Robert Jjagwe, Uganda Table Tennis Association president’s pleased with the solidarity and family spirit from the sports sector showed to him during tough time he was going through as he stated it bellow,
“Greetings and i hope you are all well. Please allow me thank all the people who have stood with me during this difficult time when i was admitted to Mengo Hospital with Multiple Blood Clots in my Brain. I want to thank them for the solidarity and family spirit that they showed.
I thank all those who came to the Hospital to check on me that included USSSA (Mr. Okanya Patrick sent by Mr. Justus Mugisha), Alfred Odong (of Gymnastics), Hussein Kalule (of Ludo), UOC President, Dr. Rukare Donald, my table tennis family (Achuma Benjamin, Muzafaru Samanya, Regina Nakibuule and Andira Ronald). I understand that some others came in the earlier days when i was still in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) but they were declined entry and many others wanted to come but they were told the ICU was out of bounds.
I thank you all for your concern, love, solidarity and prayers. I was indeed very lucky to get out of my situation in the ICU without surgery. By God’s Will and Grace i responded so quickly to the medication and the health scare resolved faster than the Doctors had anticipated. They attributed this to my active sports lifestyle where i was playing 4 days a week and for minimum 2 hours a day. The Original plan was to allow for some relief so that an operation could be done quickly.
Gensis of Health Problem
I developed very traumatising, intense and serious headaches 2 days before Iddi Day. I did 2 scans. The first scan (a non-contrasted CT Scan) missed the problem but a follow up MRI Scan (Contrasted) saw that my entire Jugular Vein had developed Blood clots that were hindering blood from flowing out of my Brain back to the Lungs. This is the main vein that takes blood out of the Brain. The clots had also created another blockade that was stopping water from draining out of my head as it normally should.
Current Situation
I Spent 5 days in the ICU and due to my good response to the medication, the doctors opted not to operate me and instead transfered me to the private ward section for another 6 days. During that time the headaches went down drastically and it became clear i was about 70% out of danger. To stem the hospital bill (which had reached 12.2 million Ugx) we decided to go home.
Right now i still have some headaches that come and go. Sometimes they are strong and sometimes mild. I am still under very heavy medication that makes me dizzy and my eyes developed a double images problem that is dissipating very slowly. I was actually on the verge of a major Stroke as my eyes (during the first 4 days in the ICU) had atually become cross eyed but have now gone back to their normal positions, thank God, much as they still have a double images problem.
The doctors tell me that i have another 5 months until all the clots have dissappeared but i have another MRI in 3 weeks time to check the extent of the dissappearance of the clots then the Doctors decide on further management.
The Doctors have allowed me some minimum usage of my phones and Laptop for now but no more than 1 hour per day. 2 weeks ago it was only 20 minutes per day. So i guess i am recovering quite well. Save for the headaches, dizziness and drug effects, for all else i feel quite fine.
And i sincerely thank you all for your prayers. I also greatly thank my God who never lets me down. By the time i was taken to the ICU, the doctors told my handlers that mine was 50 – 50 case of either a seriously adverse medical issue or that i get out of it by responding to the medication followed by surgery. So God is really Great.
The Sports Sector Turmoil
I started writing this communication on Wednesday this week when my doctors gave me a green light to return to my phones and Laptop. Normally i would write it all in just about 30 minutes but due my eye problem and the Doctors’ 1 hour limit on these gadgets, i have spent about 4 days writing it.
Of course it is not good that as Secretary General of the Union of Sports Federations and Associations (UUSFA) and President of Table Tennis, i have been largely silent on many matters on going but i hope many can understand what i have been going through and the need for me to recover well plus the Doctors’advice for me to stay away from the phones that have waves which disturb the brain hence jeopardizing the healing process.
However i have been following slowly especially on TV and what is happening in our Sector is very bad and very sad. I think this must be the worst occurence in the history of Ugandan Sports due to the several investigations by serious organs of the State and the arrests of National Sports Federation (NF) Presidents (Netball’s Sarah Babirye and Boxing’s Muhangi Moses)
Analysis of the Arrests of NF Presidents
Ofcourse these arrests are clearly not correct and they are unnecessary. Because for instance those who know Muhangi, know very well that he can not missappropriate (or eat) a mere 3.5 million Ugx when he spends over 20 million Ugx on the Boxing Champions League every 2 weeks. Of course no one spends 20 million every after 2 weeks but they go and eat some mere 3.5 million Ugx. It does not make any sense at all to any reasonable person.
Secondly the timing of Babirye’s arrest even on other charges (separate from the NCS feuds) is also very suspect. The Commonwealth games at which these allegations of money for Visas cropped up ended last year in early August 2022 and up to now, no such adverse issue had happened to Babirye. And we are now in May 2023. So why did the complainants wait until now?
The internal NCS Audit Function
I always thought that an internal audit was meant to correct internal problems before they go out and become big problems. So to find that the NCS Audit of the Financial Year 2021/2022 found issues with only Netball and Boxing and coincidentally these are the NFs at loggerheads with NCS is something which is clearly not right because also we have over 40 NFs without professional Secretariats meaning they do not have procurement officers, accountants, internal auditors, Etc… There is simply no way you cannot find audit queries with at least a half of all these NFs.
Effect on the NFs
The arrests of NF presidents definitely has an affect on their NFs and their players plus coaches. For example, the Boxing Champions League may not continue to take place now that Muhangi is incarcerated at Luzira. And i know that the Netball Executive must be in fear of how to spend NCS funds now considering what has happened to their President, Babirye Sarah. All these are very terrible eventualities that will affect these medaling NFs.
Origin of the ongoing Turmoil
The current turmoil in the Sports Sector has 3 major causes as below:
(i) Failure to have regular meetings to amicably and genuinely resolve grievances (which points to a leadership crisis as almost all aggrieved parties seem to believe that their problems can only be resolved by the First Lady, Parliament, IGG, Police, Auditor General, Attorney General, and now also the Judiciary). But clearly nearly all the issues at hand can be resolved internally within the Sports Sector without resorting to these external offices. Yes i mean all, from the disputed Netball 30 million Ugx to the PAC investigations.
(ii) Egos that have gone beyond normal reason and which Egos are preventing Amicable and “Genuine” peace talks in preference for a war to the wire.
(iii) The escalation of sports matters to very sensitive offices like that of the IGG, Auditor General, Etc. As this meant that any conviction of the reported parties means they lose their jobs / offices and can also be locked up.
I can tell you now that i myself received calls to go and add issues at the IGG and other 2 very sensitive offices but i declined in preference for continued debate over the Parliamentary Ring Fencing of Sports Monies, which debate could not land anyone in serious trouble because it was merely an intellectual debate even much as it got quite heated but it still remained a debate that does not get anyone into serious trouble.
I still believe that our Sports matters should never have been taken to dangerous offices like the IGG. But again like i have mentioned above, when people fail to sit down and discuss amicably then some aggrieved parties can end up taking issues to offices as dangerous as this and one may not blame them much because they believe to be seeking justice.
I really do not know how anyone expects to resolve a disagreement witout having amicable peace talks. And these talks can be both official and even non official over a mere cup of tea because some problems are difficult to resolve in official meetings. And i myself have advocated for this several times since last year.
Resolution of the Feuds
I want to tell you now that as the Sports Sector, we have really lost it. We are supposed to be distressing and entertaining Ugandans with our sporting action but not adding to their stress with our very negative drama. We must therefore come back to the drawing board.
A key element of conflict resolution is for a complainant to be talked to so that they stop their relentless argitation for action over their complaints. As long as a complainant and a complainee (the one being complained about) can sit and agree to stop feuding, then nearly all disagreements can be brought to an end.
I know that some things have reached alarming levels, some very bad things like imprisonment have ocurred to some people, but still, all this boils down to the above issue..i.e. To calm down the Complainants and resolve their grievances genuinely. This is going to be very important to at least salvage whatever image is left of our sector and to also curtail further turmoil. At least let us deal with what has already happened and find remedy to it. But let us curtail further turmoil in the Sector.
I have already said that in Table Tennis, North Korea and South Korea in 2018 fielded a joint team and even won a medal but these are countries that had pointed Nuclear Missiles at each other and even shed some blood at their boarder. So if these can find peace, what about we in mere Ugandan Sports?
Conclusion
I want to end by making my plea again that it is not too late to advocate for and find peaceful resolution of the ongoing feuds. The key is to stop the relentless argitation of the complainants by genuine resolutuion of their grievances. But if at this stage some still believe that further war is the only solution then Muhangi was right to request the First lady and H.E. President Museveni to come into these matters because next thing is for us to see people killing themselves because the ongoing feuds also mean loss of jobs, imprisonments, Etc.
I may not be able to actively nor regularly participate in these matters right now but if on my Sick Bed i can come out and make the above request for the 100th time, then please let all who can deliver this message to the concerned parties do so. Encourage people to drop their Egos and work for the good of our Sector’s image and its development.
I want to appeal to our Sports Minister Hon. Peter Ogwang to get on top of these feuds and call the aggrieved parties to amicable discussions to resolve their issues. This is the time for Hon. Ogwang to provide the much needed remedial leadership for our Sector by taking up all these matters and ending them amicably. I insist that it is not too late to find and foster peace in the Sector. I really – really hope that no one opts for further confrontation and ultimate catastrophy because i can tell you now also that where as in a war some battles may be won and others lost, ultimately, usually one side loses the war and only God knows which side that will be. But the God we serve will not let the side of righteousness lose.
