Hon. Sarah Babirye Kityo has confirmed that she will not seek a return as Netball Federation president.
Babirye was forced to step aside from the sport following accusations of mismanagement and misuse of government funds.
Now serving as the Member of Parliament for Bukoto East, Babirye said she will continue serving the sport, but in a different capacity.
“In life, you never say never, but my family and I agreed that I should not return to the Netball Federation,” Babirye said during a wide-ranging interview at Parliament.
“We achieved a lot during our time there. I found the federation without offices, operating almost on the streets, but we managed to establish offices, put policies in place and register good results.
“We defeated the world’s number one team, as well as teams ranked third and fourth. We became Africa’s number one side and achieved all that within just two years.”
During Babirye’s time, the She Cranes impressed at the 2024 Netball Fast5 tournament in New Zealand, finishing third after beating top-ranked sides England, Jamaica and South Africa.
Uganda had earlier defeated hosts South Africa 49-47 at the 2023 Netball World Cup.
“But despite all those achievements, simply because I refused to embezzle money for some people (NCS), I was pushed out of office,” Babirye added.
“They even went as far as writing to World Netball, accusing me of stealing funds and portraying me as the wrong person. They pushed for a ban against me. I would not want to put myself under that kind of stress again.
“I cannot say I wasted my time because I achieved what I wanted. As a federation, we made huge progress. The She Cranes had played at the World Cup before, but they had never finished fifth before. I do not regret anything. I love netball and I will continue serving the game in other capacities.”
During that chaos, Babirye was involved in a public fallout with NCS General Secretary Dr Patrick Bernard Ogwel, whom she accused of asking for kickbacks.
She claimed that Ogwel gave her Shs186 million, but later demanded accountability for Shs425 million instead.
During the time, Babirye sought support from several political leaders, including former Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among, but was left frustrated.
“My religion does not allow me to hold grudges. We are not here to fight people; we leave the rest to God,” she said.
Babirye had mainly called the press conference to explain her withdrawal from the race for Deputy Speaker of Parliament after previously expressing interest in the position.
“I was determined and ready. I do not make decisions out of excitement, but after posting on X that I intended to contest, many people reached out to me. Some supported me, while others advised me not to continue.
“One of the reasons that convinced me to step aside was the issue of NRM institutional memory.
“I believe some of the challenges faced by the 11th Parliament were partly due to having new leaders after the death of Jacob Oulanyah. There was a gap, and there was no one experienced enough to guide and advise the new Speaker and her deputy.
“It was therefore right for me to back down and support Thomas Tayebwa. Hon Oboth-Oboth is experienced, intelligent, humble and a good man.”
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