Inside the rise and rise of Gombe

The chant was overflowing with context relating to Mawa’s speed and teammates, four of whom including Yasir Mimosa, Yusuf Mafabi and Jaffar Karepi, play for Arua Hills while Majub Toto represents Onduparaka.

The dream
Six years ago, former Buganda Kingdom Lands minister Kyewalabye Male acquired St Andrew Kaggwa SS in Kawaala adding it to his empire of Gombe Education Services that also has Scooby Doo and Gombe Junior School.

Ow’ekitiibwa, as he is commonly referred to, set out to build a competitive team in the pinnacle of school football.

The team made its long-awaited debut in 2020 but as soon as the Kampala qualifiers started, a total lockdown was announced by President Museveni owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

But when they arrived in Arua, players were turned into cult heroes, switching on a tradition that will be passed through to next generations as Gombe have established themselves and are a stable, top-flight school team.

Finishing second in Group E behind 2018 champion Buddo SS, fans were awed by the team coached by former sports journalist Godfrey Kireewa.

Process by process
A 3-1 win over St Henry’s College Kitovu was not a true measure of their ability as the Masaka side offered little resistance in the last 16. But when they beat 2017 champions Jinja SS 1-0 in the quarterfinals, everyone believed the hype.

The school bus driver hooted through the main street of Arua City as fans asked to hug Mawa with one offering him a giant cassava near the main market.

Eying revenge against 2018 champions Buddo, who had beaten them 1-0 in a feisty group game at Pokea Seminary, Gombe booked a semifinal clash against the Wakiso District champions. Although there were refereeing blunders in the 2-0 win, they overwhelmed pre-tournament favourites Buddo to the joy of the fans who chanted Senke and carried the SC Villa forward shoulder high. 

Mawa is called Senke in reference to the speed likened to motorcycle brand Senke.
Going into the final with the tournament MVP Travis Mutyaba limping, Gombe stood no chance against giants Kitende.  Mutyaba had been the engine of the hardworking team while Mawa bulged the nets.

Two quick-fire goals inside the first 15 minutes sent Kitende clean for a tenth title but regardless of the result, Gombe swept the individual accolades with Mutyaba named MVP, Mawa top scorer with 12 goals while Noah Apangu was goalkeeper of the tournament.

“This shows the amount of work we have put in,” Kireewa said, stressing that they fully deserved the awards.

Pick of the best
Kireewa, the former coach of Kasawo SS and East High School, assembled a reputable technical team with two scouts in Nimrod Kintu and Bosco Dudu with Pius Ngabo and goalkeeping coach Julius Ssempala Matovu as his assistants.

During a weekly Buganda Land Board aerobics session at Bulange in 2019, Kyewalabye invited Kireewa and Richard Kaweesa, head coach of the land board, and the late Lulenti Kyeyune to share his dream of building a strong football team.

Just under four years and Kireewa and co. had built a strong team around national U-17 players.
As newbies in the football system, they qualified to the Kampala Champions League finals behind Uganda Martyrs High School Lubaga. Gombe were the third-placed team behind Kawempe and Kibuli to the national games.

In Arua, they were pitted in a group that was not ordinary. In fact, as Kireewa recalled, the group games gave them a rough picture of what to expect.
“Participation was the main target this year but we found out it was possible,” the former Simba player said.
Gombe had some squad members with experience at this stage such as Mutyaba and Paul Busolo at Villa; right back Abdul Ssonko, midfielder Shugai Karisa as well as skipper Reagan Kasumba, with national team experience.

“We believe that we are good enough to get ourselves to the top. Our focus is to help the players stay in school and work harder on the pitch. We want our players to achieve on the pitch and the classroom,” Kireewa said.

A strong showing in Arua was not by mistake as Gombe has an understanding with topflight club URA to work as their junior team. But the bigger dream is to start their own football club that will be a conduit for Eugene Sepuya to take the players abroad.

“If you look at our squad, we have talent. We just need more dedication and focus to believe in the vision,” he added.

Into the future

The young school with about 700 students has 25 full sports bursaries but Kireewa said only two; Kaliisa and Kasumba, are in Senior Three.

He says it is a wonderful thing to have a team that will return next year with most of its squad.

The muted celebrations at Barifa as fans walked away immediately after the individual awards were handed over was a sad way to conclude a campaign where the Arua fans had been behind their players from the first day of the two-week tournament right to the last. As founder Kyewalabye said, it was a day of celebration.
“Getting all three individual awards was something that was a little bit alien for some of us but I think we made a statement. I am so proud of whoever made this happen,” said Kyewalabye.

As expected, the debutants will represent Uganda at the East African Games in Tabora, Tanzania, alongside record champions Kitende, third-placed finishers Kibuli as well as Buddo SS.

“We lived the hype but it is historical for us to play in East Africa. We shall give a good account of ourselves in Tanzania,” Kireewa said of something that was a fable for the school not too long ago.
Kireewa added: “While we enjoy this moment, there’s a long-term plan but first and foremost, we must stay among the big boys longer,” Kireewa said.

Whether the next years are a delight or despair, it’s always important to remember one of the best seasons in the school’s history.

“There is still a lot to learn. We need to add more human resources and manage expectations better but there is no feeling that beats this dream debut,” Kireewa said.
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