Of a special kind of silly season and a sorry rugby weekend

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WHAT’S UP!

We knew it was going to be special when, during the Kawempe byelections a few months ago, a video clip went viral of one of the main candidates openly giving people money. When that candidate subsequently lost, she first conceded to the winner. But then, seemingly after advice from powers that be, filed a petition in court, where she alleged that her opponent had bribed voters.

A sympathetic judge agreed with her, and ordered for a new election. But the learned judge had not read the law properly and, of course, there would be no byelection, not this close to a general election.

It got even sillier with the just concluded National Resistance Movement (NRM) primaries, where the dishing out of money to potential voters were the main clips making the rounds. The interesting part is that most of the clips were made by the candidates’ agents, ostensibly for accountability. The candidate wanted to see that the money went to actual voters, not their agents’ pockets.

In the past, such ready evidence would have made the losers smile with envy, but the fact is that it is now taking part openly, apparently without fear of being prosecuted. The NRM electoral commission has reportedly received hundreds of petitions of malpractices, it will be interesting how that plays out.

The rest of the political parties are still to hold their primaries, but it is bound to get very interesting, if not downright silly. Maybe not to the comical heights we have seen, but as some folks say, ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet.’

Elsewhere, someone petitioned the High Court to stop Uganda People’s Congress’ (UPC) embattled president Jimmy Akena from contesting for another term as president, arguing that he had already served his constitutional two terms. And the court agreed, and so did Akena, who was almost gleeful in accepting the court’s verdict.

You see, Akena’s position as president of the UPC has always been under contention. But by petitioning the High Court to bar him from contesting for a third term, it means he had already served two terms, which means that, indeed, he is the current UPC president. And that is what made the former first son a very happy man. Silly, uh?

There are some very old men and women contesting for elective office, yet again. And the whole country is asking, ‘why?’ The unfortunate case of Moses Ali, the perennial MP from Adjumani, is a case in point. His condition is so bad that the NRM electoral commission had to go to him to get him registered.

I do not agree with those making fun of his condition, which has seen some Kenyan comedians, and even some Ugandan school kids, do so. But, why do they do it?

Someone offered an explanation: If your children are going to a $70,000 (about sh250.2m) a year school, you want to keep your source of income flowing. So, our politics is all about what the politicians get from the country, not what the country gets from them. It is silly, but sadly not funny. So, ‘tie yourself twice’ for a rough ride till next year’s general election.

What’s up with Uganda rugby?

The Rugby Africa Cup was held in Uganda over the past two weeks. It is arguably the continent’s biggest rugby showcase, with the best of African rugby (except South Africa) fighting for a chance to go to the Rugby World Cup in 2027.

It was well organised, and kudos must go to the Uganda Rugby Union (URU) for an almost seamless tournament. And the fact that it was held at Namboole stadium, albeit not inside the main stadium, was impressive.

What was not impressive was the performance of the hosts, Uganda. We last won the equivalent tournament, the Africa Cup, in 2007 in Madagascar. We lost to Zimbabwe in 2012, but have not come close since then.

Conversely, the game has grown and spread all across the country. Gone are the days when players were based only in Kampala, and a handful of clubs took part in the national league. There are dozens of clubs now, and the URU’s strategy of a club in every district is well on the way to becoming a reality.

Consequently, the pool of players is several times what existed in 2007. In addition, there is a lot more money being pumped into the sport, and there are reports that sh7b was promised by the Government for the tournament. I understand Ugandan players were paid sh1m per game they played.

Yet, at the end of the day, the Uganda Rugby Cranes were fighting against relegation to a lower tier on the last day of play.

They did manage to see off Cote d’Ivoire 37-17 in a scintillating game that meant Uganda rugby fans ended the tournament with big smiles on their faces, and could party through the night.

But, how can former champions be fighting against relegation? The debate is fast and furious on social media, as indeed it should be. With more people playing rugby and an exponential number of fans following the sport, questions are raised — what happened?
What went wrong? What can be done?

This is not a blame game, but the URU should seriously study where rugby is in Uganda, and where it is going. Ironically, the success in growing the game has meant closer scrutiny of its management.

Africa Cup 2007 champion Alex Mubiru had this to say at the end: “This is our level.”

But we should not stay there, we need to raise it.

You can follow Kabuye on X @KalungiKabuye