How 70-year-old Kyambogo College is refinding its sporting heritage

Upon announcement of Lion House the overall winner at Kyambogo College’s Sports Day in July 2023, red shirts filled the turf of short grass and large patches of earth in the school’s football pitch, amid loud cheers, ululations as Stand Up (For The Champions) blared from the system. But none of these jubilant students—unless one repeated a class—was at the school the last time it held a sports day, about seven years prior.

Kyambogo College, whose rich sporting heritage nurtured many old boys and girls into sports icons, somewhere dropped the baton and turned all its focus on just academics, until the new administration decided to reinvent the wheel.

When Stanley Mugume became Kyambogo College’s headmaster in August 2022, his new office was full of sports trophies but wondered why the latest accolade was about a decade old.

The man who had headed Kijjabwemi Secondary School for nearly 10 years, when the school became the woodball and rugby champions of Masaka Region, between 2019 and 2022, was keen to help Kyambogo rediscover its sporting boots.

But he knew he needed full support of all stakeholders. “First, we did a situational analysis to know the school’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities,” Mugume told us in late May. 

“We concluded that the school had a rich history and potential to achieve more in academics and sports but was lagging due to several weaknesses.”

Then a stakeholders’ meeting of staff, parents and the board adopted a five-year strategic plan to fix the underlying weaknesses in academics, sports, welfare and infrastructure.

But even before that landmark plan was endorsed in December 2023, the board committed some funds for the sports day in July 2023—an event that had been neglected for years.

On that final day July 29, only track and field finals were on the menu but the buildup to this special day was action-packed. Students, divided among six houses: Lion, Cheetah, Panther, Tiger, Elephants and Rhino, played basketball, football, rugby, tennis, woodball, among others, with about 30 matches every evening.

Eric Enabu, the national woodball coach, remembers his last good playing days as a Kyambogo student in 2013 and 2014. And when he returned to coach in 2015. Many students got bursaries, the school won trophies and loftier targets became achievable. But the sudden death of former headmistress Annie Tumwesigye in April 2018 was the proverbial last nail in the coffin. The next administration had other priorities than sports. 

“Everything got messy. Baseless allegations were many. We quit to protect our names. And players sought bursaries elsewhere,” Enabu said nostalgically.

Allan Otim, who was the school’s woodball patron, is the strength and conditioning coach of rugby giants Heathens and the national Sevens team, is one of Kyambogo’s multi-talented old boys.

Otim coaches baseball, softball, and handball at national level but he is never too busy for his former school, where he coaches athletics and rugby.

He is equally nostalgic while mentioning his fellow alumni who are thriving in different sports. Francis Mujuzi, head of Uganda Handball Referees commission, Lady Cranes 7s coach Charles Onen, former Warriors basketballer Ronnie Kasewu, former national rugby captain Alex Mubiru, Heathens coach Kevin Makmot, softball player Rosemary Jopaowitt, among others in badminton, chess, are products of this 70-year old sleeping giant.

But Mugume, the new headmaster, needed no more evidence to convince everyone that Kyambogo has huge potential to recoup its sporting glory. Enabu, the woodball coach, believes that like academics, sports excellence enhances a school’s image. “A school that’s good at both, becomes even bigger.” 

He added that if Kyambogo needs to revive its heritage, it should be in phases. “You can’t invest in all sports at the same time. You start with a few.”

Mugume, the headmaster, shares the idea, mentioning that they are prioritising basketball, rugby, woodball and athletics—where they may have a competitive advantage, because of a big population from northern Uganda and South Sudan.  “Those students have the size and love for basketball and rugby.”

He also advised the school to engage in events under the Fufa and Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association (USSSA) calendars.

The five-year strategic plan (2024 to 2028) stipulates the schools’ commitment to academic excellence and talent development, which will need Shs722m. this will, among others, ensure regular inter-house and interclass competitions.

Payment of game and sports registration fees is mandatory to ensure that the school participates in well-organised and funded competitions. Already, this year the school has competed in the Hi Skool Crossfire—an elite debate competition—emerging second runners up to Namilyango College. 

All participants’ biodata, invoices and receipts must also be well documented and kept for effective monitoring, thanks to a fully-functional curricular department headed by deputy head teacher Expedito Kattante.  

Leona Babirye, who joined Kyambogo in 2014 for her A’Levels, does not believe the school completely lost interest in sports. She said the school competes in the Schools Cricket Week and the National Finals—with her brother Jonathan Kizza, twin sister Lynette Nakato and John Gabula, some of the latest graduates into the national team.

Yet her sweetest moments at Kyambogo came in softball, a game she played since Primary Three but missed in her first secondary school. The choices were limited: “You either played football, volleyball and basketball or quit sport.” Babirye felt left out. “But even those who played didn’t reach very competitive levels because sports wasn’t a priority,” she said.

But at Kyambogo College, sports and academics were equally important.

“My time at Kyambogo were my best school years. We travelled for softball tournaments, met influential people, because the school gave us the chance to play, with a purpose.”

Kyambogo had no team for softball or baseball but Babirye and co. were allowed to play from the school settings. Playing for Lady Crusaders, Babirye won some league titles against eternal rivals Nile Hammers.

In 2016, during her Senior Six vacation, Babirye, who plays second base and shortstop, joined Coach Joni Frei’s unlikely team that played at the Women’s World Softball Championships in Surrey, Canada.  

Babirye’s story, though somehow a contrast to others’, emphasises how much students benefit from a system that facilitates talent growth—a system Mugume prefers. 

Parents and teachers push sports into the lower drawer because they fear learners will struggle balancing both sports and academics. Worse still, they fear, sports may win the battle.  

But Babirye knows better: “As a student, disclose your passion to your parents as soon as possible, because we never know what the future holds for us. Most parents nurture us into what they think is best. But sometimes it’s not what we love or are gifted in.”

If a parent is negative, Babirye advises, you ask the coach to talk to them. “Some of us are here because our coaches convinced our parents to allow us to play.”

Enabu, the national woodball coach, easily relates. He keeps a close relationship with his players and their parents. “First, I ask my players to bring their friends so that I can meet them. It eases monitoring,” Enabu said, who recently returned to coach under Mugume’s new administration.

He said, as in academics, a parent plays a crucial role in endorsing and funding a child’s sporting career. The coach plays mentor and confidant, ensuring the child balances sport and academics because both are important. “Discipline is paramount,” he emphasised.  

He remembers one of his players at Kyambogo University, who used tuition money for betting. The gamble backfired. He missed exams and graduation. The parents abandoned him. Enabu, the coach, rallied other students to raise the lost tuition and the player graduated the following year.

Babirye further advises: “You went to school to study, in the first place. So read hard and perform well. Make the right decisions, you can’t miss crucial exams because of tournaments,” said Babirye, who scored 15 points in Physics Chemistry and Maths.

Some students fail to balance the equation. “That’s when the coaches and the other school staff help remind you that sports excellence is no excuse for academic failure.”

Babirye added cricket to her sports menu in Senior Six but stopped playing any sport in her first term to focus on academics. 

“The playing opportunities will always come back,” she said, considering how she transitioned into a regular batter with the Lady Cricket Cranes.

Mugume dreams of a 1000-seater pavilion, with basketball and netball courts, worth Shs1.5b, according to the strategic plan. The coaching staff may also need allowances. 

All these require deliberate resource mobilisation and networking: writing proposals to sponsors and holding fundraisers.

Mukesh Shukla, the proprietor of Shumuk Aluminum, one of the guests on the sports day, is one of the school’s reliable corporate friends. But more are needed. Sam Odong, the assistant commissioner of the Ministry of Education and Sports promised sports equipment to the school.

A year later, the equipment has not been delivered. But no hope is lost. “We wrote to the ministry to follow up on the offer but the government has not yet responded,” Mugume said. “We are sure the government will deliver.”

Recently, the ministry appointed Margaret Harriet Apolot, as deputy head teacher at Kyambogo and Mugume trusted her to use her experience as the third vice president of USSSA, to ensure the government comes good on its promise.

Kyambogo is also counting on the alumni association, whose chairperson Dan Yiga has been vital in pooling resources for the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations.  

Platinum Jubilee: August 10, 2024

Niche sports: woodball, basketball, rugby, cricket, athletics

Dreams: 1000-seater pavilion