Netball: How NC got their way in Special Assembly

The netball Normalization Committee (NC) looked shabby in their decision to lock out the press from the larger part of their Special General Assembly last Saturday at MTN Arena, Lugogo.

The Assembly was called to pass the new constitution for what will be an essentially new federation for the sport known as Netball Uganda.

However, the NC’s chairman Moses Mwase, who was flanked by members Leticiah Namutebi, National Council of Sports (NCS) board member Cecilia Anyakoit, and Africa Development Manager from World Netball Joan Smit, said the deliberations were behind closed doors “to allow us clean our house and give people a chance to debate without everything being broadcasted live.”

“World Netball advised yesterday (Friday night) that we stop exposing our dirt in public. But the meeting was transparent and we had a conversation about everything in the constitution with the members.”

The merits and demerits of the decision can be debated but in the end, the NC delivered their baby without much incident.

Most of the dissenting voices remained outside the Arena and later held their own press conference in the Cricket Oval stands, where they voiced their concerns about being locked out and dissatisfaction on an article or two in the new constitution.

Membership

The NC had registered about 75 provisional members and 30 district associations prior to the assembly, and there could have been more.

“When starting anew, there is a need to give everyone a chance to be part of the new federation but some old members were not happy with it.

Eventually, we decided to go with the old ones to avoid confusion. We will adopt the new members along the way,” Mwase explained.

The name

Mwase and co. argued in the Assembly that the Uganda Netball Federation (UNF) brand had been damaged but also that the ‘former’ federation was insolvent (or could not pay their debts). The delegates eventually agreed to continue under Netball Uganda.

“The owners of the building (in Old Kampala that was housing the UNF offices) sued us (NC) for their rent arrears and there is a judgement against us. We intend to declare UNF insolvent then the owners can decide how to recover their money, perhaps through the trustees (of UNF),” Mwase later explained in a separate interview.

Presidential aspirants in ‘trouble’

The main dissenting voice from outside the room ended up being Brig. Flavia Byekwaso, who served as UNF vice president under embattled president Sarah Babirye Kityo and later (last year) as interim head when the latter was asked to leave office by the First Lady Janet Museveni at the height of the wrangles.

It is a public secret that Byekwaso intends to stand for presidency in the proposed October 26 election. However, the members passed the proposed article 14.3.2 on the requirements for one to serve on the executive committee (excomm) with a minor amendment to part (j).

Originally, the clause said that to serve on the excomm one must have the minimum education requirements of a higher diploma from a recognized tertiary institution in Uganda, and a recognized qualification in sports administration, in the case of the president, vice president and honorary secretary.

However, the latter two were let loose as the requirements were only retained for the president. The members, however, also brought in a new requirement that for one to vie, they must have had at least five years of experience in netball as an administrator, umpire, or player.

“Members said their president should be someone of that gravitas,” Mwase told Daily Monitor.

As soon as Byekwaso heard this, perhaps through her leaks in the meeting room, she stormed Lugogo for a press conference, where she again asserted her intention and shared that she did not have any qualifications in sports administration. In fact she insinuated the article was put up to counter her candidacy.

Another person who has had longstanding intentions in the netball presidential seat is former She Cranes manager Jocelyn Ucanda. Daily Monitor could not independently establish if she has the sports administration qualifications but she was in the room and kept a happy face throughout the deliberations.

Little legal legroom

Byekwaso intends to contest this part of the constitution but apart from seeking a remedy outside the sports arena, her options within look limited. Courts of Law, in such cases, usually ask if one has sought a remedy from within their sport’s constitution. World Netball, NCS and the Ministry of Education of Sports could be the other avenues for redress.

Smit’s presence in the room means, World Netball will likely take the NC’s side in any appeal.

Similarly, NCS looks to be in the loop of things because Anyakoit has been at the centre of these netball issues from when Babirye went at loggerheads with NCS general secretary Bernard Patrick Ogwel in 2022.

In fact Anyakoit, who is very well respected at NCS, was vocal throughout the debate backing the NC chairman throughout. Mwase, Namutebi and Smit also briefed Minister of State for Sports Peter Ogwang about the new developments in a meeting on Sunday and he promised to move forward with the endorsements of World Netball.