The fallen sports scribes

Death, Aldous Huxley once wrote, is the only thing we haven’t succeeded in completely vulgarising. Leo Kabunga, Kenneth Matovu, Simon Peter Ekarot and Francis Batte were renowned sports writers but yesterday they died in a tragic accident before any of them could realise his dreams. Andrew Ndawula Kalema and Anthony Mugeere look at the lives of the fallen Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) members: Leo Kabunga The oldest, and most experienced reporter on The New Vision’s sports desk, Kabunga was a stabilising factor in a department dominated by youngsters. Youngsters that included some of his bosses. They all looked up to him as a sort of father figure, the man who had seen it all. A teacher by training, Kabunga hardly spent a year in the classroom, before discovering his true calling. First he worked at Uganda Times then Star newspaper, before joining The New Vision. His gruff nature, and unique brand of humour quickly endeared him to his associates, though outsiders found him rather unapproachable. As organising secretary of the Uganda Sports Press Association, he in fact cultivated a no nonsense image. For those of you who believe in the power of the dead over the living, you can say Kabunga’s death was a response to a call from his late wife, who passed away a few months ago. A typical African man, Kabunga looked lost without his spare rib. A chain smoker, his smoking sessions became more frequent and lasted longer. The clouds of smoke following him around the New Vision compound was the only visible sign of the emotional volcano raging inside him. A man of habit, Kabunga would dash straight home every evening after handing in his assignment, to link up with his family, leaving the rest of us exchanging bits of gossip from the sports world. After his wife’s death, Kabunga started leaving the office even earlier, probably to play father to his young children, all of them in their primary school. Following his wife’s death, Kabunga became very close to his children. His only regret was that he had decided to become a parent rather late in his life. On his last day at work, Kabunga talked about how close he was to his children. To him, every penny he earned was for his children whose future is now in balance. He was Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) lynch pin, the chief whip, who put to use his age and seniority in the profession, to instill discipline in the young members. USPA meetings will never be the same, with him gone. Kenneth Matovu Kenneth was simply brilliant. His death is not just a loss to his family, and the sports fraternity, but to the whole country. Through his Sunday column, the 26-year-old Kenneth had managed to pull back thousands of sports enthusiasts, who had lost interest in local sports because of the poor standards. Before he joined The New Vision, Kenneth contributed stories to Market Place, Uganda Express and The Monitor, before joining The Crusader. It was while at The Crusader that Kenneth’s raw talent caught the eye of The New Vision Sports Editor Louis Jadwong, who immediately hatched a plot to poach “the most talented sports writer in the country”. The New Vision sports journalist Andrew Ndawula Kalema, who happened to be Kenneth’s lookalike, was deployed to establish contacts. Because of the resemblance between the two, The Crusader editors assumed they were relatives. Kenneth soon joined the The New Vision sports stable, where he took sports writing to hitherto unknown levels with his colourful writing in depth analysis. His give-them-hell approach to analysing sports issues was in sharp contrast with his laid back nature. People meeting him for the first time, would be taken back by the casually dressed figure, hunched over the computer, punching away. He always had time for an argument, especially if the subject was football. Although he loved soccer to distraction, he never supported any local side. His love was all for New Castle. Kenneth was a moderator on the popular weekly television live phone in talk show Sport On on WBS Television on Sunday’s with his colleagues Mark Ssali of The Monitor and Joseph Kabuleta. He was a pioneer panelist on Radio One’s popular Locker Room show. His tendency to call a spade, not just a spade, but also a rotten worn out spade, earned him a number of enemies, specially corrupt sports administrators. But it also got him a lot of admirers; he was getting more fan mail than the stars he was writing about. Strangers would stop his look alike, Ndawula, on the streets, to comment on Kenneth’s column. Ndawula would faithfully carry the threats or pats on the back to Kenneth. “Kyoka guy toyokya” was his standard response to the numerous compliments from his fans. A single track minded writer, he would already be absorbed in coining yet another rabble rouser. Matovu had just secured a six months scholarship at Cape Town University, which he was expected to join later this year. He was the leader of a group of journalists, that was looking to storming the Ugandan Golf Open this weekend to enjoy themselves on the 19th hole, like they had done for the last four years. It doesn’t matter on which side of Kenneth’s sharp pen they found themselves on, sports fans agree Kenneth was the best thing to happen to Ugandan sports, since Idi Amin. Simon Ekarot “Wangaala nga pound ya Bungereza (Long live like the British Pound),” Ekarot always said whenever he got a favour from someone. The ever jolly sports journalist did not live even 30 years. His trademark was a beaming smile. A smile that opened doors, and made him one of the most resourceful writers on the sports desk. He seemed to know everyone, and would always know who to call up to tie up a loose story. Colleagues often teased him about his nationality, as he seemed to be at home with all the major national languages spoken in the region, and will all foreign visitors to Uganda. Ekarot had just returned from Libya where he covered the U20 team during their tour to Tripoli. He worked his night shift on Monday and was preparing to return to Tripoli for the Indian Jamaharia Day on September 1. Armed with his air ticket, Ekarot reported to office yesterday morning to finalise plans to travel to Tripoli. He was a very jolly man who would laugh even when he was in trouble. He was also the Ugandan correspondent of African Soccer Magazine. Ekarot’s career as a sports journalist started with the Soccer World, then with Monitor Sport, before joining The New Vision. To him writing sports was not just doing a job to earn a living. It was a way of life. The sports fraternity was his family. When he went for kwanjula (introduction ceremony) a few years ago, there were more journalists and sports administrators in his party, than relatives. His wife and three daughters were well known to New Vision staff, who would tease Simon that he acted more like a sibling to them, than a father. He dotted on them. Francis Batte Jr: Minutes before he met his death, Francis called Monitor offices and asked one of his colleagues to order for him lunch. He never made it to the office. It was Francis’s older sister, Jane Batte, a journalist by profession, who introduced Francis to the world of journalism, after noticing the young man’s keen interest in sports. That was 1998. Batte started freelancing for The New Vision sports desk while still at Makerere University, and was ear-marked for a sub-editing role as soon as he finished his course. But The Monitor were also eyeing him during that period, with the 23 year old soon crossing over to The Monitor, to become deputy sports editor. Batte was a renowned football and rally fan. In his Wednesday column, From the Touchline, he pointed out the ills in the game. His prayer was that there was sanity in both games. He was also elected General Secretary USPA, a position he held until yesterday. Batte made up for his short height with a fully confident attitude towards everything and anything in his path. He never seemed daunted by any person, task, or challenge, which he proved by taking up the number two sports position at The Monitor and holding it for the last two years. Ends