatory Chamber Ethics Committee.
But he responded by requesting to know immediately after his 3.40pm arrival who the complainant was in the case through his lawyer Friday Kagoro.
“They accuse my client of attempting to influence a match official. So they wrote to him and according to the summons there was a report made so we requested for that report upon arrival,” explained Kagoro after the session that lasted less than 30 minutes.

Failure to proceed
“We wanted to know the reason, who is accusing so they told us that they can’t avail the report immediately but they would summon us again and make a ruling on that matter. We shall return when we are summoned but we can’t proceed without the report. We don’t know who is accusing us. We just want to handle this process legally,” he added.
The summons which Daily Monitor saw, did not indicate the particular match in Jinja which Misagga attempted to influence.
It is thought the report implicating him was made after the findings from the Rt. Hon Dan Kidega-led commission of inquiry into match officiating, set up by Fufa mid last year. The report was handed over to Fufa in December last year with the federation assuring the public details and recommendations would be divulged after a Fufa Executive Committee meeting.
However one such meeting took place on May 25 at at Brovad Hotel in Masaka although there was no public mention of the committee’s report. Misagga who resigned last year as Villa president citing influence from the federation believes the charges are politically motivated.

Another case

Misagga is also involved in a court case in which he accuses the federation of failing to pay him commission from the deal that saw StartTimes sign a 10-year league sponsorship with Uganda Premier League. During a guest appearance on one TV show, Misagga enthused that Fufa president Magogo should acknowledge his role in the topflight TV deal. But the latter scoffed at Misagga and emphasised that their will be neither a commission nor an acknowledgement from country’s soccer governing body, Fufa.