On Wednesday, Uganda Secondary School Sports Association (USSSA) launched the electoral guidelines that will guide their elections and by-elections at the district/city, zonal, and national level for the period 2026-2030.
USSSA operates a three- tier leadership structure, where elections are first held at district level (July 20) with only schools that have participated in USSSA activities and registered on their online system for the last two years eligible to vote. USSSA recognizes 167 districts. Since each has 10 executive members, 1,670 leadership slots are available at this level.
Each recognized school in the district is represented by two delegates (headteachers and games teachers or their representatives), who must be professional teachers, to vote for the 11-man district leadership.
Each district’s new executive then chooses five representatives to represent it in the zonal elections (July 25). USSSA has 19 zones with each also having 10 leadership slots hence 190 total leadership slots at this level.
Each zone will then send five delegates to the national assembly, which is due on August 1, where the USSSA president and nine other top executives are elected.
Eligibility
In the guidelines read out during a press conference on Wednesday at their offices on GNZ Plaza Old Kampala, USSSA’s president emeritus Patrick Okanya highlighted that for one to contest, one must be a professional and recognized teacher in a Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) recognized Secondary school located geographically within the area one intends to represent.
For the position of chairperson and treasurer at the district/city and zonal executive, a candidate must either be a substantive headteacher in the MoES recognized secondary school or director of a secondary school who must be a professional and registered teacher with a minimum of a degree in education. The headteachers in private schools must possess a minimum of a degree and seven years teaching experience to qualify to contest.
“In the government system, for one to be a deputy headteacher they must have been active teachers for nine years while headteachers require 12 years. So, this (seven year requirement for headteachers in private schools) is an affirmative action to give everyone a chance to come into leadership,” Okanya said at the launch attended by USSSA’s third vice president Harriet Apolot, members of the secretariat led by chief executive officer Christopher Mugisha, electoral commission members, and the press.
A candidate for USSSA presidency must be a substantive head teacher of a recognized government secondary school or a director of a private secondary school recognized by the MoE and S. One must also hold a professional qualification of a secondary school teacher at educational officer or graduate level. They must also have served in an elective position on the USSSA national executive committee for at least one full elective term or served as a member of ASSHU’s national standing committee for at least one elective term.
Similar rules apply to candidates for the first and second vice president positions but for affirmative action, if the president is from a government school, the first vice president must be from a private school and vice versa.
Third vice presidency needs almost similar qualifications but someone who has served as chairperson or secretary of a zonal association for at least one term can pass. Also for affirmative action, if the holders of the top three positions are of the same gender, then the third vice president will be of the opposite gender.
Electoral commission
Apolot, who reintroduced Joseph Opio Okodeu (chairman), Richard Barigye, Hellen Wataba, and Angella Aguti Ogwal as members of the electoral commission also used the launch to remind everyone that they were “nominated at last year’s assembly in November, which was attended by delegates from all over the country.”
“Today they have come with guidelines which are a collective agreement on how power in USSSA should be transferred and exercised. I expect us to trust them and they are also expected to run the exercise diligently and with high levels of integrity, fairness, and peace at all levels,” Apolot, who was representing president Justus Mugisha, said.
Opio, who introduced himself as a sports activist that has served in various federations, the Ministry, and Mandela National Stadium is serving as returning officer for a second successive time since 2022.
Wataba served as a teacher for 36 years, including as a headteacher at Tororo Girls, before retiring while Barigye’s 37 years as a teacher saw him mostly serve at Ntare School, where he was pushed into sports coaching and administration with certifications from Khartoum and Zurich.
Barigye also served for two terms on the Caf Appeals Committee and as one of Fufa’s vice presidents under then president Lawrence Mulindwa.
“I want to thank you (USSSA) for the opportunity to handle these elections. It shows the confidence you have in us and we will not let you down.
“USSSA is mandated by the Ministry… to run school sports and we were constitutionally put in place by the AGM to play this role. These guidelines are important because they will help us to look at issues to do with timelines, eligibility, transparency, and dispute resolution in this election,” Opio said.
USSSA Elections
Election Days
Districts – July 20
Zones – July 25
National – August 1
Electoral Commission
Joseph Opio Okodeu – chairman
Richard Barigye
Hellen Wataba
Angella Aguti Ogwal – general secretary
District level positions and nomination fees
*Chairman – Shs70,000
*Vice chairperson, secretary, assistant secretary, treasurer, organizing secretary, secretary for women – Shs50,000
*Committee members (three) – Shs30,000
*Association of Secondary School Headteachers of Uganda (ASSHU) representative – Ex-officio
Zonal level positions and nomination fees
*Chairman – Shs200,000
*Vice chairperson, treasurer -Shs100,000
*Secretary, assistant secretary, organizing secretary, secretary for women – Shs70,000
*Committee members (three) – Shs50,000
*Association of Secondary School Headteachers of Uganda (ASSHU) representative – Ex-officio
National level positions and nomination fees
*President – Shs1m
*1st vice president, 2nd vice president, 3rd vice president – Shs700,000
*Secretary for women, Regional representative – Shs500,000