By Ahmad Muto
The State Minister for Sports, Peter Ogwang, has been a person of interest by virtue of the office he holds since the Uganda Cranes’ home games for the AFCON qualifiers got moved to Egypt.
There was outrage from local football fans, a product of FOMO (fear of missing out), especially after the national team humbled Tanzania 1-0 on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 to revive hopes of qualifying for the continent’s top football tournament.
In a now viral clip, on Tuesday, the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, tasked Ogwang to explain why the Uganda Cranes are not playing home games at Namboole Stadium, but in Egypt.
“Tell us the reason why we should not hold you people accountable for a nugatory expenditure of paying money to play a game in Egypt, money you could have used to play from here? You should have invested the money here,” the Speaker asked.
In his defence, Ogwang apologised on behalf of his ministry and explained that there are ongoing works that can only follow a specific timeline.
“I did regret on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Sports on why we found ourselves in Egypt. Madam Speaker, I apologise to the country for having made Uganda Cranes go and play in Egypt,” he said.
Hours later, Ogwang took to social media, where he shared photos of the ongoing works at the stadium with the caption: “Namboole Stadium as of 30th march 2023. Much of the works left is on fittings and the pitch refurbishment.”
The apology came a day after Ogwang vowed to have the Uganda Cranes game against Algeria set for June 12, 2023 played here, and stated that he has moved his office to Namboole.
