Uganda: Coach Mike Mutebi Reported Missing

Former KCCA and Uganda Cranes head coach Mike Hillary Mutebi has been reported missing, prompting family members and colleagues to appeal to the public for information about his whereabouts.

Posters circulating on social media are urging anyone who may have seen Mutebi to report to the nearest police station or contact his relatives.

According to family members, the veteran football coach does not carry a mobile phone and has been unreachable since Saturday evening.

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

Kenneth Robert Mubiru, Mutebi's brother, said the coach was last seen on Saturday evening during a church retreat at Kisubi Beach.

"He's been missing, last seen Saturday about 6:45pm at Kisubi Beach with his fellow church members," Mubiru said.

Mubiru explained that Mutebi had travelled with caretakers who are members of an unnamed church group but at some point wandered away from their attention and has not been seen since.

The development has raised concern among members of the football community and media figures.

Veteran journalist Hassan Badru Zziwa of The Observer shared the missing person alert on his X account, questioning where the celebrated coach could be.

Some sources familiar with the situation say Mutebi has reportedly been nursing mental health challenges in recent months, although this has not been officially confirmed by family members.

Phiona Namiiro, also known as Fifi Pinky, a presenter at NBS Sport, also appealed to the public to help locate the coach.

"I have heard rumors that coach Mike Mutebi might have boarded a wrong coaster from the one his prayer group was supposed to. They had gone for a retreat. If this is true kindly report his whereabouts to the nearest police. Mike is an asset to the country and needs all of us," she wrote.

Mutebi is widely regarded as one of the most influential football tacticians in Uganda, particularly for his work with KCCA.

His most recent coaching job was with AS Kigali in Rwanda, where he served as head coach until April 2022, when the club dismissed him after about four months in charge following a run of poor results.

Before that stint, Mutebi had left KCCA on March 29, 2021, ending a highly successful five-year spell during which he won three Uganda Premier League titles, two Uganda Cups, four Super Cups and one Cecafa Clubs Cup, cementing his status as one of the club's most successful coaches.

Authorities have not yet issued an official statement regarding the disappearance.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.