Red Eagles at crossroads after Kabenge bows out
Jan 04, 2009
ONCE-UPON-A-TIME fan following Express FC is embedded in a leadership crisis after interim committee executive secretary Kavuma Kabenge insisted that he was out of any football administration in the country. Kabenge has been running the club affairs since
By Sabiiti Muwanga
and Swalley Kenyi
ONCE-UPON-A-TIME fan following Express FC is embedded in a leadership crisis after interim committee executive secretary Kavuma Kabenge insisted that he was out of any football administration in the country.
Kabenge has been running the club affairs since the resignation of the then chairman Sam Kiwanuka in 2007.
“I am out football administration because it is no longer an economic activity. There is nothing to manage in Ugandan football and I have failed to justify it to my wife,†Kabenge said yesterday when asked to clarify his position in the club.
Kabenge had in October put his resignation in writing when the FUFA disciplinary committee decided to dock Express six points and a fine of sh2m after finding The Red Eagles guilty of causing the abandonment of their Uganda Super League match against Bunnamwaya at Nakivubo in September. He echoed it at the burial of staunch Express fan Maama Baker Kazibwe in December.
However, a number of Express diehards and fans are not happy with the way the club has been run in recent years ever since Vincent Bbaale Mugera let go of the mantle in 1997.
“First of all there was the idea of making Express a limited liability company where members would buy shares. This slowly kept away many of the club’s benefactors and well-wishers who felt they would not fit into the new arrangement,†Pastor Joseph Musiitwa, who is secretary to club patron Rabbi Ezekiel Mulondo explained to The New Vision. He noted that keeping out the board of trustees in the club’s administration was one reason for the decline.
“We must reconstitute the board of trustees and have a fully-fledged executive if Express is to emerge from the sorry state it is now,†Musiitwa advised.
The Red Eagles finished the first round in eighth position on 27 points, 13 off the pace of leaders and traditional rivals KCC.
Musiitwa said his views were shared by other (former) trustees like Sseggwanga Musisi,
Kaddu Sserunkuuma, Dan Muliika (former Buganda premier) and many others.
Although Kabenge said he is no longer at the helm, he denied knowledge of who was in charge when asked whom to contact on official club matters. He however spoke with a lot of authority on the current situation to the extent that he ruled out any player leaving the team during the January transfer window. This was after a question about the fate of goalkeeper and skipper Godfrey Wakabu, who was said to be leaving for Tanzanian outfit Simba. Kabenge also ruled out any club move to recruit during the same period. The kind of authority he exhibited during the interview showed that he had indeed not let go.
But many Red Eagles followers blame Kabenge on the quagmire the club is currently entangled in. They say that his high-handedness has kept a number of potential financiers and advisers at bay.
Way forward
Musiitwa contends that it is now up to Rabbi Mulondo and Prince Kassim Nakibinge to pull the club out of the doldrums.
The two, he says, should convene a meeting of prominent Express fans to forge a way forward.
“With Kabenge downing tools, who is in charge of the club now? Does it still exist and will they play in the league’s second round?†Musiitwa wondered, adding that there were also reports that coaches and players alike had gone unpaid for several months.
Nakibinge appointed Kabenge in the caretaker position and has been one of the main funders of the team for the past two years. It is also reported that he was the main force in bringing Sam Ssimbwa to save the club from relegation in the 2006/07 season where also the current Simba coach won the Kakungulu Cup against all odds.
Another prominent fan proposed that the powers-that-be call an assembly and brief fans. “I am sure the fans will respond positively if the bosses appreciate their importance,†he said.
But another puzzle will still emerge on who takes over from Kabenge. Many poosible candidates are likely to shy away from the responsibility of raising Express from mere participants to its past glory of title contenders.
Already former chairman Godfrey Kirumira has backed out. He is reported to have said that after he was thrown out in 2006, he got involved in more pressing issues that do not allow him time for football. But he has offered to help financially if need arises and is approached.
Other candidates include businessmen Muhammad Ssebaggala and Habib Kagimu. But the latter only has an outside chance because most of the time he is out of the country.
Former fans’ boss Francis Ntalazzi also has the qualities and has been on good terms with all stakeholders in the past –– administrators, players and fans –– but he also seems to have heavy responsibility at his Ministry of Health work station that it will take a lot to convince him.
Something needs to be done to save Express!
and Swalley Kenyi
ONCE-UPON-A-TIME fan following Express FC is embedded in a leadership crisis after interim committee executive secretary Kavuma Kabenge insisted that he was out of any football administration in the country.
Kabenge has been running the club affairs since the resignation of the then chairman Sam Kiwanuka in 2007.
“I am out football administration because it is no longer an economic activity. There is nothing to manage in Ugandan football and I have failed to justify it to my wife,†Kabenge said yesterday when asked to clarify his position in the club.
Kabenge had in October put his resignation in writing when the FUFA disciplinary committee decided to dock Express six points and a fine of sh2m after finding The Red Eagles guilty of causing the abandonment of their Uganda Super League match against Bunnamwaya at Nakivubo in September. He echoed it at the burial of staunch Express fan Maama Baker Kazibwe in December.
However, a number of Express diehards and fans are not happy with the way the club has been run in recent years ever since Vincent Bbaale Mugera let go of the mantle in 1997.
“First of all there was the idea of making Express a limited liability company where members would buy shares. This slowly kept away many of the club’s benefactors and well-wishers who felt they would not fit into the new arrangement,†Pastor Joseph Musiitwa, who is secretary to club patron Rabbi Ezekiel Mulondo explained to The New Vision. He noted that keeping out the board of trustees in the club’s administration was one reason for the decline.
“We must reconstitute the board of trustees and have a fully-fledged executive if Express is to emerge from the sorry state it is now,†Musiitwa advised.
The Red Eagles finished the first round in eighth position on 27 points, 13 off the pace of leaders and traditional rivals KCC.
Musiitwa said his views were shared by other (former) trustees like Sseggwanga Musisi,
Kaddu Sserunkuuma, Dan Muliika (former Buganda premier) and many others.
Although Kabenge said he is no longer at the helm, he denied knowledge of who was in charge when asked whom to contact on official club matters. He however spoke with a lot of authority on the current situation to the extent that he ruled out any player leaving the team during the January transfer window. This was after a question about the fate of goalkeeper and skipper Godfrey Wakabu, who was said to be leaving for Tanzanian outfit Simba. Kabenge also ruled out any club move to recruit during the same period. The kind of authority he exhibited during the interview showed that he had indeed not let go.
But many Red Eagles followers blame Kabenge on the quagmire the club is currently entangled in. They say that his high-handedness has kept a number of potential financiers and advisers at bay.
Way forward
Musiitwa contends that it is now up to Rabbi Mulondo and Prince Kassim Nakibinge to pull the club out of the doldrums.
The two, he says, should convene a meeting of prominent Express fans to forge a way forward.
“With Kabenge downing tools, who is in charge of the club now? Does it still exist and will they play in the league’s second round?†Musiitwa wondered, adding that there were also reports that coaches and players alike had gone unpaid for several months.
Nakibinge appointed Kabenge in the caretaker position and has been one of the main funders of the team for the past two years. It is also reported that he was the main force in bringing Sam Ssimbwa to save the club from relegation in the 2006/07 season where also the current Simba coach won the Kakungulu Cup against all odds.
Another prominent fan proposed that the powers-that-be call an assembly and brief fans. “I am sure the fans will respond positively if the bosses appreciate their importance,†he said.
But another puzzle will still emerge on who takes over from Kabenge. Many poosible candidates are likely to shy away from the responsibility of raising Express from mere participants to its past glory of title contenders.
Already former chairman Godfrey Kirumira has backed out. He is reported to have said that after he was thrown out in 2006, he got involved in more pressing issues that do not allow him time for football. But he has offered to help financially if need arises and is approached.
Other candidates include businessmen Muhammad Ssebaggala and Habib Kagimu. But the latter only has an outside chance because most of the time he is out of the country.
Former fans’ boss Francis Ntalazzi also has the qualities and has been on good terms with all stakeholders in the past –– administrators, players and fans –– but he also seems to have heavy responsibility at his Ministry of Health work station that it will take a lot to convince him.
Something needs to be done to save Express!