The FIFA World Cup is without a doubt a football fan’s haven. It is statistically the single most watched tournament averaging over 30 billion views beating the Olympics games.
The 2010 World Cup was the first to be hosted in Africa with South Africa as the mother country.
As expected, the aura on the whole continent was upbeat with the invention of the vuvuzela and other local cheerleading methods. This enchantment did not Ugandans behind as most religiously followed their favourite stars and countries until the worst happened.
On July 11, as Spain tussled it out with the Dutch Machine to win the 6.1kilogram trophy designed from 18-carat gold and $35 million in prize money, terrorists said to be part of the Somalian outfit Al-Shabaab set off three bombs, two at the Kyadondo Rugby Club and another the Ethiopian Village in Kabalagala, killing over 75 people.
The twin blasts said to have been motivated by the UPDF’s deployment in war-torn Somalia meant that for Uganda, World Cup would never be the same again.
For young, middle-class football fans, there is no better place to watch the World Cup than one filled with fellow football fans.
This is why men leave their homes, despite having fully paid TV subscriptions, to watch football at the local bar or eatery.
For Jovan Ssebaggala, 21, and his elder brother Joel, a government land valuer, the story started out well but the rest, as they say, is history. The duo arrived early to secure front seats. Fireworks marked the start of the game; then the vuvuzelas took over.
At half-time, a few miles across town, a deadly explosion carried out by Somali Islamist militants ripped through an Ethiopian restaurant. But the news never reached the fans at the rugby club. There was not much social media use as is now.
With three minutes of normal time remaining in the game, there was a loud blast. Jovan thought “fireworks” but instinctively jumped out of his seat towards the screen.
The next time he saw his brother, it was on the front page of The New Vision the following morning. Joel was lying on his back, with his hand on his stomach, dead. So was the story for hundreds of other families.
Public Cautioned
This year, as the World Cup gets underway in Russia, the public has been cautioned to avoid crowded places, report suspicious looking people and items such as bags, pens, phones and other gadgets and to look out for one another.
Uganda Police Spokesperson Emilian Kayima noted that technology has developed so fast that bombs don’t have to be very big items.
“Something as small as a pen can be explosive. We encourage the public to report everything, anything that looks out of place and most importantly to look out for one another,” he said.
Although the police says it has no intelligence of possible terror attacks, the current security situation in the country casts much doubt on the competence of the force and indeed other security organs to deal with one if it arises.