Aldrine Nsubuga
14 June 2008
opinion
Kampala — THE last time FUFA supremo Lawrence Mulindwa lost his cool at a press conference, Dennis Mbidde lost his job as his assistant on the FUFA marketing and sponsorship committee. Then, the enemy according to him was within and he had been identified.
The line had to be drawn and so Mbidde had to go. This week, the president lost his cool again in the aftermath of the Cranes worst defeat of his reign. Who will lose their job this time?
The difference this time is that the enemy is clearly outside FUFA not inside. That is according to Mr. Mulindwa and he has volunteered a few suggestions even though categorically.
First among them, Joseph Kabuleta, his leading critic in the print media followed closely by Abdallah Mubiru who writes for a sister publication to Kabuleta's. "Saboteurs" is how he called them. The second category of the Cranes saboteurs is worse. This one, the president said, goes as far as bankrolling the likes of the Kabuletas to engineer a smear campaign before raising their game to literally pay the Cranes players to throw away matches.
Apparently, this way, this group hopes to make its way to Uganda's football power centre - the FUFA secretariat in Mengo. There is one problem though for Mulindwa this time. He can't fire any of the above because they are either working in their individual capacity or for someone else.
Not that he isn't aware because he assured all and sundry that, "they think I am an easy target but am not that simple. I will deal with them." I have been a neutral observer throughout, only my fingers have been itching to get to work. Developments like these are dream stuff for columnists.
When I checked, I discovered that neither Kabuleta, Mubiru nor the political saboteurs were in the starting eleven, never mind the Cranes line up that was walloped 4-1 by Benin last Sunday.
Indeed Dennis Onyango, David Obua, Jimmy Kidega, Andrew Mwesigwa, Timothy Batabaire and Eugene Sseppuuya the biggest culprits in Benin are not journalists, neither do they claim to have an idea about the precincts of a newsroom. Is it possible that roles were exchanged between Kabuleta's group and the Onyango's group? May be I missed something on the field that day.
The president also confirmed that $1600 in allowances was given to each of the Cranes players in Benin. Just how much more could his saboteurs have given to the same group to sell the nation?
The war is only just beginning. Only time will tell who between Mulindwa and Kabuleta is the better fighter. Eyes on the prize.
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