Kayemba is dead
Former SC Villa and Cranes star striker Charles Kayemba was found dead in his house yesterday
By Joseph Kabuleta
Former SC Villa and Cranes star striker Charles Kayemba was found dead in his house yesterday. The gangly 30-year-old footballer is suspected to have committed suicide.
Kayemba, who was last seen by neighbours on Saturday night, locked himself in his house in Kamwokya with a tetra pack of milk.
When Police and friends broke into the house on Tuesday morning, they found a decomposing body lying next to a glass of milk, which they found to contain poison after tests at Mulago Hospital.
Kayemba was one of several Ugandan footballers who played semi-professionally in Vietnam from where he returned last year after the expiry of his contract.
His close friend and former SC Villa teammate Paul Mukatabala said Kayemba’s apparent suicide was shocking. “He looked jolly, I didn’t think he could commit suicide,†Mukatabala said.
Kayemba was top scorer in 1998 when his 12 league goals led SC Villa to their first championship in four years. His club form led to a national team call-up by then coach Asumani Lubowa.
But with the then-famous Andrew Mukasa-Hassan Mubiru striking partnership taking root in 1999, Kayemba was hardly given any playing time that season. He left the club at the end of that season and went to try his luck in the far East with a host of other Ugandans.
He is said to have converted to Islam just before his death. He will be buried in Lukaya today.
Former SC Villa and Cranes star striker Charles Kayemba was found dead in his house yesterday. The gangly 30-year-old footballer is suspected to have committed suicide.
Kayemba, who was last seen by neighbours on Saturday night, locked himself in his house in Kamwokya with a tetra pack of milk.
When Police and friends broke into the house on Tuesday morning, they found a decomposing body lying next to a glass of milk, which they found to contain poison after tests at Mulago Hospital.
Kayemba was one of several Ugandan footballers who played semi-professionally in Vietnam from where he returned last year after the expiry of his contract.
His close friend and former SC Villa teammate Paul Mukatabala said Kayemba’s apparent suicide was shocking. “He looked jolly, I didn’t think he could commit suicide,†Mukatabala said.
Kayemba was top scorer in 1998 when his 12 league goals led SC Villa to their first championship in four years. His club form led to a national team call-up by then coach Asumani Lubowa.
But with the then-famous Andrew Mukasa-Hassan Mubiru striking partnership taking root in 1999, Kayemba was hardly given any playing time that season. He left the club at the end of that season and went to try his luck in the far East with a host of other Ugandans.
He is said to have converted to Islam just before his death. He will be buried in Lukaya today.