Why Uganda Cranes expelled Obua before Kenya match in 2011

Tony Mawejje's illustrious career spanning over 18 years officially came to a close a fortnight ago in Police's final game of the season.

The Venoms had no mercy, thumping Mawejje's already relegated Police 5-0 on his special day at St Mary's Stadium, Kitende.

However, Vipers - in conjunction with the league and Fufa - still showed class, allowing applause for the Ugandan legend in the sixth minute to represent his jersey number at club and country.

Before his last dance in the middle of the park, Mawejje appeared on NTV Sport Knight, Uganda Television's Monday Night flagship sports show, and shared some Cranes tales.

'No questions'

Asked by one of the panelists what exactly happened to cause David Obua's expulsion from Cranes camp after President Yoweri Museveni visited on the eve of Uganda versus Kenya Afcon qualifier in 2011, Mawejje was as bold as he majestically controlled the midfield in his heydays.

"The President of the country was to visit us," said the man who won with Police and played in Iceland, Norway, Albania and Kuwait, "And we were told (by Fufa officials) that we would not ask any questions.

"Obua objected. He asked: 'What's the use of me meeting the President yet I won't be allowed to ask any questions? This is the only chance we have to ask the President anything."

Fufa and the team management stood their ground.

"That's when Obua decided to leave camp," Mawejje, 35, expounded, "he saw no reason to meet the President and not ask anything."

And who expelled him from camp, after? Was it the then coach Bobby Williamson or Fufa?

"It was an order from the head of the FA (Lawrence Mulindwa at the time)," affirmed Mawejje.

At the time and years that followed, both Fufa and Bobby insisted it was the Cranes coach's call to expel Obua, both collectively citing indiscipline on the player's part.

Uganda needed victory against Kenya to qualify for the 2012 Afcon finals and the pandemonium on the evening before the match killed all the mood in camp after the team's talisman was summarily expelled.

It ended goalless and in a failed campaign, with Cranes players each collapsing to the ground where the final whistle found them.

The resignation, gloom and silence that followed that evening was difficult to imagine recovering from.

Obua, skipper Ibrahim Sekagya and Nestroy Kizito retired from the national team weeks and months later.

The team regrouped and went at it again, and six years later finally broke a four-decade Afcon absence as they played the 2017 Gabon event.

Gladly, Mawejje had stayed on to help the Cranes to that feat.

He now calls time on his decently satisfying career overall, with a number of Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup titles with Cranes and the Kagame Cup with Police in 2006.

Mawejje has two testimonials planned in his honour. The matches will be played in Kampala and his home town of Masaka at a date to be confirmed.

Retiring with the team he captained relegated, of course, does not sit well with him but Mawejje, believes Police were relegated early in the season and that poor administration did not help.

Salary delays

"I believe we were relegated at the start of the season... You don't lose that many matches early and recover, plus, we lost about eight players and did not replace them."

"I was so disappointed both in myself and the team because Police is not a team that should have been relegated."

"Everyone knows that it's a team that has been there for some good time, and we have won trophies."

"There are a few mistakes that have got to be rectified in the administration and once they do that, the team will definitely come back."

"There are some officials that were introduced to the club and then they misused the funds that were supposed to pay the players and in due course, all this happened and they disappeared."

The player went on to reveal that Police players went as many as "seven months without salary," but kept pushing on nonetheless.

"The chairman finally cleared all the seven months arrears at once but see, even then, other teams have moved way ahead and it's hard to make up."

Mawejje is thinking between doing his coaching badges and becoming a player agent, but one thing he is sure starting off with immediately is coaching youngsters in an academy he is starting.

Mawejje fact file

Name: Tony Mawejje

Age: 35

Current club: Police FC

Former clubs

2003: Masaka Local Council FC

2004–2005: Kampala City Council FC

2006–2007: Police FC

2008–2009: Uganda Revenue Authority SC

2009–2013: ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar

2012:→ Golden Arrows (loan)

2014: Haugesund

2014:→ Valur (loan)

2015–2017: Þróttur

2017–2019: Tirana

2019: Al-Arabi SC

2020– Police FC

National team

2004–2017: Uganda, 83 caps, 8 goals