Remembering 26 years of the Mandela stadium completion

February 28, 2023, marks 26 years since COMPLANT, a Chinese firm, completed the construction of Mandela national stadium at Namboole and handed it to the Ugandan government.

To be exact, the sports complex was handed to the then prime minister, Kintu Musoke. Despite the fact that the Chinese firm completed its share of the work, government had not yet fulfilled its end of the bargain to work on other stadium facilities such as access roads, parking lots, lagoons, drainage system, and street lights, among others.

The absence of the above facilities meant that the usage of the stadium and its official opening had to be delayed for a year.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

The idea of constructing a modern sports complex was mooted by the government in 1968, but the project did not kick off due to a dispute over where to build it.

The government at first wanted the stadium to be constructed at the swampy Namanve area along Jinja road, but the proposal was heavily rejected by the environmentalists, who cited the area as a protection for Kampala from things like floods and heavy winds.

The second option was Lugogo sports complex, which was liked by the contractors because it was not only close to the city center but also on a highway, making it easy to access. But due to the complex sewage and drainage network in the area, government had to look elsewhere.

There was a suggestion to have the stadium constructed at Wankulukuku, where the current Muteesa II stadium is located, but the proposal was rejected by the Buganda royals who own the land.

In 1987, the government finally settled on Namboole, where it secured 147 acres of land for the project, and on December 14, 1988, both the Ugandan and Chinese governments signed an interest-free agreement worth $24m (93.6bn).

On July 7, 1990, President Museveni laid the cornerstone at Namboole to kick-start the project. But late compensations to bibanja holders made it difficult to have work start as planned.

It was on April 29, 1993, when the contractors (COMPLANT) started their work, but because of the delays and inflation at the time, the projected cost had increased to $34 million (Shs 122.4bn).

OFFICIAL OPENING

The contractors had promised to complete the project in October 1997, but they finished before the planned date. On February 28, 1997, the contractor handed over the stadium to the government but the latter had yet to secure the projected Shs 9bn to work on access roads, parking lots, lagoons, street lights, and a drainage system, among other things.

Before the official opening, the stadium management tested the facility by holding a Lucky Dube music show on December 6, 1997. However, the event left the stadium vandalized, which pushed the government to reschedule the official opening.

The official opening was planned for January 26, 1998, but due to the sorry state of the facility, it was pushed to January 26, 1999.

On January 26, 1998, South Africa leader Nelson Mandela and President Museveni paid a courtesy visit to the stadium, and the visiting president thanked Uganda for naming the facility before him. He also joked that it was better than the Ellis Park stadium in South Africa.

It took exactly a year later for President Museveni to open the stadium officially. President Mandela did not make it, though, due to other pressing issues in South Africa.

bzziwa@observer.ug