Moses Banturaki
17 December 2011
Last Saturday watching the Cecafa final on television, it surprised me just how shortlived the celebrations of our win were.
At one point people were screaming as Abel Dharia palmed away the decisive spot kick and the next, we were lost in conversation not particularly related to the game.
Perhaps the frequency with which we win this tournament is responsible for this lack of interest. Nonetheless you would expect that our exceptional record in the tournament would call for more than fleeting attention. But then again it must be said that the alternative discussion was about Moses Golola who it must be admitted, wrongly or rightly, is the main man of sport these days.
A lot of ink has already gone down about the Moses Golola fight cockup last Friday and I am reluctant to add to it. But I also realise that I am as much a hostage to our impressionable and malicious society as the next man. Perhaps it should not have intrigued me that people were quick to point out how much of a ‘wow’ factor Moses Golola possessed, yet also be happy to revel in his current misfortunes. I found that so negative and would therefore like to return to The Cranes success for some positives.
So it came to pass that we got our 12th Cecafa trophy. Of course to win a tournament calls for consistency and accompanying good fortune, but the ease with which we are picking up this trophy must make our neighbours sick.
Obviously we don’t live in exalted company but you play whoever is put before you, right? Of course there were the customary mediocre performances, the kind that make you think why some of these countries don’t take off time to build capacity rather than make the numbers as if there were obligated to do so. But there were also teams like Rwanda, the losing finalists who were the tournaments’ most technically advanced side. It is a fact that their huffing and puffing came to nought in the final but their tactical awareness was as refreshing as Uganda’s dominance is beginning to appear mandatory.
For Uganda, mention must be made of the cruel-joy Moses Oloya’s torture of the Rwandese left back brought us and I think the boy should be given the ‘land title’ of our right wing before long. Also Emma Okwi promises to lend us the weaponry we feared we had lost when a certain King David ‘walked out’ on us. He is going to be a big player. He is confident and can take on and beat opponents a little bit faster than his predecessor.
And for all that Abel Dharia lacks in experience, he compensates for in tremendous shot stopping ability. Dennis Onyango may not be done yet but suffice this to mean that our future is in safe hands. I therefore like to think that in February when we kick off our 2013 campaign in Congo, we shall have a solid foundation. Even if the old lion Ibrahim Sekagya has a few roars left in him, we can’t expect him and his peers to go on for ever. So the time for Tonny Mawejje’s generation has arrived and they have good momentum.
AllAfrica – All the Time