New ULGU President Akot wants to grow game

Last month, Rita Akot Apell was elected unopposed as the new President of the Uganda Ladies Golf Union at an AGM held at Uganda Golf Club.

She replaced Doreen Mwesigye whose mandatory term of office has reached its conclusion. Akot had previously served as vice president during the leadership of Anne Abeja, meaning that her ascend to the highest seat of ladies’ golf in Uganda is not exactly out of the blue.

However, there is always a big chasm between vice president and presidency and Apell must now deliver on various fronts as the face of the game by virtue of occupying the big seat.

The soft-spoken Akot is under no illusions about the challenge on her hands when Daily Monitor engages her on what awaits her. “It all starts with the numbers—we can’t grow what doesn’t exist,” a candid Akot says.

“Clubs need to be deliberate, not passive, in creating incentives and programs that attract more women to the game. One of the key pathways to achieving this is through school programs that introduce and nurture interest from a young age.”

Akot, a Chief Information Officer at Stanbic Bank, only started playing the game eight years ago. But she has overtime built a passion for the game that she wants to use to positively impact golf.

“What drew me into golf administration was my love for the game, but more importantly, my passion and desire to see it grow—especially among women and juniors,” she says, with the glare of someone who intends to be true to her word.

“I want to remain steadfast in my passion—driven by the desire to see real change in the growth of kids’ and women’s golf. I believe that by nurturing these areas, we not only create new opportunities but also strengthen men’s golf and ultimately build a more well-rounded sport.”

For Akot, the glass is half-full and not her empty. She believes that there is a world of opportunities awaiting the Uganda Ladies Golf Union if all her colleagues and stakeholders pull their weight in the same direction.

“I hope we can collaborate with others to strengthen the unity needed to achieve our common goal—because together, we are stronger. Whether it’s clubs joining forces, administrators working hand in hand, individuals contributing, or fraternities across the sport coming together, it would be truly powerful to drive the growth of the game we all love.”

She calls it ‘autonomy within unity.’ “The Ladies need to drive their own agenda while still leveraging the support and strength of our male counterparts.

To be marketable and attract support, we must first be visible so that stakeholders can connect with and buy into our cause. Our focus will be on increasing the visibility and value of women’s golf and the Uganda Ladies Golf Union through targeted talks, awareness campaigns, nurturing sponsor relationships, and active club engagements—all aimed at building a strong foundation for long-term support.”

The elephant in the room as always is the funding conundrum. The money allocated to golf by the government, despite a noticeable improvement in recent years, is not sufficient enough but Akot is not about to create or hide in excuses.

“Funding remains a significant challenge—not just for women’s golf or golf as a sport, but for sports in general. There’s often no foundational funding to even implement key strategies, including fundraising itself.

But our starting point is to address this gap by advocating for equity in existing funding streams. For example, a portion of the affiliation fees paid by lady golfers could be redirected to the Uganda Ladies Golf Union.

“Additionally, when we host Ladies Opens, a percentage of the event revenues could be allocated to the Union. This would, at the very least, provide the basic resources needed to kickstart fundraising efforts and develop strategies aimed at attracting more sustainable funding through mainstream channels.”

Speaking of the professional side of the ladies game, Akot is aware that Uganda has only three female professionals; a number that means that it is very hard to attract any meaningful corporate injection towards the careers of Flavia Namakula, Irene Nakalembe and Evah Okatch Magala.

The new Uganda Ladies Golf Union boss acknowledged that this is a problem also faced in other countries. “It ultimately comes down to numbers—and this isn’t just a challenge unique to Uganda.

Even in neighboring countries like Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, where female professional golfers are beginning to emerge, the struggle is the same,” she reasons.

“The long-term goal is to build a critical mass by bringing together these small pockets of professionals into a regional league. This would create the numbers needed to attract sponsorship and inspire more women to turn professional.”

Achieving this would require collaboration with other Ladies Golf Unions across the region. “In the meantime, as the Uganda Ladies Golf Union, we remain committed to supporting our three professional lady golfers by setting aside a kitty for them during every Ladies Open event. This will not only help maintain competitiveness but also assist them in participating in regional tournaments.”

Akol’s executive committee includes Helen Lunkuse as vice president, Pamella Tumusiime as honorary treasurer and Gloria Mbaguta as honorary secretary. Mwesigye is serving as the Immediate Past President (IPP) while Charity Atuhaire and Peace Kabasweka are committee members.

Daily Monitor has learnt that the previous leadership of ULGU had a very fractious relationship with the Uganda Golf Union, the body tasked with governing the game in Uganda.

Akot, however, allayed fears of any such thing arising in her term. “Look, the game of golf is not Rita Akot Apell or Gloria Mbaguta or any of my members on the committee.

The game is the hundreds if not thousands of young boys and girls swinging in the various courses in the country while nurturing their talent.

“Those are the people who form the core of what golf is and should be. And whatever I do and whatever we do as a team, we must front the best interests of the game of golf because when we engage in divisive behaviour, we would be hurting the game. And yet our mandate is to grow the game and that is what we have set out to do in the time we are in office.”

Akot added that she has a great working relationship with Dr Jackson Were, the UGU President, because they ‘think alike in many things golf.’