KAMPALA.
The Fufa Electoral Committee will meet and make a decision today [Monday] on whether Proline Boss Mujib Kasule can stand in the federation’s presidential election come August 5. Kasule’s nomination was deferred from Friday after he showed up at Fufa House, Mengo without the prerequisite documents.
For one to take the top football job, he or she must be nominated at least one of the eight Fufa regions. In addition, you need endorsements from an Azam Uganda Premier League club and a Special Interest Group (SIG).
Those groups include referees, women’s football association, women’s league, schools, youth, coaches, beach soccer, players, Fufa Big League and Azam Uganda Premier League.
The Proline director and coach only had the endorsement letter from UPL side Vipers. He had neither a letter from Buganda region (his backers) nor the SIGs when nominations were due to close on Friday.
Though Kasule cited sabotage from when he picked nomination papers on Wednesday, including the ‘hiding’ of delegates and the stoning of his car, he admitted to being ill-prepared.
“I picked the forms on Wednesday and that’s when I decided to stand then on Thursday at 5.40pm they gave me the new forms. How can I get someone from Arua, from western to sign in that timeframe?” Kasule asked.
“It was never my intention to stand in this election until I took it upon myself because many Ugandans are not happy with the way the game is being run.”
Ironically, the rules that could be used to knock out Mujib Kasule, also a Caf coaching instructor, were designed by a committee he was part of while Fufa vice president back in 2012.
That seven-man committee that also had delegates Sam Mpiima, Rogers Byamukama and then Fufa lawyer Alex Luganda among others sat at Katomi Kingdom Resort, Entebbe.
Mpiima is a Buganda region delegate while Kitara representative Byamukama is among the 12 people that Magogo has on his executive.
At the time, it was seen as a ploy to lock out Vision Group Chief Executive Officer Robert Kabushenga who had voiced his intentions of contesting for the job.
“My problem is not the rules because I know them. It’s the way the process is being run. How do expect people to certify academic documents overnight?” Kasule lamented. Fufa EC chairman Sam Bakiika told the media that Kasule also lacked signatures for executive committee members. For the executive committee members, Kasule, who came to Mengo alone, claimed to have been given the form on arrival.
Key election pointers
*Kasule was part of the 7-man committee that wrote the Fufa constitution and later, the electoral code at Katomi Kingdom Resort, Entebbe in late 2012. The others were Rogers Byamukama, Moses Magogo, Sam Mpiima, Alex Luganda, Ojok Odur and Mohammed Bazirengede.
*The rules say that an interested candidate must be nominated by three members of Fufa for presideny; a Uganda Premier League Club, a regional football association and a special interest group. Kasule was nominated by Vipers.
*Kasule has acknowledged that he only got interested in standing for Fufa presidency on Wednesday and that explains why he did not readily have all the necessary documentation
*If the Fufa Electoral Committee do approve Kasule’s candidature, they will have done so outside their pre-communicated deadline which was Friday 4.30pm
