David GOMBE
The SC Villa Electoral Committee led by Brian Njuba on Tuesday, confirmed Hajji Ahmed Hussein Mandela as the club president for term of five years.
A day after, Immanuel Ben Misagga along with Farouq Meywa who had both expressed interest in the leadership of the 17-time record champions held a press briefing at Royal Suites in Bugolobi raising concerns over Mandela’s re-election.
While addressing the media, Misagga said that he is not fighting for Villa presidency but for the soul of the club and described Mandela’s leadership as purported.
“For years, I have watched in silence as a few individuals reduced this great institution of SC Villa to their personal cash cow. The clique is led by no other than Omar Ahmed Mandela, the purported club president.
They have rigged the electoral process with a Shs 100 million nomination fee, they changed our crest to erase history, our Shs 3.4 billion vanished into accounts that no fan can access. So, I cannot keep quiet.” Said Misagga
On Mandela being re-elected as club president for a second consective term, Misagga asserted,
“Yesterday, the clique announced itself as the new administration. Let me be clear: I am not offering myself for the club presidency. If I wanted to stand, the money is not the issue. The issue is principle.
How can President Museveni allow Ugandans to contest against him for just Shs 20 million, yet the self-appointed caretakers of Villa demand five times that amount? This is not abeat leadership. This is a deliberal move to locr out competition and maintain what I call the “big-man syndrome,” the greed of owning this club like a personal estate.” Said Misagga before adding,
“I have been here before. In 2004 as club fans coordinator, I took a young, rejected Villa squad to Tanzania and won the Cecafa Club tike, In 2014, I returned from Zambia to find this club on its knees, revived it, cleared its debts four years in advance and re urned its vibrancy. In 2018, I handed it over to FUFA with audited books and zero liabilities. I secured the land title for Lukuli. I brought back the fans. I made Villa a national brand again.
And what happened? The same old faces resurfaced the moment there was money to grab.”
Misagga also criticised Mandela’s leadership over the Shs3.4Bn which he believes after four years could have yielded more profits than the said Shs1.2Bn
“Today, our Shs 3.4 billion is said to be sitting in some fixed deposit account while our fans struggle.” If that money had been planned for well by now it could have a profit of close to Shs8.8Bn not the said Shs1.2Bn. I am sure they took that money to Stanbic Bank last month.” Remarked Misagga
On the way forward,
“My fight is simple: I want the club statutes ratified by FUFA reinstated. I want a corporate governance structure where every fan, regardless of their background or education, has a say. Mandela and his group can keep calling themselves whatever they want but they cannot erase what i built. They cannot silence me when i speak for the thousands of fans who have no voice in the room where decisiom are made. This is not about Misagga, it is aboht rescuing SC Villa from the grave these people are digging for it.” Concluded Misagga who served as the club president from 2014 to 2018.
During SC Villa’s Annual General Meeting earlier this month, Mandela revealed that he found the club with a debt of Shs550M brought by some individuals.
“I never wanted to come back but a few people convinced me, the club was in debt of Shs550M brought by those making noise in the media.
“Uganda’s problem is everyone wants already done things. There’s too much noise but I am here. I beg the fans to be patient with the process to compete on the continent, you need at least five years to build a good team. We are trying to do that for now let’s work together and grow the club. I want to confirm that I am around, I am not going anywhere like it’s been said.” Said Mandela during the Villa AGM
SC Villa is Uganda’s most successful club having won a record seventeen league titles, nine Uganda Cups and three CECAFA Cups for the 50 year old club.
