Former President of the Uganda Netball Federation Awarded by International Organization for Unmasking Corruption.
The former president of the Uganda Netball Federation, Babirye Sarah Kityo has been awarded with Africa's 2024 Blue Print Whistleblowing Prize by Blue Print for Free Speech, an Australian Organisation that investigates corruption.
On Friday, last week, the awards ceremony took place in Europe, Australia. Marking the seventh Blueprint prizes of its kind, including whistleblowers from the US, Germany, South Africa, Uganda and Madagascar.
The Blueprint Whistleblowing Prizes are a set of prizes awarded to whistleblowers in recognition of bravery, integrity, commitment to the public interest and positive and enduring impact.
The awards are Judged by Lord Hollick, Australian barrister James D Catlin and academic Dr. Suelette Dreyfus. The 2024 Whistleblower Prize winners, also share the £21,000 prize money and each receive a specially designed trophy.
According to the awards, "Elite athlete Sarah Kityo was jailed after exposing corruption in the Uganda Netball Federation."
On Monday, during a press engagement at Serena hotel in Kampala, kityo said, as she emphasized feeling healed and grateful, attributing the healing to the award, that she recounts her long-standing loyalty to the NRM party and the challenges faced for telling the truth, including torture and persecution.
She expressed a belief in telling the truth, even if it is bitter and may cause trouble. The NRM party needs people who can tell the truth and hold the party accountable. Young people should not run away from the political scene due to a few individuals' actions, it is not just about politics but also about telling the truth.
She added, telling her story, that she was contacted by a journalist from an Australian international organization called Blueprint, who wanted to investigate her story about corruption. The journalist who contacted her emphasized the importance of sharing only truthful information backed by evidence, which she did.
" I was initially skeptical when the journalist revealed the truth later, that he was not a journalist but instead worked for an organization investigating corruption. And the journalist requested for my email address to send official communication, leading to the receipt of an award letter."
Kityo indicated how she realized the legitimacy of the organization and the award after investigating further, and she dedicates the award to all Ugandans who have been oppressed and fought for justice, emphasizing that the award represents global recognition.
She expressed gratitude to God and acknowledged the world's acknowledgment of her integrity and service, calling upon on the younger generation to serve with integrity and not be deterred by lack of recognition or appreciation from their superiors. Reflecting on the personal struggles and the realization that injustices exist in Uganda, even among elected leaders. Therefore, it is good and important to give service and integrity over material success and recognition.
Commenting on the Fair Elections and Political Landscape of Uganda, Kityo mentioned about importance of a free and fair political landscape, stressing that all people should have equal opportunities to campaign. People have different values and beliefs, which should be respected, she stressed.
The issue of supporting different political parties like DP or NRM is not wrong, as no single party is inherently bad, political parties or religions, but it is people within these institutions who sometimes cause issues.
She further, called upon the government to change the education systems of Uganda highlighting the issue of mindset. Since the performance levels in Uganda are heavily influenced by the mindset of the people the government should fix the syllabus to change the mindset of young people. The current education system is corrupting the mindset, leading to a focus on getting better jobs rather than practical skills.
The Story of Sarah Kityo and The Uganda Council of Sports by Blueprint for Free Speech.
Jailed after exposing alleged corruption in Ugandan sports body.
Netball is one of the most popular sports in Uganda and the national team one of the world’s best. The sport also plays an important educational role by providing youths from disadvantaged backgrounds with opportunities for sports scholarships at local and international universities.
When Sarah Kityo was elected as president of the Uganda Netball Federation in 2021, she amended its constitution to implement a series of reforms. These included introducing policies for whistleblowers and internal grievances, imposing financial controls, eliminating superfluous positions and placing the executive under the supervision of a board of trustees.
Kityo believes these steps set her on a collision course with the National Council of Sports, a government body that allocates public funds to various sporting federations in Uganda, including netball. Her reforms empowered players to lodge grievances ranging from corruption to sexual harassment and stripped the sports council of its powers to hire and fire executives. She says when other federations showed signs of wanting to follow suit, she became a threat to the powerful council.
It wasn’t long before she crossed swords with National Council of Sports General Secretary Patrick Ogwel, who wrote to Janet Museveni, Uganda’s first lady and Minister of Education and Sport, to object. The matter was referred to the Attorney General, who declared that Kityo’s reforms were legally sound.
Matters deteriorated further in September 2021 when Ogwel allegedly demanded a 40 million shilling kickback after allocating 100 million Ugandan shillings (27,000 USD) for the team to take part in a tournament in South Africa. Kityo refused to pay the kickback, but alleged her vice president, Richard Muhumza, provided Ogwel with 30 million shillings meant for players’ allowances. Ogwel denied receiving the funds.
Ogwel later accused Kityo of misappropriating funds he had allocated for the team to play in a subsequent tournament held in Namibia. He refused to disburse more funds to the Federation, including for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, pending the outcome of an investigation.
The same year a gang of armed men were captured on CCTV cameras breaking into Kityo’s residential compound. The family was not home, but the incident prompted her and her husband to send their teenage children abroad for their safety.
In 2023 Kityo went on the offensive. She appeared on television to say Ogwel had repeatedly demanded kickbacks whenever he allocated funds to the Netball Federation. She also brandished bank statements showing he’d only provided 186 million shillings (50,000 USD) for the Namibia trip, despite demanding that she account for 425 million shillings. These matters were referred the government ombudsman.
Soon afterwards she began to receive sinister phone calls and messages. Some warned she would be killed, others that she would be exposed for sleeping around or committing fraud.
A glimmer of hope appeared when an investigation by the ombudsman, known as the Inspectorate of Government (IG), vindicated Kityo. The IG found the allegations that she had misappropriated the Namibian funds were based on fabricated documents and were thus “false and malicious”. It also ordered Ogwel to repay 100 million shillings that were unaccounted for from the Namibian funds, and that Kityo’s deputy, Muhumza, and the federation’s treasurer should account for or repay 30 million shillings skimmed off player allowances during the South Africa tournament.
A week after the IG issued its report exonerating Kityo, Janet Museveni, issued a directive ordering her to vacate her office for three months pending further investigations, including for financial mismanagement and player mistreatment.
Shortly after this Kityo was arrested and charged with fraud in a convoluted case that later turned out to be bogus, although she was forced to spend five nights in jail before being granted bail. The charges were eventually withdrawn almost a year later after the complainant recanted.
“This was a deliberate strategy to tarnish my image in the public eye, cripple me financially and scare other whistleblowers from coming forward,” she says. “It was also meant to serve as a form of psychological intimidation.”
When she later tried to resume her duties, Janet Museveni issued a directive ordering funding for the Federation to be frozen, and for Kityo to be barred from returning until the criminal investigations against her were concluded.
Shortly after this, in November 2023, Kityo was stopped in her car, hauled off to a police station and charged with embezzling the 186 million shillings Ogwel had allocated for the Namibia games. She was forced to spend the weekend in jail. While in custody, the police informed her she was also under criminal investigation for defaming Ogwel and told to give a statement. After appearing in court on the embezzlement charges she was detained in jail for another two nights before posting bail.
At the end of 2023 Kityo decided to give up on the sport she had previously played at national level and loves dearly, pending the outcome later this year of her legal challenge against being barred from running the Federation. “I have fought enough, but these guys are still after me and my family,” she says, adding that she continues to receive death threats.
In late 2024, the Ugandan Netball Federation was dissolved and replaced with a new organisation called Netball Uganda. Some of those appointed to work at the new entity were either found to have been involved in corruption by the IG or are alleged to have done so.
Since her initial arrest Sarah Kityo has heard nothing more about her defamation case but has appeared in court several times on the embezzlement charges. Kityo points out these are patently absurd: the 50 000 USD she’s being accused of stealing was the entire government allocation that funded 27 people, including the players, to spend 21 days in Namibia for two tournaments that they actually played.
Kityo maintains these charges, like all the allegations of financial mismanagement levelled against her at the Netball Federation, were fabricated because she blew the whistle on high-level corruption. But she vows she will not be silenced.
“I am not going to run away, however much they try to tarnish my image,” she says. “I will clear my name and fight to defend people who went through what I am going through.”
Sarah Kityo shares the Blueprint Africa Whistleblowing Prize for 2024
