Uganda Netball Federation President, Sarah Babirye Kityo has been ordered to take a forced leave of three months, following boiling allegations of financial mismanagement and sexual assault.
This followed a meeting at the State House in Nakasero, where members from the National Council of Sports (NCS), UNF, and former She Cranes players met with the Minister of Education and Sports and First Lady Janet Kataha Museveni.
In a similar development, Brigadier Flavia Byekwaso will take over as the interim President of the federation, which is currently preparing the She Cranes for the Netball World Championships.
Following accusations by NCS, UNF has been under investigation since February 2023, over financial mismanagement that arose from funds released for the 2021 Pent Series in Namibia.
The netball body, according to NCS, had defrauded the government, alleging that the Namibian government had already covered all expenses for the netball delegation, including full board expenses for 17 members during the Pent Series.
Meanwhile, NCS had paid air tickets worth sh127 million for the She Cranes, which UNF allegedly failed to acknowledge in their accounts.
However, Babirye denied the allegations, claiming that UNF had received only 186 million and had accounted for it in time.
But, on a complete review of the accounts, UNF failed to acknowledge the air tickets and there were claims that the Namibian government had already covered all expenses for the netball delegation.
However, the IGG’s findings indicated that the NCS was in the wrong for withholding netball funds for the past one and a half years.
In addition, reports of sexual harassment and poor accommodation for the national team during their travels also came up during the meeting, further stamping Babirye’s forced leave.
By: Ivan Kaye
Courtesy Photos
