Omar Mandela is emulating his predecessors at SC Villa!

2026-03-21 - 10:35

There was a bee-hive of activity and canvassing among SC Villa fans and supporters, when the club announced the date for the delayed elections. The elections which were set for March 22 were in part necessitated by intra- club wrangles early this year. This was particularly between incumbent Omar Ahmed Mandela and former club president Immanuel Ben Misagga on the other side. So, the announcement of the polls date by the chairman of the SC Villa Board of Trustees, Gerald Ssendawula, caused excitement. A handful of candidates declared their interests and some even appointed “campaign managers” who were busy sweet-talking members on their behalf. However, last week, on March 10, there was a bombshell when the club’s electoral commission boss, Brian Kajubi declared Mandela as the next SC Villa President after he emerged as the sole candidate in the club’s electoral process. In a statement released by Kajubi, Mandela successfully passed the required vetting and approval procedures, clearing the way for him to assume the presidency unopposed. He said, that the declaration of Mandela as the club president for the next four years followed the club’s electoral regulations, where he was the only candidate that completed the whole nomination process. Mandela who is the reigning SC Villa president was expected to be challenged mainly by former club boss and fans coordinator Misagga, who in an interesting twist of events last week, declared in a press conference that he had no interest in returning to the Villa presidency now. Instead, his focus was on being a whistle-blower on how the Mandela-led Villa administration was violating the club’s constitution and the governance structures put in place, back in 2020-21. On the other hand, there were also seemingly less serious candidates like Farouq Meywa and Dennis Mbidde. Yet, what might have put off Mandela’s challengers were the tough guidelines which the club declared a few weeks to the elections. The notable one was the none refundable Shs 100 million which each of the candidates was required to bank on the club’s account. While it was unconstitutional, the club’s top organ supported it. You see, according to the club’s constitution, in which Mandela was first elected in 2021, anyone interested to become Villa boss had to pay Shs 20 million. For the critics, this condition was seen as one promoted to favour the incumbent (Mandela) since he did not even oppose it. HISTORY OF THE SC VILLA PRESIDENCY In the history of SC Villa all the club’s top bosses have been unopposed. The first one was Dunstan Kiwalabye, who became Nakivubo Boys (later SC Villa) chairman in 1975. Kiwalabye was succeeded by George Faison Ddamulira who took the club’s reigns in 1977. During his term of office, Ddamulira guided the club to the top tier league in 1979. In April 1979, Patrick Edward Kawooya joined Nakivubo Boys and he was elected as the new Villa chairman, replacing Ddamulira who was elevated to the role of patron at the club. Kawooya a former Express FC treasurer, joined SC Villa with his financial muscle and this gave him leverage to scale football heights. He was aggressive, a perfectionist and at the peak of his powers did everything his way. He built a dominant team, which ruled local football for decades. As SC Villa chairman, the team won more than ten major honours. But surprisingly, the club held two elections (1981 and 1985) and on both occasions, Kawooya emerged unopposed. The beat appeared to continue all through. In December 1993, Franco Mugabe replaced Kawooya. As his immediate predecessor, Mugabe was financially strong and he led the club to over ten major honours. And this might explain why the club faithful did not antagonize him in the 17 years he spent as SC Villa boss. Having held elections three times (1993, 1997 and 2001) Mugabe was always unopposed. Incidentally, in 2006, when Villa went into another election, they seemed to have broken away from the norm. Then, Fred “Guy” Kawuma and a youthful Misagga were up against each other. It was expected to be a close and divided election process, with Kawuma heavily backed by the club’s historical administrators, Mandela and Mugabe, while the youth seemed more endeared to the vibrant Misagga. Interestingly, Kawuma pulled out before the voting, which meant that Misagga remained unopposed, and therefore had to be declared new president. Unfortunately, the electoral process was hijacked, and instead, an interim committee, led by the late club patron Balamaze Lwanga and Mugabe, continued to run the club. It remains unclear on how legal what happened then, was, as it went on for many years. But in 2010, Mugabe was succeeded by Fred Muwema. But this time, it was not an election. Instead, SC Villa had metamorphosed into a Limited company with a board of directors, that had Mugabe, Mandela, William Nkemba, Edgar Agaba, Adonia Ayegare, Allan Papoak, Muwema, and Vincent Bagiire. By virtue of being picked as the chairman of the board, Muwema became the club boss. However, the city lawyer did not have a smooth leadership at Villa Park as the club split into two teams which featured in two different top-flight leagues back in 2012/13. Muwema left unceremoniously with the club at a cross-roads. At that time, Salim Semanda managed the breakaway club. In 2014 Misagga was called upon to rescue the club which was going to the dogs. Misagga, too, emerged unopposed. During his tenure, he united the club and guided the team to the 2015 Uganda Cup. Yet, in 2018, Misagga complained of infighting, something which forced him to step down. Former SC Villa defender (now CEO), Nkemba took the club mantle on an interim basis until November 2021 when Mandela was elected unopposed. So, Mandela’s return to SC Villa helm as unopposed has a long list of history. Ideally, there is no doubt that, the three aspirants (Misagga, Meywa and Mbidde) all wish well for SC Villa and some of them have bright ideas for the club. I suggest that Mandela embraces them and they work together.