{UAH} Nakivubo Stadium: Pouring new wine into old skins and sinking so low

Nakivubo Stadium: Pouring new wine into old skins and sinking so low

Sunday March 14 2021

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By Gawaya Tegulle

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I must admit I know very little about wine and booze generally, since I've never taken any; but the Bible warns against the danger of pouring new wine into old skins, which, I suspect is what happened on January 14 when Uganda went to the polls. 

We are expecting a new Uganda and a "secure future" from a leadership that is old, tired and bereft of ideas – and we still have the temerity to call ourselves sober and serious! We elect the cause of our problems, then trumpet him as the solution, while labouring under the illusion that we are brilliant!

I actually wrote most of this long before this coronavirus struck the world; maybe two or three years ago, when my short walk home from school always took me past the lovely Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Arcadia suburb, Pretoria, South Africa. 

Loftus is a lovely stadium, which Ugandans might be familiar with since it is where our Ghanaian brothers had Serbia for dinner in the 2010 World Cup; but our other brethren, the hosts, were munched on by Uruguay, three goals without reply (like England, South African players are better at press conferences than playing football). More critically, it is where our Uganda Cranes goalkeeper Denis Onyango plays, because it is the home ground for Mamelodi Sundowns.

It is on one of those evenings that I sat down at a coffee shop near the stadium and sipped away, as I penned some of these thoughts. 

Pretoria as a city is a study in the beauty of great visionary leadership at national level, good urban governance and principled management of public resources.

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 The man who doesn't travel thinks his mom is the best cook. I compared the Loftus Park area to downtown Kampala where Nakivubo War Memorial Stadium is located – or to be precise, used to be located. The contrast is heart-breaking.

 If I dropped my chicken pie around Loftus Stadium, I'd pick it up without hesitation and continue eating like nothing happened. As for the Nakivubo area, let's just say, I'd hesitate to eat food in any restaurant around there. Things are that bad.

 There was a time downtown Kampala used to be an organised place. We had a stadium; with its own parking area. You could drive to the place, watch a match and drive back home. All that has since been put paid to, thanks to what I aver was broad daylight robbery of a national treasure. 

Now you see shopping arcades owned by private individuals (whom we graciously call "tycoons"), the stadium is no more; the entire place is so congested and dirty, I'd rather take my chances passing through a pigsty. 

This country spends billions on government officials traveling abroad; but do they ever learn anything from the cities they visit? 

The State holds public resources in trust for the public; it has no right to give them away, no matter how nicely the transaction is dressed. It is unconstitutional. This is the essence of the "public trust doctrine".

 As we speak, Namboole Stadium land is also being stolen in broad daylight. Public schools are losing their land the same way. Open spaces that used to be playing fields for our young people have all been taken and built upon. This is robbery.

 It is abuse of power. It is a violation of the government's social contract with the people; and as soon as we get a new government, this nonsense must be reversed!

As I sipped my coffee, I had to admit that part of our problem is that we have sunk so low, some people think Mr Museveni, who has presided over the transformation of our towns into glorified slums, has a vision for the country.

 The simple fact is, the man is short of ideas to transform Uganda; all he does is gamble around, while blaming the Opposition (never himself) for his every failure. 

This is what happens when you insist on using products that are long past their sell-by date. This is why leaders, or in Uganda's case, rulers, must be changed often, just like we change the baby's diapers; so that fresh air is breathed into the nation through the infusion of new ideas.

Mr Tegulle is an advocate of the High Court of Uganda  

  gtegulle@gmail.com

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