Andy Kigozi the rally man who never wears trousers

By Harry SagaraHe is suave, debonair and has a serious loathe for trousers. That is Andy Kigozi for you. A man whose name crops up in the same vein with motor rallying in Uganda. If you didn’t know, Andy (like he prefers to be called) was sired in a world of motor rallying, his dad was a motor rally ace and mum a great fan. He most probably sucked the lust for motor rallying through his mother’s breasts. Little wonder that he entered his first competition when some of us were still at single-figure ages.Speaking to him over a drink recently, I discovered he is one guy whose personality is easy to get along with. He is light hearted and won’t hesitate to get a light side out of any situation. During our discourse I noticed his appreciation of God’s creation when he would get taken up (though briefly) by the waitress’ looks before getting back to our conversation-just like any other man.So, Andy Kigozi hates trousers-Why? You, like anybody else must be wondering.“No I don’t hate them. I just feel more comfortable in shorts,” He says while sipping fruit juice. Douglas Mazune, a Motor rally reporter at The New Vision swears that in the last five years he’s known Andy, never has he seen him in trousers. Something Andy himself confirms.“I stopped wearing trousers in February 1993 when the Pope came to Uganda,” he begins. “We were organising the Pope Memorial rally when a motorbike exhaust pipe burnt my sheen. Doctors then advised me to put on shorts,” he says before adding that from that day he has never looked back.“I later realised that they were very cheap so I gave away all the trousers I had.”At 39, Andy is no spring chicken, he has been there and seen it all when it comes to the love of his life—Motor Rallying. Born to the 70’s motor rally ace Eddy Ntege, Andy grew up to like the sport so much that he vowed to be in that cockpit at one time.“One time (looking up and thinking hard), I think it was in the late 60’s, I saw my dad flying his car. I said to myself that one day I would be like him,” he says with a tinge of nostalgia.The drive to get involved in rallying saw him work as an equipment officer in the O.A.U. rally of 1975. His childhood idol then was some chap called Markel Allan.“Man, I saw that guy spin his car in the Covmo Rally sometime in the late ‘70s and (sigh) ...oh my God, it was so impressive. I really admired him,” Andy says.Speaking of spinning rally vehicles, after a stint as rally navigator for some good years, Andy finally got his hands on the wheels in 1984. He was in the league of the Sam Ssali’s, Ed Clays Kayiwa and Jimmy Dean (RIP) who later became one of his best friends. He was last in a competitive rally in 1995 before opting to throw in the towel. Andy later settled for rally administration, a feat that saw him become general secretary for Uganda Motor Club (UMC), the oldest rally club in the country. During the good old days when Jimmy Dean was still alive, they (Andy and Dean) conceived an idea of forming a rally club that stood out of the crowd. Unfortun-ately Dean passed away before the idea was delivered. Dean’s death actually prompted Andy and his cronies to start up the Fraternity Motor Club. He says that this was the only way he could honour Jimmy Dean as a friend and as a big-time contributor to the local motor rallying scene here.“We are trying to have a club with a difference. We want to demystify rallying in Uganda. We want to make it a fan’s thing,” He says before elaborating on how the new club—Fraternity Motor Club –– is out to change the face of rallying in Uganda.“We are not at logger heads with anyone, we just want Ugandans to enjoy motor rallying,” He adds before telling of how any car can actually go for a rally.“We want to involve all these Japanese cars, lorries and motorbikes in motor rallying. You just need anti-roll bars in there and classification and you have an enjoyable rally,” he says.“With Fraternity Motor Club in place, we (the lesser mortals) will be able to compete in rallies and walk with our heads high, the way Charlie Lubega or Moses Lumala do,” he says.