By Juma Ali.
National Insurance Corporation Netball club team manager Jocelyn Ucanda has been declared the new Netball Uganda president. Ucanda and her entire executive committee of Twelve were unopposed at the Netball Uganda elective assembly held on Saturday October 26 at the National Council of Sports headquarters in Lugogo.
Uganda Netball Federation has got a new substantive leadership after being entangled in leadership wars which led to government disbanding of the executive that was led by former legislator Babirye Kityo who was forcefully removed from office just about two years into her term of office.
The president elect, Jocelyn Uchanda will be deputised by William Bwambale the president of Uganda Primary Schools Association, the duo were elected unopposed.
The new executive according to the chairman normalisation committee Mr. Moses Mwase will be sworn in December after his committee have finalized the report and furnished it to the World Netball Federation and to the National Council of Sports.
“The newly elected Netball Executive will also be sworn in December after the Normalisation Committee has organised and accounted for the funds it received on behalf of the Federation and after Associations have elected their leaders who will represent them at the Federation,’’ Mwase said.
This ends the challenging era for netball in Uganda. Last October, the National Council of Sports (NCS) withdrew the Federation’s certificate of recognition, citing “persistent governance and leadership issues.”
In response, World Netball established a Normalization Committee in November to restore order, organizing these elections and implementing constitutional reforms to set a stable foundation for the sport.
Expressing her commitment to revitalizing the sport, Ucanda emphasized, “I feel empowered to steer netball to another level. We all know that netball has been in limbo for some time, and the beneficiaries of the game, the athletes, were very much affected. Some of them have left the country, while others have joined other sports. Our coming in marks a new era for Netball in the country.”
She further outlined her vision to unite the Ugandan netball community, assuring athletes that the new leadership is committed to their growth and professionalism.
“We want to create unity with the sports fraternity, reconciliation such that we work together for the better of our game,’’ Ucanda stated.
“ I take this opportunity to call upon all those who love the game to come back and we work together, sports is about reconciliation.’’ She said.
Ucanda, the manager National Insurance Corporation Netball Club and former She Cranes manger says that she has come in with a wealth of experience of 18 years serving the game and she will lean on this to stear the development of Netball.
She previously ran for the presidency against Sarah Babirye Kityo, who won the prior election but was later suspended jus after serving for about two years.
Brigadier Flavia Byekwaso served as interim president during this period but recently withdrew from the presidential race citing transparency issues.
In addition to Ucanda’s leadership, the new Executive team includes Veteran Dr. Sarah Nkonge the Buganda Association chairperson and Richard Muhumuza as vice presidents for administration and technical matters, respectively. Aminah Mande has taken on the role of General Secretary, while Yusuf Kamulegeya will serve as the Federation Treasurer.
Aminah Mande and Muhumuza Richard return to the Executive after they were suspended from the previous Babirye Kityo’s regime.
