Uganda Para Bodybuilding athlete Safalu Tamale continued to shine on stage and inspired many after he came top in the People with Disabilities Bantamweight category during the first edition of the East African Community Mr. 001 2021Body Building tournament at the Coast Gymkhana cricket grounds in Mombasa last week.

Tamale, 28,  who lost one of his legs in an accident and has since turned to bodybuilding with an eye on future Paralympic competitions, won a medal and prize for coming top in his category and was also recognised for his courage to show up and inspire others that are faced with various physical body handicaps.

In May, he also competed in the Mr. Kampala Bodybuilding Championship where he also picked an award for his show.

Uganda was also represented by several other bodybuilders in the various categories which included; Bantam, Lightweight, Heavyweight, Welter Uganda was the first East African Country to field the first-ever Person With Disabilities.

Lamech Muwanga (in the Lightweight category), Hakisam Kisekka (in the Bantam Category) and Yakub Bin Hassan Hassan (Mr. Physique Uganda) were the other outstanding contestants. Others  were Christopher Mutyaba, Farook Miyagi, Godfrey Lubega, Fathil Katumba, who travelled with Coach Faisal Katumba.

Other participants were from the countries that constitute the East African Community (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, and Rwanda).

The musclemen later called on the Government of Uganda and the private sector to invest in talent development through sports and creative arts as a way to engage the youth that are experiencing high unemployment threats.

The team was grateful to Rosefoam Uganda, Hearts Extended Uganda, and Redemption Youth Initiative for coming up and facilitating youth and Persons with Disabilities in participating in such engagements as a way of giving them exposure and a meaningful and sustainable livelihood.