OBUA FACES ARBITRATION

By Daniel SaireHE has been in office for seven months and 21 days now but trouble is looming over FUFA president Denis Obua.Kayunga and Kalangala districts have petitioned the Arbitration Court challenging his election that took place on December 1, 2001, which they want, annulled.Justice Yesero Mugenyi of the Centre for Arbitration and Conflict Resolution (CADER) Court has set the hearing date for Wednesday starting at 10.00am.The petitioners through their lawyers Nyanzi Kiboneka and Mbabazi Company Advocates claim that Obua was illegally elected. They accused FUFA Returning Officer David Agong of allowing over 30 district associations to vote when they did not have at least five teams in the first division as required by the constitution governing FUFA.They also said that Agong allowed non-member districts to participate in the elections. “New associations are admitted to FUFA by the general assembly but nobody admitted Kyenjojo, Kamwenge and Nakapiripiriti,” Badru Sentongo, a delegate from Kayunga said. The petitioners also contend that Obua did not get 50% of the total votes cast as required by the constitution.Obua won the elections with 70 (44%) of the 158 votes cast. His two challengers Hajji Abbas Kaawaase and Michael Okiror got 49 and 39 votes respectively. “Football matter are not supposed to go to normal courts but the constitution allows for arbitration and this is what we have done,” Sentongo said. “We are not against Obua but against the unconstitutional means used,” he added.Obua is serving a three-year term that ends in 2004.FUFA secretary Haruna Mawanda said they were yet to get the court sermons. “I have heard about it but we have not been officially invited. But we are planning to talk to our lawyers tomorrow (today),” he said.Kampala lawyer Francis Buule is FUFA’s counsel. Ends