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The Weekly Observer (Kampala)

Uganda: A Slow, Painful Demise

David Lumu

2 July 2008

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Peter Rwamuhanda who died on June 9, aged 55, after a long battle with cancer, was one of Uganda's greatest athletes. By the time of his demise, Rwamuhanda had one leg and was living in a shanty two-roomed house in the Kampala suburb of Lungujja.

Yet for all his achievements on the track and as a coach, history unjustifiably buries him in the shadow of his childhood idol, the legendary John Akii Bua.

For the record, Rwamuhanda is the only athlete to have represented Uganda in the 110m hurdles, 200m, 4X200m relay, 400m, 4X400m relay, 400m hurdles and 800m races. He's also one of the few Ugandans to have won medals at the Commonwealth Games, All Africa Games, African Championships, as well as participating in the Olympics.

The diminutive runner achieved what many athletes can only dream of; yet he still insisted: "I never reached my full potential."

I met Rwamuhanda at his house in December last year and was shocked by the appalling condition I found him in.

"I'm happy you came because few people have the guts to come and see me," he said, struggling to hold back tears.

Looking at him, it was easy to forget this is the man who wowed the crowds with his speed, agility and consistency in a career that spanned nearly two decades starting in 1968.

The calling

Rwamuhanda grew up in Kabale, south western Uganda, as a skilled footballer.

"Football was my passion and I never thought I would be track star till I went to Nyakasura School for my Secondary education," he told me. But he was too small to compete with the big boys and got tired of warming the bench. Frustrated, Rwamuhanda soon became a sporting all-rounder and competed in several track and fields disciplines, from shot-put to sprints, to hurdles.

"I also threw the Javelin until my teacher Peter Marvin advised to me concentrate on athletics."

The breakthrough came soon after he finished A-level. It was at a regional athletics meet in Bushenyi that Rwamuhanda, after leaving the rest of the field in his wake in 400m, emerged as a hot prospect.

As a 20 year-old, Rwamuhanda qualified and was part of the Ugandan team at the 1973 All Africa Games held in Lagos, Nigeria. He finished seventh in the 400m hurdles final but spurred the 4X400m team to gold after running the last lap.

"The Nigerians weren't happy settling for silver and hid the gold medals at the prize giving ceremony," he recalled.

Splendid career

Specialising in the 400m hurdles, Rwamuhanda went on to win gold at the East and Central African Championships in 1976 to qualify for the Montreal Olympics in Canada. But he could only finish fourth in the 400m hurdles after slipping on the last hurdle while leading the legendary Edwin Moses.

"I still believe Moses wouldn't have beaten me and won the gold had I not got over excited as I reached the finish line," he recalled.

Rwamuhanda won another bronze at the 1978 All-Africa Games in Algiers, Algeria. He then qualified for the Moscow Olympics in 1980 which were boycotted by the United States and a few other countries. However, to the shock of everyone, Rwamuhanda declined to travel. "I didn't want to go...go and do what, compete with Russians?"

At the pinnacle of his career in 1982, he reclaimed the regional title and went a step further by bagging silver at the African Athletics Champions held in Cairo, Egypt. Later in the year, Rwamuhanda won another silver medal at the Brisbane Commonwealth Games in Australia.

"My biggest joy was beating the Kenyans Koskei and Kimayos," he said.

Rwamuhanda stayed in Australia for two years and managed to become the 400m hurdles champion of the country in 1983.

The stage was set for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics but a troublesome injury at the African Olympic qualifiers in Tunis ruled him out of his favourite 400m hurdles, hence settling for 400m flat.

It didn't work out though and Rwamuhanda finished a disappointing fifth in the final.

Open-minded team leader

Aside from his track success, Rwamuhanda was known to be an open-minded person, always the team spokesman and had no fear to air out their views.

On the other hand, he was viewed by many as a hot-tempered loudmouth. As such, he was often in the bad books of athletics officials.

Local officials tried, unsuccessfully, to prevent him from competing at the 1978 All Africa Games, to the extent of hiding his passport. But Rwamuhanda, with the help of team-mates, somehow found his way onto the plane up to Algiers where he was arrested for seven days only to be released on race day.

"I also remember one guy called Lawrence from Bahamas who saw me crying after winning silver at the Brisbane Games and asked why I was crying yet I had won a medal. I couldn't tell him what was going through my mind. One of the team officials even refused to congratulate me. It was that bad!"

Retirement and coaching

Rwamuhanda went back to Australia in 1984 on a scholarship, studying sports administration. Upon his return in 1990, he was appointed the sports officer for Uganda Posts & Telecommunication, and his role covered several sports disciplines, including handball and netball. Rwamuhanda was later appointed the Olympics athletics coach for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and kept the two roles till 2002 when he retired from athletics completely.

And when UP&TC was sub-divided into four different institutions (Post Bank, UCC, Posta, uganda telecom), Rwamuhanda was subquently laid off in 2004.

"It was so devastating. All I had left was a pick-up which used to help me with all the work but I wasn't doing so badly because it used to make me some money that was enough to maintain my wife, three daughters and two sons."

But Rwamuhanda was gradually becoming weaker. "My body was weakening and I could no longer do my daily road-work, the pickup was getting problem after problem."

Cancer attack

To make matters worse, Rwamuhanda realised in 2005 that he had cancer. The cancer had started showing signs in 2002 with his toes.

"I did not feel much pain apart from watching them become blacker. Then at the start of 2004, the toes became harder and the whole foot got paralysed," he told me. "I went to hospital and got some tablets and injections but the doctors were not sure what I was suffering from."

In a rapid change of condition, the paralysis moved up to his knee. "When I realised I could not move anymore on my two legs, my wife took me to Mulago Hospital but even there it took several sampling to detect I was suffering from cancer."

"I sold off my pick-up to pay for the medical bills hoping that may be I might walk again but the disease was just eating up my leg," he said.

With hope fading by the day, Rwamuhanda was left to make a brave decision on the advice of his doctor; he agreed that his leg be amputated up to the knee.

Meanwhile, bills were accumulating and Rwamuhanda was exposed to the harsh reality of being out of work, having no side income and also fighting for his life.

Worse still, Rwamuhanda's misery was a few people's gain.

"I remember in 2006, my former coach Malcolm Arnold came to see me while shooting the late Akii Bua documentary. He asked me whether I had received the money he had sent me through National Council of Sports to help me. I told them I didn't get a penny. He was shocked but could do nothing. Good enough, the very people he had channelled the money through were also present but they also feigned ignorance."

But Rwamuhanda was not the kind to go around pleading for what was his.

"Up to today I've not received the money and I've heard of many other offers that have not reached me but I will never go knock on the door of NCS for the money, only God will pay them," he lamented.

Rwamuhanda left behind two sons and three daughters and was buried at his ancestral home in Kabale on June 11.

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