Govt to probe nonpayment of netball coach's salary

The Government has said it is going to probe the allegation that the national netball team (She Cranes) coach has gone unpaid for nearly two years.

The decision follows She Cranes coach Fred Mugerwa spilling the beans over nonpayment of his wages immediately after the netball team went to Kampala Serena Hotel to celebrate the achievements made at the 2023 Netball World Cup in Capetown, South Africa.

According to Mugerwa, the only modest amount (shillings 500,000), he got since he began was when he participated in the Nambia pent series.

On hearing the complaints the sports state minister Peter Ogwang responded by assuring sports fans investigations would be executed.

"For the record, [the] Uganda Netball Federation runs the affairs of netball on behalf of the Government, with the supervision of the National Council of Sports, which releases funds to the federation as per their planned activities," Ogwang said on Tuesday.

Ogwang said it was his first time to hear about the nonpayment of the She Cranes coach's salary.

In May 2023, Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (central government) proposed that witnesses from the Uganda Netball Federation, led by a former legislator Sarah Kityo, be placed on oath while those who refused to appear were summoned when the words and figures they spoke before the committee were not adding up.

The committee, led by Busiro East MP Medard Ssegona, was looking into the alleged gross mismanagement shillings 100 million under the Auditor General's report for the financial year 2021.