Out of Mali, back in Kenya: From one incident to another

It is probably a question of whether being away from home is a more comfortable option that being back home for Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Moses Wetangula. After being stuck for days of uncertainty in Mali, where he had gone to attend an African Union meeting, following a military coup, he arrived back in Kenya on Sunday night.

Even before he has had time to take a breather, the parliament has requested an explanation from him on a report purportedly bearing a logo of UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office which seemed to suggest that an arrest warrant should be issued for President Mwai Kibaki for 2007-2008 post-election violence. MPs then had urged him to initiate severing relations with UK over its perceived interference in Kenya’s politics.

In response, Wetangula said, “I have absolutely no difficulty discussing the issue if a substantive Motion in accordance with the rules of the House is brought to this floor.” If he thought they had forgotten about this while he was away, he better find an answer a.s.a.p. Even the darkest night breaks into dawn, with the recent cabinet reshuffle, he does not have to go through that anymore.

We Need More Than Vuvuzelas For Uganda Cranes Pt 2

On the eve of this year's Independence Day, Uganda Cranes hosts neighbours, Kenya's Harambee Stars, at Namboole Stadium in Kampala. This is one of the do-or-die matches for qualification to 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Despite expectation that we are expected to give our all in support to the national side, I am not keen on having my heart broken for the umpteenth time.

While we may need to support Cranes, Uganda's football needs more than vuvuzelas on such Saturdays to get things right. It is a process that has to start from the grassroots to the very top. We scream ourselves hoarse then towards the end of the campaign, there are those questions we start to ask because the Cranes do not seem willing to win emphatically.(Watching the previous match against Angola's Palancas Negras in Luanda, one would get this impression)

In the final analysis, I don't have much hope in Uganda's chances in getting to the 2012 Cup of Nations.....the whole FUFA administration, search for upcoming talent, football league, finances, fans' support, media, corporate sponsorship, government support/budget et cetera will have to be fine tuned and tweaked to work in sync. Only then can we be prepared to take on the world. It is only then that Uganda will win more awards than just the CECAFA 'thing' [which has become boring].

Food for thought: Why is it that there are more fans of English Premiership clubs in Uganda than for the national team? More media coverage of the lives of the Premiership players and their WAGs than just results of matches from our own football league?

Read pt 1 here