Beleaguered KCCA pay the price for impunity

KCCA defender Gavin Kizito Mugweri. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
KCCA CEO Anisha Muhoozi mounted a spirited defence of the club’s innocence via X (formerly Twitter), emphasizing that they followed all necessary protocols before fielding Kizito. She pointed to the Uganda Premier League (UPL) as the custodian of matchday records.
KCCA have paid a heavy price for what appears to be a brazen act of impunity after fielding right-back Garvin Kizito, who was ineligible to play due to having accumulated three yellow cards.
According to the Fufa Disciplinary Panel, Kizito’s participation in the 2-0 win over Mbarara City on January 7 at Kakyeka Stadium was a clear violation of Article 26, Subsection 9 of the FUFA Competition Rules, which mandates automatic suspension in such cases.
Although KCCA insists they exhausted all avenues to confirm Kizito’s eligibility, the Panel found the club culpable yesterday and ruled in favour of Mbarara City’s appeal.
As a result, three points and three goals have been awarded to the Ankole Lions.
The ruling is a significant blow to KCCA, demoting them from third to fifth in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League table, with their tally now standing at 24 points.
Conversely, the decision propels Livingstone Mbabazi’s Mbarara City to 12th place with 17 points, offering them a much-needed boost in their survival bid.
Adding salt to injury
This scandal compounds KCCA’s woes in what has been a lackluster first round under Abdallah Mubiru, with the club managing just one win in their last seven league matches - a laboured 2-1 victory over a struggling Wakiso Giants side.
With this latest setback, questions loom over the club's administrative diligence, and there is little doubt that accountability will be sought as KCCA investigates who is responsible for this costly oversight.
The pressure is now squarely on Mubiru and his backroom staff to salvage a season that is rapidly spiraling out of control with the Kasasiro Boys now ten points adrift of leaders Vipers - if they choose not to appeal.
In its ruling, the panel stated: “KCCA loses the match by forfeiture, and Mbarara City is awarded three points and three goals.”
The decision is grounded in Article 26, Subsection 9 of the FUFA Competition Rules, which explicitly states: “A player who accumulates three (3) bookings (cautions) in a league and mixed-format competition shall automatically become an ineligible player for the next one physically played match.”
Oloya on the spot
It has come to light that Kizito received yellow cards in matches against Nec, Police, and Mbale Heroes, yet referee William Oloya failed to record the booking against the latter in his official match report despite video evidence - an omission central to Mbarara City’s successful petition.
The Fufa Referees Disciplinary Panel has handed Oloya a six-month suspension from officiating football matches, effective immediately.
This decision also reflects his failure to document a yellow card issued to KCCA goalkeeper Anthony Emojong during the same KCCA vs. Nec (that the home team lost).
Fufa confirmed these lapses in the final report Oloya submitted to the UPL Secretariat, highlighting a serious breach of professional standards. As part of his rehabilitation, Oloya is required to attend a refresher training program on accurate reporting, supervised by an instructor appointed by the Fufa Referees’ Office.
Oloya, an engineer and one of this year’s Fifa-certified referees, was expected to become the face of Ugandan refereeing following the retirement of Mashood Ssali.
However, he is no stranger to controversy. In May last year, he, alongside Steven Kimayo and Samuel Mbabali, was suspended for the remainder of the 2023-2024 season over a string of poor decisions.
Additionally, in October 2016, Oloya was sanctioned for suspect officiating in a match between Jinja SSS (now Busoga United) and, ironically, KCCA at Bugembe Stadium.
This latest suspension could be the turning point in Oloya’s career, as repeated lapses now threaten to overshadow what once seemed a promising future in refereeing.
We are innocent - Muhoozi
KCCA CEO Anisha Muhoozi mounted a spirited defence of the club’s innocence via X (formerly Twitter), emphasizing that they followed all necessary protocols before fielding Kizito. She pointed to the Uganda Premier League (UPL) as the custodian of matchday records.
"All data is loaded into the CMS system by clubs and referees, which UPL monitors and manages. The referee submits his report into the system post-match, and UPL relies on these reports for key match incidences," including cards, she clarified.
Muhoozi revealed that KCCA sought clarity from UPL regarding Kizito’s eligibility and was informed he had only two yellow cards on record, making him eligible to play.
She firmly concluded: "Note that KCCA does not have the liberty to make such clumsy mistakes. Do not be fooled."