Mwase explained that the Committee has already reached out to several stakeholders to convene a general meeting (assembly) that will adopt a new constitution that the normalization has drafted.
The Netball Normalization Committee in Uganda will next month conduct fresh polls to elect Netball Federation Executive Committee
members.
Moses Mwase, the Chairperson of the ad-hoc Normalization
Committee for Netball in the country told journalists at the Uganda Olympic
Committee headquarters that they have set a roadmap to hold elections.
Before the election, Mwase explained that the Committee
had already reached out to several stakeholders to convene a general assembly that will adopt a new constitution that the normalization has drafted.
Mwase explained that the existing constitution was rendered
invalid when the National Council of Sports revoked the Netball Federation's
certificate of recognition. One notable proposal in the new constitution is the
renaming of the Uganda Netball Federation (UNF) to "Netball Uganda."
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But, before Mwase addressed journalists, a section of
Netball stakeholders led by Rosette
Kaala, formerly, the head of
technical at the Uganda Netball Federation had already told journalists
that they had petitioned the World Netball to revoke the Normalization
committee because it failed to fulfil its mandate.
Kaala criticized the committee for disregarding existing
structures within the sport, and also neglecting key stakeholders including
former players and umpires, and for and among others. Kala also rejected the
proposal to rename UNF to Netball Uganda.
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Kaala further questioned the decision to appoint Mwase,
whose primary background is in swimming, to lead the committee. Kaala contends
that the role should be filled by someone more familiar with the game of
netball.
In November 2023, World Netball established the
four-member ad-hoc committee, chaired by Mwase, with the responsibility of
overseeing the day-to-day operations of the UNF. The committee also includes
Peace Proscovia, representing athletes, Cecilia Anyacoti from the National
Sports Council, and Leticia Namutebi from the Commonwealth Games Athletes
Commission.
Part of what the committee was mandated to do was to organize
for the election of the Netball Federation leader and also draft a new
Federation constitution that was supposed to be adopted by the Netball stakeholders
in the country.
The turmoil within Uganda’s netball administration began
when the National Council of Sports (NCS) revoked the UNF's certificate of
recognition due to unresolved governance and leadership issues.
The challenges cited by the NCS include unresolved governance and leadership issues, failure to follow constitutional provisions for executive committee elections, incorrect procedures to amend the constitution, and lack of transparency regarding funding sources.
This development however came amid a long-standing dispute between Sarah
Babirye Kityo, the UNF President, and Dr. Patrick Ogwel, the NCS General
Secretary. Kityo had sued the NCS, challenging alleged interference in UNF
activities and accusations of misappropriation of funds orchestrated by Ogwel.
But, since, the Federation’s certificate was revoked, the progress of Netball
has been deteriorating day in and day out with the National team missing a
couple of important tournaments like the recently concluded African Nations
Championship.
Previously UNF was responsible for overseeing the
National Netball team; the She Cranes, and over time, the She Cranes had
consistently delivered outstanding performances both on the continent and the
global stage. During the recent Netball World Cup, the She Cranes achieved a
fifth-place finish overall and were recognized as the best African team.
This outstanding performance paved the way for more than five national team
players to secure professional contracts with clubs outside of Uganda. As per
the National Sports Act 2023, following the withdrawal of the recognition
certificate, UNF was prohibited from organizing any national representation for
Uganda in international competitions.
