URU upholds Magomu ban, stripped of Cranes’ captaincy

The Union through its honorary secretary had filed a case against Magomu on two counts of indiscipline. He was accused of an alleged altercation with referees during his club Pirates’ final game of the season against heathens and a post he made on his X platform on July 31, where he made comments about the embattled National Council of Sports (NCS)’ secretary general Dr. Bernard Ogwel.

Magomu's post appeared to accuse Ogwel and his associates of prioritizing their own interests over athletes' welfare. It concluded with the hashtag “CorruptionFreeUganda,” which was viewed as a call for action against corruption.

The DC threw out the first case citing time-factor but sanctioned a 24-week ban on Magomu and stripping of the captaincy for the post about Ogwel, which they deemed to have brought the sport into disrepute.

Nine contentious points

Magomu's appeal focused on nine grounds but the committee summarized them into five main ones that formed the basis of their ruling.

They include; denial of a proper record of proceedings, lack of fair hearing due to denial of a second lawyer, perceived bias by the DC, insufficient proof to substantiate the charge of bringing the sport into disrepute, and the severity of the punishments.

Magomu’s lawyer alleged that the record of proceedings provided by the DC was doctored and therefore insufficient to picture what transpired. However, the committee found no evidence to dispute the accuracy of the recording.

On the issue of representation, the player claimed that the denial of his second lawyer Ivan Ojakol compromised the right to a fair hearing but the committee found no proof that the decision affected the defense.

Regarding the charge of bringing the sport into disrepute, Kaijja argued that Dr. Ogwel was not a protected entity under the URU Code of Conduct. The appellant also noted that his post “did not explicitly state that Dr. Ogwel was corrupt” and that “there was no evidence presented that the post brought the game into disrepute”.

Verdict

The committee noted that Ogwel and NCS are not just regulators but partners and supporters of the union.

They further extracted Magomu’s ‘Bio’ on the said X account that describes him as a “lawyer, captain [Uganda] Rugby Cranes and a player for Pirates”. They linked this to the positions and concluded that his actions including the social media post brought the game into disrepute.

“As captain of the Rugby Cranes and a self-proclaimed legend of the game, Ivan Magomu has a duty and an integral role in upholding the sport’s public image as well as that of its partners, supporters, sponsors, and fans,” the appellate body remarked before passing their verdict.

According to the committee’s revelations, the appellant’s counsel had pleaded for the DC’s ruling to be overthrown and Magomu issued a “stern final warning” and that URU offer players more training to understand their responsibilities off-pitch. Magomu apologized for his comments in one of the online platforms as his lawyer offered to help URU to review its constitution.

Kayengwe reminded Magomu of his previous cases where he sought and received the backing and support of URU through financial support. He also noted that the player, who doubles as a lawyer had been assigned to offer legal guidance to the union’s Constitutional Review Committee, a role he has ever played since then.

“… this Committee is unpersuaded that the DC was wrong,” the ruling reads.

“Therefore,” it concludes, “It is the decision of this Appeal Committee, which was held on the 21st of August 2024, to uphold the decision of the Disciplinary Committee that was held on the 13th of August 2024 in its entirety.”

Further options

Magomu’s defense is not satisfied with the ruling and is considering further options.

“The sports laws don’t encourage taking matters like this to courts but we’re considering our options which include a judicial interpretation of the ruling,” Kaijja told Daily Monitor .

He added: “We’re also weighing our chances at Rugby Africa and eventually World Rugby because we feel the decisions fall short of standards of Rugby Africa and World Rugby Constitution.”

The main grounds of Magomu’s appeal

•Denial of proper record of proceedings prior to lodging the appeal

•Denial of representation of a second lawyer

•Bias by the disciplinary committee which prejudged the matter before the hearing

•Failure to prove the charge of “bringing the sport to disrepute”

•Harsh sanctions

Magomu's prayers that were denied

•The decision of the Disciplinary Committee be set aside

•That the Appeal Committee grants leniency

•Sanctions him with one last warning for his conduct