National Council of Sports must be investigated over alleged fraud and rot

By Jjagwe Robert

On Saturday 31st March 2018, we received news that thanks to some Whistle Blowers and efforts by the Group calling themselves UB40, a one Hajji Mugaga also Headmaster of Kibuli Senior Secondary School is to face disciplinary action over allegations of Sexual Harassment of female Students in his School, apparently aided by his ability to Misappropriate School funds. In a Newvision cover page story, it turns out that up to 18 victims have pinned Hajji Mugaga.

A similar situation is very much alive and happening at the National Council of Sports (NCS). Not only is NCS using Tax Payers’ money to Sponsor illegal activities in some sports federations but they are also the ones behind the non-ending wrangles in a number of Sports Federations of Uganda. The NCS has a habit of giving money directly to individuals who fail to account for it but instead they are added more money for Sports related activities.

This Situation went out of control last year when one of the General Secretaries at NCS, Dr. Ogwel Patric lost his patience and dragged a one Mr. Kavuma Fred to Kibuli CID Headquarters, Case Reference Number CIDHQTRS Ref 848/2017, over Misappropriation of government funds amounting to 137 million shillings. Surprisingly this case went silent and the same Mr. Kavuma Fred was added money to the tune of 30 million shillings again for Sports related activities.

The case of 137 million shillings involved taking Boxers to Germany while that of 30 million shillings involved taking Boxers to Tanzania. In Table Tennis, the NCS claims in its Annual Report of June 2016 to July 2017 that it advanced 53.8 million to the Uganda Table Tennis Association (UTTA) but UTTA has never seen this money. A quick look at some Annual Reports of the Auditor General shows that NCS has so many Red Flags over ridiculous practices like failure to avail Bank Statements to the Auditor General’s office, unexplained and unauthorized expenditures, etc.

What is even more absurd is that at the Commonwealth games 2018, the Table Tennis Coach has been left behind because UTTA released a dossier detailing extreme rot and fraud at NCS. A look at the list of those traveling to Australia for these games shows that the very NCS officials mentioned in the dossier are all traveling to Australia on Tax Payers’ money.

Again some of the NCS illegally preferred Sports leaders such as a one Mr. Kayondo Douglas are also involved in acts of Sexually preying on underage female Athletes. Despite notifying the NCS of this vice, the NCS simply swept it under the Carpet and continued to support and/or protect Mr. Kayondo as a Sports Leader. What is even more disturbing is that now there is more information that Mr. Kayondo organises competitions at the NCS Headquarters (MTN Arena) and it is at these competitions that he lures innocent school girls into his traps and Sexually exploits them. It is very disturbing how after the Kibuli saga, the NCS still remains in support of another leader also using Sports to quench his Sexual appetite using innocent young Athletes.

In the dossier released by Table Tennis and Boxing on 14th March 2018 at a press conference, the NCS is also accused of hijacking tables belonging to UTTA and locking them up in their store to rot away whereas there are national table tennis players who can utilize these tables and at the same time the national table tennis training center at Kololo Senior Secondary school is suffering a severe shortage of tables for its national players.

In the dossier, this has been referred to as Bullying of National Sports Associations. It is very disturbing how given the shortage of development funds and equipment in the sports sector, the national sports governing body, NCS can decide to lock up equipment so that it rots and decays over time when there are national players who can use it. These tables are now going to clock 2 years in the NCS stores located just behind the MTN Arena.

While NCS hijacked UTTA tables, their illegally preferred UTTA President, Mr. Kayondo Douglas was caught red handed by police from KMP, counterfeiting tables and logos belonging to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). This raised even further Red Flags on the integrity of the Leaders at NCS who support a man who can potentially set up Uganda for enormous fines in legal suits over counterfeiting international brands.

Petitions for action related to the above vices by NCS have been written and delivered to several offices including the Permanent and Under Secretaries of Ministry of Education and Sports, the IGG, the Auditor General, Speaker of Parliament, Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, etc.

However as has been the case with the Kibuli Headmaster, it is very vital that Ugandans themselves rise up against such blatant evil acts. Sports is one sector that can help us all to solve the problem of escalating and dangerous youth idleness. The continued mismanagement of NCS by individuals who have turned this body into personal property hinders the use of Sports to divert the danger, time and energy of unemployed youths into the more productive field of sports.