Eng. Moses Magogo, who pleaded guilty to the illegal sale of World Cup tickets meant for Ugandans, is set to return to office on December 10 after serving the Fifa ban.
First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, tasked the Inspector General of Government (IGG) to investigate Fufa president Magogo over the alleged sale of Uganda’s tickets for the 2014 Fifa World Cup.
In response, the IGG Irene Mulyagonja has said she cannot personally superintend the new probe into Fufa President Moses Magogo’s resale of the 2014 World Cup tickets.
Mulyagonja, a newly appointed justice of the Court of Appeal, says she has one foot out of the inspectorate of government. Asked whether she had received First Lady and Minister of Education Janet Kataaha Museveni’s letter asking the Inspectorate to launch an investigation into FIFA’s tickets resale by Magogo, Mulyagonga said by telephone: “I cannot handle new matters since I am about to leave office.”
Mulyagonga takes her new oath of office in December. All new cases to the IGG’s office will be handled by either her deputy or successor. This news could be great relief to Magogo, at least temporally.
In September, Magogo entered a plea-bargain arrangement with world football governing body’s Code of Ethics Committee in exchange for a lighter sentence of two months and a fine of $10,000. It is in the aftermath of the aforesaid suspension and fine, which was widely deemed a lighter punishment, that MP Allan Ssewanyana (through his lawyer Allan Mulindwa) petitioned Janet Museveni to also investigate Magogo.
On November 6, private citizens Friday Roberts Kagoro and Julius Kavuma Kabenge also petitioned the auditor general. In their petition, through Muwema and Co Advocates, they called for an investigative audit of Fufa and Magogo over the expenditure of public funds.
One of the complaints raised was the lack of accountability for Shs 100 billion, which Fufa has received from government ever since Magogo took over office in 2013. In response to Ssewanyana’s petition, Janet Museveni, on November 18 confirmed that she sought the advice of the solicitor general on the matter and requested the IGG to investigate Magogo.
The Fifa probe and subsequent suspension of Magogo followed a petition led by Makindye West MP Allan Ssewanyana in 2017. Ssewanyana accused Magogo of selling illegally the 2014 World Cup tickets on the black market yet they were designated for Ugandans – thereby breaching Fifa’s Code of Ethics and Disciplinary Code.
In his petition, Ssewanyana alleged that the 177 tickets allotted to Uganda ended up in the hands of American and South African agents, who sold them on the black market. According to Fifa, when a country fails to sell its allotted tickets to the designated market, they are supposed to be sent back to Fifa.
