At exactly 10:44 am, Myleen Kyomuhendo, in red Denmark-labelled vest, wheeled her chair towards the wall that separates Makerere University’s basketball court from the swimming pool.
Eight other trainees followed her as they ride along the court in a warmup before coach Charles Ojara kicked off the practice match that lasted over two hours.
‘Guys, we should begin now because for me this sun…’ Kyomuhendo, who came a little later than others, said, fearing the punishing sun that Thursday morning. Almost everybody complained about the sun. but such are the challenges of wheelchair rugby in Uganda because they train near an indoor arena, but the completion of the facility that hosted the 2018 World University Netball Championship has stalled since then.
Besides, while Uganda Wheelchair Rugby Federation (UWRF) are grateful to Makerere for offering the basketball court free, they must pay for the transportation of equipment: wheelchairs, spare parts, balls, to-and-fro the store at the Uganda Paralympic Committee in Mulago.
But life has to go on. The players must be ready for the first Wheelchair Rugby National Championship called Tugende in August, their first step on the long journey to the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
‘We have been training every Thursday, since February,’ Mukota Jarius Wanyera, UWF president told Daily Monitor.
‘Here, we have two clubs: Wakiso and Kampala Wheelchair Rugby clubs, while Gulu trains in Gulu City.’
The three clubs alongside a visiting club from Wales, will participate in the first-ever national championship, as they target the African zonal event in 2027, which is a qualifier for LA28 Paralympics.
Coach Ojara mostly emphasised basics: ball handling, passing, wheeling and rules.
While most players took breaks, Ramsey Nyanzi, the youngest, and Nsubuga Kizito, one of the oldest, played all minutes and led the scoring for their respective sides.
‘Here, being allowed to wheel with the ball on your lap makes the game easier. In [wheelchair] basketball, that’s not allowed,’ said Kizito, who has played basketball, para-volleyball, cricket, etc.
For Alice Najjuuko, almost everything is new. She only joined this year. And rugby is her first sport since she suffered a spinal injury.
‘I’m learning slowly, and we are enjoying it. And to me playing is health. And I think by August we will be ready,’ Najjuuko said.
Only that she does not like it when teammates scream her name when she blunders. ‘It makes me a little nervous.’
Every practice improves the players but wears the chairs, mostly due to those characteristic collisions. For instance, the push ring on Joseph Namugera’s chair broke. Yet the chairs are expensive. ‘One chair costs $10,000 (about Shs37m). We mostly depend on donations, after serious lobbying to different athletes and federations abroad,’ Wanyera said.
‘We are affiliated to Uganda Paralympic Committee. But the can’t do enough to sustain and support what we are doing. They can only help in maybe a few events for the athletes’ welfare.’
Being the umbrella body of all Paralympic sports disciplines, UPC is overwhelmed.
‘So, equipment and accessibility are big challenges. Many of these players need accessible transport. Some of them can’t use boda-bodas. It’s a risk to their life.’
TEAM
Sarah Nazziwa, Joseph Namugera, Myleen Kyomuhendo, Robert Ssekandi, Wilberforce Mbabazi, Alice Najjuuko, Sharif Kakooza, Geoffrey Waakulira, Daniel Kizza, Ramsey Nyanzi, Nsubuga Kizito