Is SC Villa following Rwigyema to the grave?
Oct 02, 2019
He mingled with officials, journalists, and fans. For him he knew he was bidding them farewell, only to meet them again after he won the war of liberating Rwanda or in the next world.
Major General Fred Rwigyema was a football fan and a passionate supporter of SC Villa.
One of two clubs that emerged out of the abolition of Express FC by the military government in the seventies, SC Villa grew into the strongest Ugandan soccer club of all time.
This earned it nicknames like Jogoo which means a cock and Ssalongo which means father of twins, on account of its habit of winning two national league trophies in a year.
On the night of his leading the RPF invasion of Rwanda, Rwigyema had spent the evening watching his club SC Villa play KCC in Nakivubo War Memorial Stadium.
He mingled with officials, journalists, and fans. For him he knew he was bidding them farewell, only to meet them again after he won the war of liberating Rwanda or in the next world.
The KCC Villa match ended in a big loss to Villa of 3-0, a bad omen for Rwigyema who died a day later, October 2nd, 1990, becoming almost the first RPF casualty of the war that was to last another four years.
Rwigyema's death hurt many Ugandans for he was a popular general who was down to earth. But in his death, SC Villa lost a big supporter with his quiet backing. His close friend General Salim Saleh, also reduced his engagement with local football subsequent to Rwigyema's departure.
Although the club was not affiliated to any entity like their powerful rival KCC, SC Villa still had several influential supporters like its boss Patrick Kawoya and construction tycoon Andrew Kasagga.
These two have since passed on. Another influential funder Omar Mandela with time got fed up with the feuding that riddled the club and quietly withdrew.
Today SC Villa has declined to a shadow of its former proud self. It will be an achievement if the once-great club survives to the twentieth anniversary of Rwigyema's death next year.
Last season, Villa narrowly survived being relegated. As of now, nobody seriously talks of Villa when trying to predict the season's champion. We all pray that SC Villa does not its great fan, Fred Rwigyema, to an early grave.
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