They are known for holding heated deliberations on the floor of the Parliament on political and National issues but when Ugandan Members of Parliament meet on the sports field, they all speak one language sport. Its days to the 8th Inter East African Inter-Parliamentary Games to be held in Dar-es-salaam and the defending champions were in time for their usual training at the Lugogo Turf. The Ugandan team boosted the honorable tournament for four consecutive years and was intent on defending it. Football and athletic was their cup of cake.
Kampala Central Member of Parliament Muhammed Nsereko was the man who pushed the goals that have for years intimidated the regional honorable to lift soccer title. He told NBS his speed was his secret weapon. “On the short stream to any defender I don’t believe you, there are few defenders even in the top flight that if I want to chase the ball with them it will be for them to pick it from me. Yes, I may not endure more but the sprint I can still sprint.”
A man so dear to sports, Nsereko bank rolled a local football club Sports Club Victoria University before. Ironically, this ruthless number 9 idolized short shockers like Uganda’s Sadik Waswa and Cameroon’s Thomas Nkono before becoming a forward. “I wanted to be a goalkeeper and the two goalkeepers were Sadik Waswa and Nkono of Cameroon.”
With the current political divisions in the first house mainly because of the age limit debate, the politics in them at times gets the better of these teammates while on the pitch. “Well, its football, football is the mother of all the languages, it doesn’t matter what someone believes in but we have to be a team because at the end of the day we have to represent Uganda, we represent the Parliament of Uganda. We won’t translate it to the pitch but if we have to, you deny him a scoring and tell him next time you say Togikwatako I will pass the ball that’s on the lighter note.”
Ugand lost the trophy once in the last six years but Kadaga’s men are unscratched on the track for the past six years. The West Nile Member of Parliament Alel Tomwa has been the pillar of the athletics team since 2011 when he walked into the house. The 55-year-old earned the trust of his teammates and he authoritatively follows instructions in training. “Like in the whole of the East African Community member states I was the second overall so am very optimistic that with the level of training that I have been undertaking especially in Namboole where I have been using the real track, am very optimistic that this year I might even excel, might even defeat those two.”
The Ugandan Parliament won last year’s edition in both disciplines like soccer, athletics, and netball in addition to several other individual winnings.
