By BM
With just hours to go before Uganda faces Senegal in a fiery CHAN 2024 quarterfinal at Nambole Stadium, the government has issued an extraordinary crackdown on fan misconduct, fake tickets, and even bottled water.
Dr. Dennis Mugimba, the outspoken chairperson of the CHAN/AFCON local organizing committee’s communications and signage sub-committee, addressed the nation Friday evening in a stern, impassioned press conference at the Uganda Media center that quickly sent shockwaves across the sports community.
Fans attending the match were told in no uncertain terms: misbehave, and you may land in jail for a decade.
According to Mugimba, anyone who dares to disrupt the match whether by hurling objects, heckling referees, intimidating players or officials, or inciting violence will be prosecuted to the full extent of Uganda’s sports laws.
The consequences? A staggering fine of up to 9.6 million shillings or a 10-year prison sentence or both.
Offenders can also be banned from attending or participating in any sporting event for up to three years.
Even casual misconduct, Mugimba warned, would not be tolerated.
Fans exhibiting aggressive behavior, or showing signs of intoxication real or feigned will be denied entry to the stadium, even if they’re holding a legitimate ticket.
Security will be trained to detect drunkenness without the need for breathalyzers, and Mugimba made it clear: if you come drunk, or pretend to be, you’ll be turned away.
In a controversial but decisive move, the committee also announced a complete ban on bottled beverages inside stadium stands.
Drinks, including water, will only be served in disposable cups. No bottles, not even factory-sealed mineral water will be allowed past the kiosks.
This, Mugimba said, is to prevent them from being used as projectiles.
The chaos doesn’t stop there. Ticketing has become a digital battlefield, with CAF reporting that demand for Saturday’s match exceeded a jaw-dropping 120,000 more than three times Nambole Stadium’s 34,000-seat capacity.
Fans attempting to buy tickets online found themselves stuck in digital queues behind tens of thousands of others, often waiting up to five hours just to attempt a second purchase.
Mugimba himself admitted to attempting the purchase process at 1 a.m., only to be told 40,000 users were ahead of him.
CAF’s ticketing system, now exclusively online, has introduced strict purchasing limits, capping each buyer to only three tickets at a time and forcing them to rejoin the queue if they want more.
The restrictions, according to officials, are part of a wider effort to prevent cyber attacks, scalping, and unethical bulk buying.
With genuine tickets long sold out, a black market of counterfeit and duplicated tickets has exploded.
Mugimba urged those fans discover they’ve been duped to immediately report the incident to police, warning that only when a fan reaches the gate and gets rejected will they know they’ve fallen victim.
He assured the public that Uganda Police has a strong presence at the venue and will act swiftly on fraud reports.
As if that weren’t enough, allegations have also begun circulating online about massive sums of money supposedly given to FUFA, Uganda’s football governing body.
One post claimed 1.2 billion shillings had been handed over, a claim Mugimba flatly denied.
Instead, he confirmed that 1 billion shillings had been provided to support general public mobilization and promotional efforts across the entire tournament.
He emphasized that this was not a blank cheque; it was governed by strict accountability standards and procedures in line with public procurement laws.
Adding to the drama are social media videos and allegations of recent stadium unrest, which the Uganda Police Force has labeled as false and “fabricated on TikTok.”
Mugimba stated that security at Nambole is both visible and covert, coordinated through intelligence-led operations that have been in preparation since September.
Despite the online noise, officials insist that the stadium remains one of the safest places in the country.
With the eyes of the continent fixed firmly on Saturday’s showdown, one thing is clear: the CHAN 2024 quarterfinal won’t just be a test of footballing skill.
It will be a test of discipline, security, and integrity both on the pitch and in the stands.
As Mugimba signed off, his message was chillingly clear: “Come with a clean ticket, a clean mind, and clean behavior. Or don’t come at all.” (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
