Jjagwe confirms exit, three declare candidature

Cyrus Muwanga (L) and William Blick. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
Jjagwe turned down advice from Uganda Boxing Federation president Moses Muhangi who said removing the term limits from the constitution and extending Jjagwe’s tenure “is the best thing to do.”
Robert Jjagwe dismissed rumours that he is planning to amend the constitution to prolong his mandate as Uganda Table Tennis Association (UTTA) president.
Jjagwe clarified that the imminent amendments will only align the constitution with the National Sports Act 2023, a process he said must be done by June 2025.
The UTTA Constitution 2017 allows the president, the general secretary and the treasurer only eight years in office, whether consecutive or otherwise.
Thus Jjagwe’s first full term started in January 2017, meaning he can no longer stand unless the constitution has been amended to that effect.
“I won’t amend the constitution in my favour,” Jjagwe told the Annual General Meeting at Baguma Restaurant in Nakasero, Friday afternoon, a meeting his general secretary Ronald Andira had declared illegal. “And no one should tamper with the term limits even after me.”
Jjagwe turned down advice from Uganda Boxing Federation president Moses Muhangi who said removing the term limits from the constitution and extending Jjagwe’s tenure “is the best thing to do.”
Hence, three delegates expressed their interest in filling the vacuum.
Former table tennis player Cyrus Muwanga, the proprietor of Grand Maria School, was the first to announce his candidature.
“I think I’m the best candidate for the job, I played the sport at the highest level, I am a successful businessman, well-educated and principled person,” said Muwanga, who won a gold medal at the 2006 Africa University Championships in Pretoria, South Africa.
“Running a school needs teamwork, same with running an association.”
In March 2024 Muwanga was in Accra, Ghana to watch Sam Ankunda, Jemimah Nakawala, among others, playing for Uganda at the African Games.
Muwanga represented Uganda at the first Islamic Games in Saudi Arabia in 2005 in addition to playing several tournaments in Thailand, Egypt, etc.
In 2022, he held a Kids Training Clinic at his school, which the UTTA president hailed “as very successful.”
“I want to prioritise sponsorship. If I managed to get sponsorship from a major company like Airtel for just a school tournament, how about when I have the mandate of a national body?” he said. “We can’t wait for NCS.”
Plotting comeback
Emmanuel Matsetse, who lost his presidency via a vote of no confidence in 2010, for reasons he calls “malicious,” wants to return, promising to attract more partnerships and promote table tennis for people with disabilities.
Matsetse, who studied a Masters in Sports Science at the University of Peloponnese in Greece, is the proprietor of Mbale Tigers, one of the biggest table tennis clubs in the country.
John Isaac Bageya, who boasts of pioneering table tennis in Kamuli, Busoga through Table Tennis Kids Uganda, is also eyeing the UTTA presidency.