By Slivia Nakituuka
The sports fraternity is mourning the loss of Jonathan Oketch, a friendly and well-liked basketball player who passed on, after succumbing to injuries he got in an accident that occurred earlier in the month, in Mukono. Oketch breathed his last on Monday, June 15th.
Oketch was a team member of the JKL Dolphins basketball club. He was a resident in Mukono and as such used to play basketball at Uganda Christian University Courts on days he had no games or practice. Reports state that on the evening of Friday June 5th, after playing, Oketch and other members were travelling and got an accident along Mukono prison; the car they were in crashed into a school coaster. Oketch was the only one who was seriously hurt and was admitted at C-Care Hospital and eventually International Hospital Kampala (IHK) where he passed on.
Kenneth Mesho, Oketch’s teammate, eulogised Oketch as a friendly person.
“Jona was a good friend to many, humble, funny, happy and liked joking a lot. He was so passionate about basketball, a hard worker and a great teammate. He was always jolly, very competitive and hated losing,” Mesho said.
Oketch is one of a number of athletes whose lives have been cut short in recent weeks. On 3rd June, the football fraternity lost Cissy Nantongo who died in Mulago hospital after battling breast cancer. Her death drew tributes from her teammates (Corporates FC), coaches and supporters for her commitment to the game.
“It’s hard to believe that you are no more because you were the greatest captain l have ever had. Rest in peace captain Cissy,” Ronah Reginah Nantege, Nantongo’s teammate said.
Weeks before that, Maxine Anyango, a basketball player passed on, on May 14th after getting complications before knee surgery. Anyango had been injured while playing in the national high school games in Mukono at Seroma Christian School.
The rugby fraternity is also mourning the death of two of their own, an ex-player of the Mystic River Rugby Club, Adenan Kawuma, who is believed to have suffered cardiac arrest and died on June 15th, and Rugby Cranes player Sydney Gongodyo who died on 5th June, due to injuries he succumbed to, after a mob beat him, leaving many shocked at his cruel death.
These tragedies have left athletes across most disciplines in mourning. Basketball, football and rugby communities have held moments of silence, shared condolence messages and paid tribute to players who dedicated their lives to representing their clubs and country.
As teams continue to honour their fallen colleagues, Uganda’s sports fraternity is left reflecting on a painful period that has claimed four promising lives in just five weeks, whose achievements, commitment and passion will remain part of Uganda’s sporting history.
