Tribute: Many do this because Stuart tore down barriers

A football voice for decades, compelled with passion, precision, authority and inclusiveness.

For decades, local FM radio frequencies were voiced over by Stuart Kiwanuka Mutebi with football commentary and results being brought to the comfort of our cars, work stations and living rooms.

This gentleman who used his voice to describe and tell a live football story to perfection.

Stuart, as we all knew him, endeared himself to many to love and follow live football events on radio stations. He worked for CBS FM, Super FM and Star FM before NBS Television gave us a chance to finally attach a face to the voice.

He passed on on May 20 after a lengthy battle with illness that put him off the radio airwaves for close to two years.

Here was a man whom generations of football fans heard reading the Saturday afternoon football results on the airwaves, live football commentaries from Nakivubo, Namboole, Mbale, Wankulukuku and more commonly nowadays the European football leagues and the World Cup. That voice is synonymous with anything called sports.

Just like the late James Alexander Gordon, formerly with the BBC, who swayed global audiences to listen in to results of leagues every Saturday evenings, Stuart was our Ugandan equivalent.

Phrasing Mukono

You were always eager for the moment he raised his voice. Phrases like; ‘tanno’ to mean five goals were common.

He would then add: "Bamututte Mukono" to mean that a team had conceded five goals.

To deliver not-so-good-news, Stuart would lower his voice to say; ‘sufuri’ (nil in Swahili) or ‘kiiso kya mbuzi’ to imply nil in Luganda.

Listeners may have almost felt they knew him, and his popularity with fellow broadcasters was a key factor in ensuring his longevity as a sports journalist/anchor/presenter/pundit.

Seemingly ever cheerful, affable and jolly, his inclusivity, with especially the younger journalists, was always something to cheer.

On my part, as a teenager in the 90's fascinated by the game of football, especially local football, Stuart was the voice that endeared me to develop my passion for the game.

While at Namilyango College, CBS FM joined the airwaves and Stuart plus his CBS team won my heart.

With small radios and listening from the tail end of our beloved ‘Wembley’ pitch, where we could see from afar, the lighting of the newly-built Nelson Mandela Stadium, Namboole, as it hosted its first league game, a Kampala derby between SC Villa and Express, Stuart was at hand to relay it The description of Fred Tamale's winner for Express was something out of the roof.

He made sure the listeners understand each and every player on pitch, giving a brief history of whoever touched the ball. The nicknames were part of the story tales.

There were phrases like Edgar ‘Muzungu’ Watson, Hassan Mubiru ‘owe'mamba’, Andrew ‘Fimbo’ Mukasa and Sula Kato ‘corner specialist’, to mention but a few.

Arrogant Vogts

I finally crossed paths with Stuart physically when I had a short stint in the media as a sports reporter with Daily Monitor in 2006-7.

Nigeria, led by Nwankwo Kanu, came to town for an Afcon qualifying game against Uganda Cranes. We took our press seats ready to follow proceedings.

I was part of the Daily Monitor assigned to cover the game along with Innocent Ndawula (player interviews), Eden Kironde (match day report) and Eddie Chicco (photography).

I had been tasked by my editor Mark Namanya to cover the post-match comments from the Nigerians coached by the legendary Euro '96 Germany winning coach Berti Vogts.

He wasn't ready to have any of it after the loss inflicted by a well-marshalled Uganda Cranes. Swarmed by journalists in the dressing room corridors, with Stuart one of us, Vogts decided to ignore the local journalists and only spoke to the foreign ones. He spoke German!

Stuart was quick to assuage our worries with a joke. “Omusajja asazeewo kozesa ludica,” Stuart said, meaning that Vogts had chosen to speak in a dialect we didn’t understand. We all burst out laughing.

Cunningly, he went to befriend a foreign journalist, who helped translate what Vogts had said.

Stuart wasn't yet done. He told us to listen to his night updates on radio to understand what had been interpreted. LOL.

However, he was humble to mention to most of us (young journalists) to use Vogts' reluctance to speak a language we all understood (Vogts could speak English) as a case of ‘another story reporting angle.’

"Think outside the box,” Stuart said. "What about doing a post-match report explaining Vogts' reluctant character as the leading tone to a story?” he tickled our thinking.

Yes, the answer was with us. Bad Loser German. Germans hate to lose. Red-faced Vogts slams journalists. All these headlines ran in my mind for the next day.

Warm tones

If that moment didn’t stick, listening to results on the radio became a pseudo-religious experience.

The rest of the justification comes in the form of simple pleasures, and the greatest of those was always the post-match ritual of listening to the other results in the car afterwards, being soothed back into human reality by the warm tones of Stuart, the man who read them out on the airwaves.

Because obviously, no football fan lives in a bubble of only caring about one result. When you're from all over the place, you get two teams -- one from where you're from, and one from where you live now.

So the Tooro United result was always eagerly awaited as well as the Mbale Heroes’ one, and that didn't come until after the late evening sports programs.

I did follow Stuart's voice whenever he changed frequency. His voice over was unique, and all those that came after him were playing in the legend’s shadow.

At Star FM, he doubled as a Sunday morning oldies show host. Playing music of the years gone by and would quickly relate the date of the song's release to what sporting event was transpiring then.

A football man Indeed. That he was one of the pioneers of City Cubs Club, a feeder to KCCA, says a lot about a man who lived sport all through.

Rest with the angels Stuart. It’s Full Time. 

Stuart at a glance

Born: April 18, 1962
Died:  May 20,  2023

Parents: Eliphaz Kiwanuka & Margret Nanyondo (RIP)

Married To: Jennifer Kawuma Mutebi

Children 5 (2 boys & 3 girls)

Schools: 
Kiyudaaya Primary School, Bweyogerere
Mengo Senior Secondary School
Kyambogo University (Mass Communication)

Work Stations
Radio Uganda
CBS FM
Super FM
NBS TV
Star FM

Children: Oscar Kizito, Daisy Namukisa, Edward Mulina, Grace Namutebi & Danisha Mutebi Ndagire

Hobbies: Football, Boxing & News.

Beneficiaries: (12) Diana Nabiwemba, David Mubiru, Godfrey Ssebalu, Carlos Mbajja, Stephen Nkugwa, Roger Nsubuga, Geoffrey Musoke, Derrick Nsubuga, Samalie Namubiru, Milly Nansubuga, Sarah Ndagire & Jonah Mbajja